The official-Unofficial Bobcat-Oregon State gameday thread!

[Joe Bobcat]

I was only able to listen to the game so don't have any visual of it . I must say I can't recall hearing Taco Dowler's name and didn't hear Garret Coons name and I've been patient on hearing Elijah Elliott getting the hand off and a chance to run with it but My patience has run out. I want to know why he isn't getting a chance to run the rock.

Two logical options:

1) He's the 5th string back and just isn't good enough to get carries against that caliber team.

2) They just don't trust him and he's only playing bc there are no other options.

Those are 2 logical options. It would just be nice to know if those are the reasons or if there are other logical options and reasons.

You know, wanting to know why things are being done as they are doesn't necessarily come from a position of doubting or distrusting coach's decisions or thinking that one knows more than the coaches, but more from simply wanting to gain understanding. I've talked with coach Vigen during the off season and he has always answered my questions quite directly. I'm not about to bother him now with these questions as the conference season starts. But I'll ask you, do you speak directly for him when you give the 2 options you've given?

How in the world does anyone know that he isn't good enough to get carries if he never gets carries? The sports world is full of examples of players who were buried on the depth chart and thought to be not good enough until they were given the chance and BOOM showed they were up to the challenge and worthy.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Great atmosphere in Providence Park. Really kinda historic watching OSU play there, since it probably won't ever happen again.
Fun pub crawl to the game. It's a fun setup being right downtown. I do wish Portland State could get back in that venue, but that's probably not in the cards either.
As far as the game...tied after one quarter and we scored on a nice long drive. Then we got the kickoff return. Still it was obvious we couldn't get them stopped and it just got worse and worse. Pass rush couldn't get home and they had too much speed to cover. They also caught everything and if they did screw up the ball just bounced right back in their arms. We couldn't even stop their backup quarterback and second string offense. It was brutal and very troubling. The interceptions and bad tackling on special teams were just frosting on the cake. A disaster but at least it didn't look like we got anyone hurt.
Ironically for me-the one part of the team I thought we'd be weakest looks like a strength. Our o-line moved them around pretty good and Chambers is hard to stop on those goal to go situations. Other than that-burn the tape and move on.
OSU is pretty good, but USC will probably light them up next week which is going to make us look even worse if that's possible.

[catsrback76]

So, I just finished watching the replay of the game, so now maybe I can have an opinion… !

Wow, special teams broke our backs. Those long returns and TD were obvious keys to the game. Not sure why our punting went south but we need more hang time, and we need to not overrun on coverage particularly with athletes like the ones we played against. That said,Glessner had some wheels on the tackle he helped make!

My biggest concern is with the LB play. Whether it was soft zone play, or too many eyes going in different directions, but they were exposed on the night. Over pursuit, guessing wrong on gaps, and bad angles on off tackle run plays left us getting run over, around, and by. This is fixable but wow, it’s time.

I felt like Tommy played pretty well, and our QB run game was very effective as a consistent weapon. Not sure but if Ifanse were playing I’d like to think we’d have a very effective night running downhill against those guys. Even Lane would have had a nice game should he have played. So, I agree, the O line played pretty well.

Last thought, the TE’s need to be more than a distraction to the Defense. They are consistently open and when targeted making chunk plays happen. All in all, dump this tape after watching, get on to Eastern Washington and let’s get healthy…again!

[luckyirishguy25]

How do we see/ use Tommy going forward? Do we think he can develop as a qb who is a dynamic run threat, or is he more of a murray/troy hybrid who can hurt you with a favorable matchup in the pass game but is not a full field or maybe even half field passer?

I don't think we know any more than we knew three weeks ago. Is that a failure of the coaching staff, a failure of Tommy or just an unfortunate schedule?

Probably more the schedule than the prior 2, but one thing you could see both against mcneese and tonight, not as much against mhsu, is that he has a tendency to not fully trust himself and aim, or guide the ball a bit instead of letting it rip. He's an elite runner, though, that was clear tonight.

He throws floaters instead of darts, regardless of the distance. That's fine as long as the receiver is in the perfect position. If not, it's an interception.

Yeah i think that's right, actually, hadn't thought of it exactly as a floater but yes i think you're right.

Lance masked this a lot last season...

So did getting hurt early against NDSU. The legend of Touchdown Tommy remained intact because he wasn't exploited by them.

We just gave up 68 points without forcing a punt, and you guys are beating up on the QB...

Tommy threw 3 picks tonight, which is bad. But the offense moved the ball decently well, considering we were playing an FBS school and we had no RBs.
Tommy and the offense are gonna be just fine this year. The defense, on the other hand, certainly has some issues.

This had 0 to do with the offense and everything to do with a defense that looked completely lost most of the game. Definitely some bad passes today though, Tommy will learn.

I wouldn't say 0 to do with offense, I mean it was a 21-14 game when Mellott threw 2 picks in a row to blow the game open...
But it's 90% on the defense, who couldn't get a stop all night long. Really disheartening to see the D get shredded like that.

I know they would score but not at will, and frankly their offense is not as good as we made them look.

[coloradocat]

Hopefully we can treat EWU like Oregon did after they lost to Georgia. It's a great game for the team to take out it's frustrations.

[GoldstoneCat]

I was only able to listen to the game so don't have any visual of it . I must say I can't recall hearing Taco Dowler's name and didn't hear Garret Coons name and I've been patient on hearing Elijah Elliott getting the hand off and a chance to run with it but My patience has run out. I want to know why he isn't getting a chance to run the rock.

Two logical options:

1) He's the 5th string back and just isn't good enough to get carries against that caliber team.

2) They just don't trust him and he's only playing bc there are no other options.

Those are 2 logical options. It would just be nice to know if those are the reasons or if there are other logical options and reasons.

You know, wanting to know why things are being done as they are doesn't necessarily come from a position of doubting or distrusting coach's decisions or thinking that one knows more than the coaches, but more from simply wanting to gain understanding. I've talked with coach Vigen during the off season and he has always answered my questions quite directly. I'm not about to bother him now with these questions as the conference season starts. But I'll ask you, do you speak directly for him when you give the 2 options you've given?

How in the world does anyone know that he isn't good enough to get carries if he never gets carries? The sports world is full of examples of players who were buried on the depth chart and thought to be not good enough until they were given the chance and BOOM showed they were up to the challenge and worthy.

Last week was coons first week of practice, i believe, and i think injury wise it was dicey whether he'd play or not.

[mslacatfan]

Missing Freddy banks….. still bummed we only got him for 1 season. Guy was legit.

The jury is still out on Garza, way to early to say how good or bad he is….. but last nights game was the worst coached defense we have seen in a long, long time.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I was only able to listen to the game so don't have any visual of it . I must say I can't recall hearing Taco Dowler's name and didn't hear Garret Coons name and I've been patient on hearing Elijah Elliott getting the hand off and a chance to run with it but My patience has run out. I want to know why he isn't getting a chance to run the rock.

Two logical options:

1) He's the 5th string back and just isn't good enough to get carries against that caliber team.

2) They just don't trust him and he's only playing bc there are no other options.

But he's not even playing... lol

Had 2 carries. But that really isn't "playing" given the circumstances.

He got quite a few snaps, just didn't get the ball.

[GoldstoneCat]

Missing Freddy banks….. still bummed we only got him for 1 season. Guy was legit.

The jury is still out on Garza, way to early to say how good or bad he is….. but last nights game was the worst coached defense we have seen in a long, long time.

They found a consistent way to hit us in the middle. We were super soft in coverage both there and outside, and it was just pitch and catch from that point on with our lack of any pass rush. Sounds like we were prepared for heavier personnel, they ran a bunch of 12 the first 2 weeks but the fact that we could never adjust was not good coaching. That was not helped by the fact that the other 2 phases weren't able to sustain any kind of complimentary football after the first quarter and a half.

[justafan]

Hopefully we can treat EWU like Oregon did after they lost to Georgia. It's a great game for the team to take out it's frustrations.

ewu is not Oregon state but I think we better have a better plan than we did last night or we will really be frustrated.

[TomCat88]

Oregon State has only allowed two sacks. MSU, Boise and Fresno have combined for 21 sacks, but only two of those are against Oregon State.

[catsrback76]

Missing Freddy banks….. still bummed we only got him for 1 season. Guy was legit.

The jury is still out on Garza, way to early to say how good or bad he is….. but last nights game was the worst coached defense we have seen in a long, long time.

I would agree.

[John K]

Total yardage is 373-83. I didn't expect us to beat OSU, but we shouldn't be getting dominated this thoroughly, if we expect to be a top 5 FCS team this year.

I thought you liked Mike Kramer. What happened?

Should be 373 to 181, shouldn't it?

What? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Kramer would always point out return yards when people would mention the total yards to him. I thought you'd know that.

My bad....I didn't remember that, but you're right, I did like Mike Kramer. Thanks for the explanation.

[coochorama42]

I've read every post on this thread and have a few words of wisdom. Calm down.

There were 675k reasons to play the game last night and 68 that make it seem like a terrible idea. Nothing we saw last night will translate to FCS play.

When speaking of last night, there were a lot of factors that lead to this being a blowout. Nonetheless, every FCS team that faced a Pac-12 team left with a loss this weekend. As far as the game was concerned, the Cats running game was extraordinary given the circumstances. O-line play was excellent. The limiting factor in this game on the offensive side of the football was that the team had no RB capable of carrying a load (20 carries) against a good Power 5 school.
Mellott didn't have a good night throwing the football. I don't care if it was bad reads or bad routes; very few teams can stay close to a better team when they turn the ball over three times.

On the defensive side of the football, the effort was there, but the front four just couldn't get home. Give credit to the line and the OSU QB here as well. There were phenomenal pass rushes that got close, but came up empty. The impact of those three turnovers cannot be understated. That defense was barely holding on in the first quarter, but they were slowing that offense. They were often one dropped pass or a tackle away from forcing a punt. Right after going down 14-7, the defense has to go back on the field after INT #1. Then - after they score to make it 21-7 - Johnson returns a kick for a TD. And the MSU defense goes on the field again. From when MSU tied the game 7-7 to when OSU went up 28-14, OSU had 29 offensive plays; MSU had 1. MSU turned the ball over the next series as well. Any chance the defense had of breaking through died when the offense and special teams kept putting them back on the field.

MSU has more talent than all but one team remaining on their schedule (MSU and UM are equal in my mind) and have a very favorable home/road schedule this year. I am expecting them to have a very real chance to win out and have a top 2 seed. Terrible game, but looks like they avoided big injuries. Take the payday and the lumps and start fresh next week.

[ilovethecats]

@ilovethecats
What kind of hat do you have picked out?

I’ll find one! Really didn’t expect the D to give up 10 touchdowns but I guess that’s why they play!

[Joe Bobcat]

@ilovethecats
What kind of hat do you have picked out?

I’ll find one! Really didn’t expect the D to give up 10 touchdowns but I guess that’s why they play!

There’s lots of fiber in a straw hat but if it was me I’d make a hat out of bacon and enjoy every bite. If Lady Gaga can make a dress out of meat it should be fair game for you to do likewise.

[onceacat]

I wouldn't be too worried. We're out matched at the skill position level, but we played pretty well imo.

I didn’t watch our listen to the game, but wow, your blue and gold glasses need some cleaning, this was a dismantling of a 4th ranked FCS team by a middle of the road PAC 12 team. This should not have ever happened. Maybe coaching, maybe, scheme, maybe under developed players…but I would lay this at the feet of Garza and Vigen…but mainly Garza!

I'm known for being overly optimistic and unrealistic around here.

If you didn't watch it, I don't see how you can have much of an opinion. The people blaming this all on Garza, quite frankly, are similar to those who thought Housewright was awful last year. Know nothing blowhards without an ounce of football knowledge to them. The game we played tonight, we beat 90% of FCS teams with, at minimum.

This is funny. You are funny. Nobody is putting this all on Garza, however he refused to adjust all game. We would not have given up 68 with Banks at DC. We still lose and give up points sure but not that many. It's that simple.

And Housewright still outhinks himself plenty. Why after a successful drive running the ball down OSUs throat do we throw a long bomb the 1st play of the next drive? If you want to take that shot get into a position where an incompletion doesn't put you behind the chains. Like 2 and short or a 3rd and 1 where you know you're going on 4th down.

I'm one of those people who was really critical of House last season, but that call was absolute money. The WR had a couple steps & probably would have gone in for an untouched TD. Theres nothing to that other than that TM threw an absolutely atrocious pass.

[VimSince03]

In 2019 (the year we made the semis and beat the Griz 48-14), we kicked off the year against Texas Tech. Lost 45-10, gave up almost 700 yards, had 8 first downs, and looked completely outmatched athletically. We didn't turn the ball over so that helped final score. That MSU team had Kane Ioane as a DC and one Jeffrey Choate was our HC. The coaches and players took what they could from the game and moved on. They knew they had great players on defense but on that day it didn't matter. That Texas Tech team went on to have a very average season as well.

My point? None of it mattered because it turned out to be one of the most fun seasons in my life as a fan. Heck...I was ready to move on from Choate after the UND loss that year but the team rallied. Whether it was Choate, Ioane, or Banks coaching the defense last night, we weren't beating that team.

My main concerns for this team have been the same since spring. Our defensive line is explosive and can get after the passer but they struggle to defend the run and set a strong edge on the outside. They ran into a Top FBS Oline last night (per PFF) and it showed. Still thought Valdez had a great game and looked like he belonged.

Two new concerns are our coverage schemes and tackling. Even against Mcneese State a lot of underneath stuff was there and our LBs are struggling to hit depth. We also blitz a lot more under Garza thus far than Banks. My assessment on tackling? Our safeties are hurting us more than helping us and that included Manning and Okada last night. They need to be better as the top guys on the backend and/or up on the line of scrimmage.

Offensively, we're fine and very competitive. Tommy needs to throw some picks and make mistakes because one thing I don't want is a QB playing cautious threw the air (and he certainly isn't cautious running the ball). Oline has been WAY better than anyone expected and the receivers are all still figuring out their roles.

Still think we are 8-2 heading into Cat/Griz for the conference title.

[onceacat]

Tommy is a great runner but still limited as a passer against very good teams.

Time for Chambers.

TD Beavers

What other very good teams was he a limited passer against?

All of his Wyoming games. If anyone watched any Wyoming football consistently over the last couple years, it’s clear he’s not a viable option as a passing QB

He was talking about Mellott I think. At least I was.

Yeah. Read that wrong. My bad.

But my point stands. Chambers isn’t the answer as a passer. It’s honestly amazing to think the last true passed we had was Prukop. That’s a problem.

Prukop wasn’t a better passer than Mellott. Mellott is a good passer and great all around QB.

Completely disagree with you there Tom.

Not saying Tommy can't get there, but right now I think it's pretty clear that Prukop has a leg up.

I got flack years ago for saying this, but Prukop wasn't that great of a true passer. At least not compared to guys like McGhee or Adams.

TM reminds me a ton of Prukop...but,yes, Prukop had a couple of legs up as a passer than TM. And I don't think its really even that close. (And, to be clear, I'm not down on either of them as QBs, both are great...but they are/were both pretty pedestrian as pure passers)

[TomCat88]

Tommy is a great runner but still limited as a passer against very good teams.

Time for Chambers.

TD Beavers

What other very good teams was he a limited passer against?

All of his Wyoming games. If anyone watched any Wyoming football consistently over the last couple years, it’s clear he’s not a viable option as a passing QB

He was talking about Mellott I think. At least I was.

Yeah. Read that wrong. My bad.

But my point stands. Chambers isn’t the answer as a passer. It’s honestly amazing to think the last true passed we had was Prukop. That’s a problem.

Prukop wasn’t a better passer than Mellott. Mellott is a good passer and great all around QB.

Completely disagree with you there Tom.

Not saying Tommy can't get there, but right now I think it's pretty clear that Prukop has a leg up.

I got flack years ago for saying this, but Prukop wasn't that great of a true passer. At least not compared to guys like McGhee or Adams.

TM reminds me a ton of Prukop...but,yes, Prukop had a couple of legs up as a passer than TM. And I don't think its really even that close. (And, to be clear, I'm not down on either of them as QBs, both are great...but they are/were both pretty pedestrian as pure passers)

I’m guessing by pure passer you mean good motion/mechanics etc. I look at efficiency and effectiveness (such as how they pass in critical games and situations).