A Rebuilding Season

[MrGoodKat]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

[sdsyvie]

Unreal

It has been so enjoyable to watch this team. What lamson has done, filling in for the shadow that Tommy left, cant be understated. He has taken this team, and shows toughness and grit that blows me away.

So many first downs, TD runs, and throws yesterday that came in the biggest of moments.

3rd and long 1st down runs, 3rd and 20 TD throw following a false start, 3rd and 8 TD run falling a false start. He has made right little team mistakes that often could change momentum. Unreal

[bcatfan1]

Wow! I knew our 2 deep was young. But seeing it spelled out like that is crazy!

[mslacatfan]

BOOOOOM!!!!!

[MrGoodKat]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

[Prodigal Cat]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

[MSU01]

There's no such thing as a rebuilding season in college sports anymore.

[jgrilley406]

Who will be the next Bergen or Wortham that they will bank on to single handily try and win them games. Both games cats played the griz this year they clearly made it a point to limit his touches which is why they struggled offensively against the cats and which is why it was so frustrating watching other teams play them. Don’t understand why they don’t just turn and hand the ball to number 10 20 times a game. But without a dynamic playmaker can that team ever be a real title contender

[MrGoodKat]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

And the hardest thing to find in the portal is... quality OL and DL.

That's why it makes sense, given their team building model, that their weakness was on both sides of the LOS.

[MrGoodKat]

There's no such thing as a rebuilding season in college sports anymore.

There is when you use MSU's approach and play tons of underclassmen rather than majoring on portal additions.

[catapult]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

Don’t forget Jhase McMillan, DB, FR. The kid is a dude!

[technoCat]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

Don't forget McMillan, Petre, Thomas and Frokjer.

[RickRund]

I think this dynamic is what makes the losses so bitter for the Grizzlies. Their roster and their 2-Deep was SO heaving with seniors and grad transfers.

Their 2nd and 3rd leading rushers (Wortham and Rocker).

3 of their top 4 leading receivers (Wortham, Bohannon, and Deck).

Their top 2 tight ends (Shafer and Gale).

Virtually their entire starting offensive line.

2 starting defensive linemen (Peck and Detrick).

3 of their top linebackers (Wing, Tolbert, and Tuliaupupu).

2 top cornerbacks (Lawler and Ford).

2 starting safeties (Rausch and Harper).

That's a roster that's set up to peak. Now they have to roll the dice again in the portal and see if they get a good crop. It worked well last year. Not so much the year before. Lots of volatility in that approach.

Their hit rate on transfers is probably the best they could have ever hoped for. They got players at every level of the defense, offensive lineman, and playmakers on offense. And it still wasn’t enough.

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

[aucat]

I really thought we had missed out on our golden opportunity last season with the great Tommy Mellott when we couldn't finish the deal in the NC game. No way did I think we would be back this year. It's been a great run and the ten home games have made it so special. Now we just have to finish with one more great game in Nashville.

[MrGoodKat]

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

I didn't see it that way. I thought that the Griz played with a lot of heart and passion-- they were just overmatched, particularly in the trenches.

And that figures, because OL/DL is the hardest thing to find in the portal. So a portal-built team is almost always going to be weaker on the lines than anywhere else.

[MSU01]

Last year they hit the portal hard and signed some “paid mercenaries”. Is it just me that seemed to notice some of them seemed to not have their hearts in the game later in the day.

I didn't see it that way. I thought that the Griz played with a lot of heart and passion-- they were just overmatched, particularly in the trenches.

And that figures, because OL/DL is the hardest thing to find in the portal. So a portal-built team is almost always going to be weaker on the lines than anywhere else.

If I had to point to one single reason why MSU has clearly overtaken UM over the past decade it would be their success at recruiting and developing the offensive and defensive lines, so that even when players have transferred out they've always had young players waiting in the wings ready to take over with little to no drop in production. We'll see what happens with Dylan Rollins but even he as a very highly touted recruit hasn't been able to break into the lineup over Mastel and Titan at the guard positions.

[WetBreeches]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

Thanks for putting together the Cliffs Notes of our roster for FBS teams....I kid...but if you don't think FBS teams are going down our roster and identifying all underclassmen and then scouting them...you're ignorant...hopefully the flood gates can be stemmed a bit...especially by one previous Big Sky coach who proved this year he can take the Big Sky All Stars and compete...we certainly can use gameday environment and evidence of the grass not always being greener...but cash is definitely greener.

[MSU01]

This team lost a host of key players to graduation and several more to the portal.

They lost both coordinators and some key positional coaches.

They have 2 seniors starting on offense and 4 on defense.

Their roster is littered with key underclassmen:

-Adam Jones, RB, SO
-Dane Steel, WR, FR
-Jabez Woods, WR, FR
-Rocky Lencioni, TE, FR
-Hunter Provience, TE, SO
-Braden Zimmer, OT, FR
-Cedric Jefferson, OT, SO
-Burke Mastel, G, SO
-Dom Solano, DE, SO
-Talon Marsh, DT, SO
-Cole Taylor, LB, SO
-Xavier Ahrens, LB, FR
-Bryce Grebe, LB, SO
-Carson Williams, CB, FR
-Seth Johnson, CB, FR
-Tayden Gray, DB, SO
-Bryant Meredith, DB, SO
-J.J. Dolan, DB, SO
-Taki Uluilakepa, SAF, SO

By every indicator, this team is in a rebuilding phase. No one could be blamed for expecting them to take a step backwards after last season.

And yet, here they are, the favorite in the national championship and victorious over their senior-laden rivals twice in a month.

It's unbelievable.

Thanks for putting together the Cliffs Notes of our roster for FBS teams....I kid...but if you don't think FBS teams are going down our roster and identifying all underclassmen and then scouting them...you're ignorant...hopefully the flood gates can be stemmed a bit...especially by one previous Big Sky coach who proved this year he can take the Big Sky All Stars and compete...we certainly can use gameday environment and evidence of the grass not always being greener...but cash is definitely greener.

At this point I'm not going to bother getting upset in the slightest when the inevitable happens and some really good young players transfer out this off-season. Vigen has shown multiple times now that his recruiting is good enough for MSU to have players waiting in the wings to fill those spots with little or no dropoff.

[catatac]

It's crazy. Currently the only position group that will get hit hard is DL, but we all know how much talented depth we have there and since we rotate 8-10 dudes there... I have zero doubt that next group will be damn good. If Vigen thinks we need to bolster there with some transfers, that's what he'll do. Then we lose Julius but obviously already have excellent depth there. So IF the Cats win it all, and IF Vigen stays around next year, and IF we don't see a mass exodus of all our best players..... the 2026 Bobcats will be heavy favorites to win it all again, just as NDSU normally is.

[liqud360]

Any chance with Bobbys attitude and antics this year, that we see some transfers from UM to MSU?