Montana State @ Davis: 2024 Big Sky Conf Championship

[Lord Vigo]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I'm more worried about them underestimating UCD, but hopefully their win in Missoula commands the attention of the this group of Bobcats. After all, it's something that no one on this current team has done. That fact deserves some consideration. In that regard, I think it's a very good thing UCD won. They are good team, not to be taken lightly. Won't be shocked if it's a tight game throughout. Honestly, the Cats need a tight game, if for no other reason than to get reps in high leverage situations.

I don’t think you need to worry about this team underestimating anybody.

Least of all their lone contender for the conference…

[BelligerentBobcat]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

[TomCat88]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

They played a similar schedule the previous four games and only outscored those teams by 24 points. They’ve beaten the last four by 124. I’d say that is a sign of improvement.

Yes, UNC and Poly are bad, but they did what they were supposed do against them. They’ve had three common opponents (UNC PSU EWU) with MSU in the last five games and have outperformed MSU statistically in two of the three games.

[cats2506]

[ilovethecats]

I really like this coach. Seems like a great guy.

[Lord Vigo]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

They played a similar schedule the previous four games and only outscored those teams by 24 points. They’ve beaten the last four by 124. I’d say that is a sign of improvement.

Yes, UNC and Poly are bad, but they did what they were supposed do against them. They’ve had three common opponents (UNC PSU EWU) with MSU in the last five games and have outperformed MSU statistically in two of the three games.

I don't think they previously played a similar schedule because UNC and CP are glorified bye weeks and a considerable step down from anyone that they faced in the first half of the season.

EDIT: The Griz also appeared to have improved over the last three weeks, playing UNC, CP, and an NAU team on its 3rd QB. But once they stepped up in competition, it was clear that they hadn't actually gotten better. I think the same will prove true of UCD-- I think the clearest picture of who they are now is who they have been on balance the whole season. Comparisons to the 2023 Griz don't make sense-- that was driven by a QB change that radically improved the offense and overall culture.

[TomCat88]

The Cats aren't a bad road team, but it's more difficult to play on the road than it is at home. That's just a self-evident fact of sports, in general. MSU has won some tremendous games on the road over the years, but they've also lost or nearly lost to some teams that they'd probably blow out at home. That is true for every team.

It's also true that the better team doesn't always win. I wouldn't call it an upset if UC Davis beats MSU, but I think MSU should be favored to win this game, which means nothing.

I see this game as a microcosm of last year's road schedule. So much can go wrong when you play a good team on the road. The flight (this is a constant concern based on past history), the hotel rooms (see Plough's comments about Missoula hotel), the travel from the airport to the hotel (see MSU at PSU this year), the officiating (see MSU at SDSU last year). MSU had five top 10 road opponents last year and the Bobcats had a blowout win, a blowout loss, a convincing win, a controversial loss and a loss where it basically gave the game away. Five games that played out five different ways. My expectation is that one of those five things will happen this Saturday night.

[91catAlum]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

It's frustrating for you that some of us are giving credit and respect to the #4 team in the country??
Ok.

The fact is that Davis is a good team on both sides of the ball. Also the game is in Davis, not Bozeman. The Cats haven't been as dominant on the road. Ewu was within 1 score with us until about 3 minutes left in the game. We even struggled for a while in the 3rd quarter at Idaho State. It ended up being a 20 point win but we tacked on 6 on the final play of the game to make it look like a blowout when it really was closer than that.

Could the Cats blow them out? Absolutely.
Could the Cats be in a tough game and even possibly get beat with a few mistakes? Absolutely.

[TomCat88]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

They played a similar schedule the previous four games and only outscored those teams by 24 points. They’ve beaten the last four by 124. I’d say that is a sign of improvement.

Yes, UNC and Poly are bad, but they did what they were supposed do against them. They’ve had three common opponents (UNC PSU EWU) with MSU in the last five games and have outperformed MSU statistically in two of the three games.

I don't think they previously played a similar schedule because UNC and CP are glorified bye weeks and a considerable step down from anyone that they faced in the first half of the season.

They played at So. Utah, vs Utah Tech, vs. Idaho and at PSU; then they played vs Poly, at EWU, vs UNC, at UM. That's pretty similar. If you stack them up:
vs Idaho/at UM...the Idaho game at home is easier and they looked much better at UM than they did vs Idaho.
at EWU/vs S. Utah...the home game is easier, yet they looked better at EWU. +2, but if you want to call it even, then okay.
at PSU/vs Poly...PSU on road is tougher.
vs UT/vs UNC...turd sandwich vs raging douche. Even.
Heavens-to-Betsy's!!...I don't know how you can say that these aren't similar. (I said Heavens-to-Betsy's). They outscored the second batch by 124 points; they only won the first batch by 24.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Vigen definitely loses the facial hair growing contest.

[Lord Vigo]

The Cats aren't a bad road team, but it's more difficult to play on the road than it is at home. That's just a self-evident fact of sports, in general. MSU has won some tremendous games on the road over the years, but they've also lost or nearly lost to some teams that they'd probably blow out at home. That is true for every team.

It's also true that the better team doesn't always win. I wouldn't call it an upset if UC Davis beats MSU, but I think MSU should be favored to win this game, which means nothing.

I see this game as a microcosm of last year's road schedule. So much can go wrong when you play a good team on the road. The flight (this is a constant concern based on past history), the hotel rooms (see Plough's comments about Missoula hotel), the travel from the airport to the hotel (see MSU at PSU this year), the officiating (see MSU at SDSU last year). MSU had five top 10 road opponents last year and the Bobcats had a blowout win, a blowout loss, a convincing win, a controversial loss and a loss where it basically gave the game away. Five games that played out five different ways. My expectation is that one of those five things will happen this Saturday night.

I think a few things can be true at the same time:

1) Any team can lose any game at any time.

2) Playing on the road is difficult-- if the game was in BZN, I would project a bigger margin of victory.

3) The Cats are definitively superior to Davis is virtually every way.

[Prodigal Cat]

Vigen definitely loses the facial hair growing contest.

That frow frizzle flavor savor is championship level unquestionably.

[tetoncat]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

They played a similar schedule the previous four games and only outscored those teams by 24 points. They’ve beaten the last four by 124. I’d say that is a sign of improvement.

Yes, UNC and Poly are bad, but they did what they were supposed do against them. They’ve had three common opponents (UNC PSU EWU) with MSU in the last five games and have outperformed MSU statistically in two of the three games.

Which of the 2 did they out perform and in what categories? Is that considering Cats subbing early in some games.
You have a lot of stats so i am curious, has any team exceeded their season avgs against Cats have they against UCD?

[ilovethecats]

Cats open at -7.5.

[Lord Vigo]

It amazes me how so many here still underestimate this team.

I think most people are just giving UC Davis credit for being good. They’ve been the hottest team in the country the last four weeks imo. They’re playing well in all six phases. Additionally, they’re playing at home.

UC Davis was a BSC title contender last year and pretty good in 2022. I think they would’ve won the BSC a year ago had Larison not been injured.

They’re playing with a huge chip on their shoulder after beating Sacramento State last year soundly and then getting snubbed by the committee.

A lot of very positive things going on with them right now. Their only concern right now might be depth.

Wow. They beat two of the worst teams in the conference, a talented UM team that doesn’t have a QB, and an average Eastern team.

Beating UM in that environment will always be impressive, but let’s really look at why they won. They won because of their line play. UM couldn’t run the ball, at all, and their pass blocking degraded as the game went on. UC Davis’s OL handled the Griz pass rush all day. Guess what? That ain’t gonna happen with us! Our line is significantly better than any other FCS school they’ve played. They’re still the same team that barely beat Idaho and Portland State. We’re going to win, and it’s frustrating that people are using the game against an obviously overrated UM to act like Davis is better than they are.

They played a similar schedule the previous four games and only outscored those teams by 24 points. They’ve beaten the last four by 124. I’d say that is a sign of improvement.

Yes, UNC and Poly are bad, but they did what they were supposed do against them. They’ve had three common opponents (UNC PSU EWU) with MSU in the last five games and have outperformed MSU statistically in two of the three games.

Which of the 2 did they out perform and in what categories? Is that considering Cats subbing early in some games.
You have a lot of stats so i am curious, has any team exceeded their season avgs against Cats have they against UCD?

Technically, the Aggies did better against UNC and CP than the Cats did. I don't think that's a meaningful comparison. Both teams did whatever they wanted and dominated the games wire to wire.

When they've faced teams with actually FCS level talent on the field (e.g. Idaho, Portland State), the Cats have dramatically outperformed Davis.

[Prodigal Cat]

While on the subject of common opponents Vigen pointed out that Davis had played the upcoming opponent either the week before or 2 weeks prior several times. Idaho, Eastern, PSU so the coaching staff has seen them a lot. They are not an unfamiliar foe at least on film.

[HiLineCat]

Sure is a great contrast from Hauck! I'd take this guy over Booby anyday.

[catatac]

I really like this coach. Seems like a great guy.

Agree. I feel like he was the guy that shows up at the party with an open beer in one hand, holding the six pack ring with the other 5 in the other hand..... probably Rainier, joint tucked behind his ear...

[Lord Vigo]

Akem’s comment on this game:

It’s a good matchup for UCD because the Bobcat defense has taken a step back this season.

This is a man who gets paid for his opinion on football. What an amazing country.

[ilovethecats]

Akem’s comment on this game:

It’s a good matchup for UCD because the Bobcat defense has taken a step back this season.

This is a man who gets paid for his opinion on football. What an amazing country.