The most unofficial Bobcat gameday thread - UC Davis

[GoCats18]

It looked to us (the PI was just down the field to the left of us) that it was CLEARLY offensive, even all of the UCD fans around us thought so and new it was coming back. We were all stunned that it was called defensive.

I was almost more shocked by how excited his voice was to call it defensive PI and say 1st down Davis. I just wish there was a view of it on the broadcast that we could have actually have seen it.

[tdub]

The Cats had literally EVERYTHING go against them in those final sequences, against the #4 team in the country on the road. AND STILL WON. When in the history of Bobcat fandom has that happened? Relish these moments, they don’t come around very often.
This year the Bobcats have played both roles in that scenario (coming back from the dead against UNM) and won both ends of it.

[RobertSebastianCat-81]

My thoughts on the game and other things, some of it influenced by the comments in this chat:

Grebe's PI call against C. Davis that led to 77 yds -- next time make sure the pass interference eliminates the catch. In that case, UCD gets a 15 yd gain but now must waste a lot more time getting into the end zone, if they even make it.

So many exceptional unexpected things happened in the game that aren't part of a play that you "put on paper"... fumbles, interceptions, special teams TD, successful onside kick, longest passes occur in the final 2 minutes. I think you strive to have the talent, the coaching, and the game plan that is most appropriate, and for a great team, these events play out to a win. The Cats had to deal with adversity and situations they hadn't yet faced this year and for that, have more experience to apply in the next games. I hope when we look back after winning the Natty that we will see how "all things worked together for good" over the past season.

I think this was mentioned in the chat, but for the rest of the games we need our #1's to play the entire game so they get accustomed to playing the full game. I think it was brilliant this year to play the 2's and 3's to ensure the experience is there for when we must substitute.

Yesterday, New Mexico, who we defeated, beat #18 Washington State. Shouldn't this help our strength of schedule?

We beat UC Davis, the #4 team, on nearly the last play of the game. NDSU beat a much weaker ETSU (6-5) in the final minute. The Cats game was tougher. Give us the #1 SEED!

Final thought... I wonder if Valdez, who is playing at a 6-5 Washington, would have been in a better situation to make the NFL draft had he stayed here, when one considers how that worked out for Troy Andersen.

[catsrback76]

Is not going for the kill shot on 4th and 2 from their 43 with 2:20 left a defining moment for Vigen? When the chips are down not to lean on Davis and your elite o line right there puts a bad taste in my mouth to an otherwise dominant game by the cats.

I don’t mind the call. 2 minutes left. Defense was playing great. Pin them deep and make them go the full field. Unfortunately we forgot how to tackle.

If we go for it and don’t get it and it plays out the exact same way, we’d be talking about “punt the ball and trust the defense”

Yeah we went for it last year against NDSU and got stuffed entering the 4th quarter. Does Vigen get credit for being aggressive there or was that just a bad call?

The hand-wringing from our fans after last night's HUGE win is too bad. Ruins a pretty special moment for our boys.
They have no timeouts and 2 minutes to go down 15 and had to earn it against our D all night. I punt there 9 times out of 10 especially given how well our pass rush was playing. Two crazy plays happen (70 yard pass and onside kick) and suddenly our fanbase thinks we lost or something. I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel but I didn't see playing not to lose last night at all. The effort by our guys was there all night. Offensively we didn't have our best game by any stretch but the plus side is Tommy made plays with his arm, only had three carries, and other phases MADE PLAYS. That's what it takes to win these games...making plays. I saw two great teams trying to win the game and we were the one on top at the end. Go take care of business next week and we get to have home cooking for the playoffs.

I see your side. I wanted to trust our nation leading rushing game to win it.

I’m with you on the go for it thought. I felt like the momentum that had been lacking in our run game was coming back. We’d gotten 9 yards in 3 plays and I was seeing creases opening up a bit. The pressure was on the Defense to stop us more than on us. If we don’t get it they still have to go down and score and get an onside. But, Julius was aggressive, and Tommy had not been used to run and the options to get the yard were in our favor in my opinion. I audibly groaned when we punted.

Was it a bad call by Vigen? No. Was it a conservative call? Yes. Was it the right call? Doesn’t matter, we won!

[Bocephus]

Is not going for the kill shot on 4th and 2 from their 43 with 2:20 left a defining moment for Vigen? When the chips are down not to lean on Davis and your elite o line right there puts a bad taste in my mouth to an otherwise dominant game by the cats.

I don’t mind the call. 2 minutes left. Defense was playing great. Pin them deep and make them go the full field. Unfortunately we forgot how to tackle.

If we go for it and don’t get it and it plays out the exact same way, we’d be talking about “punt the ball and trust the defense”

You could argue punting it there is the definition of playing not to lose. I just don’t like that.

You could also argue that being up 15 with 2 minutes left and making them drive 90 yards against our defense that has only allowed 2 TDs in the first 58 minutes of the game was the right call.

I didn’t see enough of the long play down the sideline where we missed tackles, but Vigen sure thought it was offensive PI and so did Gregorak. That combined with a successful onside kick. And then Bryce grebe slipping in coverage on the long play to Larison to set up the last TD.

It was a 1/100 sequence of events that had to happen.

Trusting your defense in that situation is the right call. Probably 99.99% of coaches do that. I cant think of a coach that wouldn’t. Oh, wait. Pete Carroll vs Texas is the only one. Did not go well for him.

Question. Do we think Dan Campbell goes for it? Although they did lose the NFC Championship

[tetoncat]

I'm an old guy and I remember a great game I watched when I was a kid in the 1963 Rose Bowl. USC was dominating but then Wisconsin scored 23 straight points in the fourth quarter. USC still won the game 42-37 but everyone focused on the fourth quarter comeback, and the fans were so excited about that comeback that you would think Wisconsin won the game. All anyone remembers is the Wisconsin band playing "On Wisconsin" for the entire fourth quarter. I think that's the way we are feeling about the Bobcat game last night. It seemed that the Bobcats were the dominant team but then the tables turned and UC Davis gained all the momentum and appeared to be the better team down the stretch. UC Davis outgained us in yardage. Good thing we had the turnovers and the punt return! Granted our guys held on there at the end and we eked out the win. A BIG win as it guarantees at least a share of the Big Sky Championship. All I can say is, after watching UC Davis score 20 consecutive points on us, I'm thankful that we are playing the griz in Bobcat Stadium. After watching our fourth quarter performance last night, I now think the Brawl will be a very tough game for us to win. By that, I'm expecting a close game. But at least we are home where we are hard to beat.

Do you think the Griz would have lost by only 16 to UCD at Davis.

[tetoncat]

Is not going for the kill shot on 4th and 2 from their 43 with 2:20 left a defining moment for Vigen? When the chips are down not to lean on Davis and your elite o line right there puts a bad taste in my mouth to an otherwise dominant game by the cats.

I don’t mind the call. 2 minutes left. Defense was playing great. Pin them deep and make them go the full field. Unfortunately we forgot how to tackle.

If we go for it and don’t get it and it plays out the exact same way, we’d be talking about “punt the ball and trust the defense”

Yeah we went for it last year against NDSU and got stuffed entering the 4th quarter. Does Vigen get credit for being aggressive there or was that just a bad call?

The hand-wringing from our fans after last night's HUGE win is too bad. Ruins a pretty special moment for our boys.
They have no timeouts and 2 minutes to go down 15 and had to earn it against our D all night. I punt there 9 times out of 10 especially given how well our pass rush was playing. Two crazy plays happen (70 yard pass and onside kick) and suddenly our fanbase thinks we lost or something. I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel but I didn't see playing not to lose last night at all. The effort by our guys was there all night. Offensively we didn't have our best game by any stretch but the plus side is Tommy made plays with his arm, only had three carries, and other phases MADE PLAYS. That's what it takes to win these games...making plays. I saw two great teams trying to win the game and we were the one on top at the end. Go take care of business next week and we get to have home cooking for the playoffs.

Good post. Also, worth remembering that even with all the breaks Davis got, they were still on the hook to get a 2 pt conversion which is at best a 50-50 play.

AND THEN, even if they get the 2 pt conversion, Cats have 30 seconds to get into FG range.

And THEN, if not, I think the Cats are built to win OT possessions, Davis much less so.

Davis had to have a lot of things go their way to get to the 50-50 2 point conversion...and then it STILL would have been a tie. This game wasn't as close as people think it was.

If we make all our XP they need 2 pt conversion on each of last 2 drives. FG was a good effort, wish we could have gotten closer for that.

[technoCat]

Is not going for the kill shot on 4th and 2 from their 43 with 2:20 left a defining moment for Vigen? When the chips are down not to lean on Davis and your elite o line right there puts a bad taste in my mouth to an otherwise dominant game by the cats.

I don’t mind the call. 2 minutes left. Defense was playing great. Pin them deep and make them go the full field. Unfortunately we forgot how to tackle.

If we go for it and don’t get it and it plays out the exact same way, we’d be talking about “punt the ball and trust the defense”

Yeah we went for it last year against NDSU and got stuffed entering the 4th quarter. Does Vigen get credit for being aggressive there or was that just a bad call?

The hand-wringing from our fans after last night's HUGE win is too bad. Ruins a pretty special moment for our boys.
They have no timeouts and 2 minutes to go down 15 and had to earn it against our D all night. I punt there 9 times out of 10 especially given how well our pass rush was playing. Two crazy plays happen (70 yard pass and onside kick) and suddenly our fanbase thinks we lost or something. I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel but I didn't see playing not to lose last night at all. The effort by our guys was there all night. Offensively we didn't have our best game by any stretch but the plus side is Tommy made plays with his arm, only had three carries, and other phases MADE PLAYS. That's what it takes to win these games...making plays. I saw two great teams trying to win the game and we were the one on top at the end. Go take care of business next week and we get to have home cooking for the playoffs.

Good post. Also, worth remembering that even with all the breaks Davis got, they were still on the hook to get a 2 pt conversion which is at best a 50-50 play.

AND THEN, even if they get the 2 pt conversion, Cats have 30 seconds to get into FG range.

And THEN, if not, I think the Cats are built to win OT possessions, Davis much less so.

Davis had to have a lot of things go their way to get to the 50-50 2 point conversion...and then it STILL would have been a tie. This game wasn't as close as people think it was.

If we make all our XP they need 2 pt conversion on each of last 2 drives. FG was a good effort, wish we could have gotten closer for that.

Yeah didn't we lose a yard on the play before the FG? Game of inches

[nanacat]

Finally watched the first half. Didn't realize a FG was missed. That would have helped ease the nerves in the 4th quarter if those 3 points had been there.

[Long Time Cat]

Finally watched the first half. Didn't realize a FG was missed. That would have helped ease the nerves in the 4th quarter if those 3 points had been there.

And based on how far Brendon Hall’s kick offs we’re going, I think Sanstead makes that field goal at Bozeman’s elevation.

[WalkOn79]

So, anyone watching on TV cannot answer this, only someone that was actually at the game and was paying attention (no TV angle showed what happened). On the deep pass with 2:00 left, they called PI on the DB. Was this the correct call? All you see on the TV broadcast his him standing back up from the sideline, which to me makes it seem like he was pushed by the WR.

I wondered about this, too. It looked like a really bad PI call and the playback didn't show everything. The fumble recovery in the end zone also looked like they blew the play dead before it was actually over. No doubt these were momentum killers but you can't let bad play calls prevent you from getting the stops. Not sure my cardiovascular health can take another game like that

Don’t usually need a reason to go to BQC cause I go most weeks, but I’m sure not missing tomorrow night. Coach will have a good view of that play I’m sure.

[The Butcher]

That game had several fortunate breaks for UCD and not nearly as many for the Cats. Honestly, if these teams face off again in the playoffs—especially in Bozeman—I think the Cats win by 14 or more. There’s no way all those breaks, like the missed PAT, the uncalled offensive PI, and the onside kick, happen twice in one season.

[TomCat88]

I tend to think that the first and middle thirds are more indicative of these two teams than the last third (actually sixth). MSU got a couple turnovers but also left four points off the board with blocked xp and FG off the crossbar. The last tenth was more Keystone Kops, than football but that kind of stuff happens in sports even at the highest levels as NYY showed us in top of fifth inning of game 5 this year.

[onceacat]

Is not going for the kill shot on 4th and 2 from their 43 with 2:20 left a defining moment for Vigen? When the chips are down not to lean on Davis and your elite o line right there puts a bad taste in my mouth to an otherwise dominant game by the cats.

I don’t mind the call. 2 minutes left. Defense was playing great. Pin them deep and make them go the full field. Unfortunately we forgot how to tackle.

If we go for it and don’t get it and it plays out the exact same way, we’d be talking about “punt the ball and trust the defense”

You could argue punting it there is the definition of playing not to lose. I just don’t like that.

You could also argue that being up 15 with 2 minutes left and making them drive 90 yards against our defense that has only allowed 2 TDs in the first 58 minutes of the game was the right call.

I didn’t see enough of the long play down the sideline where we missed tackles, but Vigen sure thought it was offensive PI and so did Gregorak. That combined with a successful onside kick. And then Bryce grebe slipping in coverage on the long play to Larison to set up the last TD.

It was a 1/100 sequence of events that had to happen.

Trusting your defense in that situation is the right call. Probably 99.99% of coaches do that. I cant think of a coach that wouldn’t. Oh, wait. Pete Carroll vs Texas is the only one. Did not go well for him.

Question. Do we think Dan Campbell goes for it? Although they did lose the NFC Championship

Hell yeah. But, also, yeah, they also lost that game.

[thefrank1]

Just finished rewatching the game and thought Julius Davis's running style looked a lot like Marchon Lynch. Go Beast Mode!

[tetoncat]

Just finished rewatching the game and thought Julius Davis's running style looked a lot like Marchon Lynch. Go Beast Mode!

He had a great second half.

[coloradocat]

Just finished rewatching the game and thought Julius Davis's running style looked a lot like Marchon Lynch. Go Beast Mode!

I just read the article on him from the annual Bobcat magazine that Felix puts out every year and Marshawn Lynch was noted as who he models his game on.

[iaafan]

It looked to us (the PI was just down the field to the left of us) that it was CLEARLY offensive, even all of the UCD fans around us thought so and new it was coming back. We were all stunned that it was called defensive.

I was almost more shocked by how excited his voice was to call it defensive PI and say 1st down Davis. I just wish there was a view of it on the broadcast that we could have actually have seen it.

It was either the field judge or back judge that threw the flag. You can tell by Johnson’s and Vigen’s reactions that it was a bad call. Johnson is complaining before he even stands up.

The third replay of the first one on Powdrell shows that it was a bad call. There’s nothing about that play that is pass interference on him. Horrible call. Thankfully it didn’t change the outcome.

MSU was decidedly the better team. I can give ucd credit for its run defense but that’s it.

[GoCats18]

It looked to us (the PI was just down the field to the left of us) that it was CLEARLY offensive, even all of the UCD fans around us thought so and new it was coming back. We were all stunned that it was called defensive.

I was almost more shocked by how excited his voice was to call it defensive PI and say 1st down Davis. I just wish there was a view of it on the broadcast that we could have actually have seen it.

It was either the field judge or back judge that threw the flag. You can tell by Johnson’s and Vigen’s reactions that it was a bad call. Johnson is complaining before he even stands up.

The third replay of the first one on Powdrell shows that it was a bad call. There’s nothing about that play that is pass interference on him. Horrible call. Thankfully it didn’t change the outcome.

MSU was decidedly the better team. I can give ucd credit for its run defense but that’s it.

Wow, no credit given to the dog that fetches the kickoff tee……Unbelievable, that takes talent.

[AFCAT]