How do Cats stack up against Griz

[MrGoodKat]

The pattern for the Griz lately is they burn teams early with schemed plays to their excellent offensive weapons and then bog down when they’re out of scripted stuff. It seems Ah Yat struggles once it’s time to just read defenses and execute the offense.

[bobcatfan123]

We will be going into Missoula as conquerors. Griz fans are starting to see the writing on wall

[ilovethecats]

I’ll say what I said a couple weeks ago. The griz offense is good. I’m just not see what oldgriz is seeing that they are the obvious number one offense in the league.

Seems like our O has put up more points than theirs in league play. The common opponents we’ve played we’ve killed and they’ve let hang around.

Ah yat and other starters are good no doubt. I won’t bash on players. They look good. But numbers wise their starters get to play all game cause they can’t put anyone away.

I ask again, mainly to griz fans and especially to oldgriz claiming the griz are easily the better offense; what do they do that makes them better? Numbers don’t support it really and either do results of games.

I won’t even touch on the defense cause that isn’t close. I didn’t see final numbers but looks like that D gave up another 400 yards or so today. To a young kid. In their defense they stepped up when needed or a very bad eastern team had a chance to beat them!

In two weeks the 2 things I literally fear most is Washington Grizzly; and rowdy fans.

[CodyCat]

One more interesting comparison.

The Cats and Griz have both played 5 BSC games, they have both played 2 games at home and 3 on the road, and their collective opponents' records are an identical 18-27.

In those conference games, the Cats are +177 points in scoring differential, good for 35.4 PPG. Their smallest margin was the 17 point victory over CP.

In their conference games, the Griz are +79 points in scoring differential, good for 15.8 PPG. Their smallest margin was their 4 point victory over ISU.

Here's an offense/defense breakdown in BSC play.

The Griz have scored 198 points in five conference games, good for 39.6 PPG.

They have allowed 129 points in those same games, or 25.8 PPG.

The Cats have scored 228 points in five conference games, good for 45.6 PPG.

They have allowed 51 points in those same games, or 10.2 PPG.

Here's why this is interesting to me:

A lot of the discourse around the Cat/Griz comparison so far this season has focused on SOS. Griz fans have obviously (and fairly) highlighted that UM is undefeated and the Cats have two losses. Cat fans have responded that they've played a tougher schedule. The response to that (again, I think fairly) is that the stronger SOS is basically based on the Oregon game, which is basically irrelevant.

So my suggestion is throw the OOC play out altogether and just focus on what's truly comparable: conference play. The SOS in-conference between the Cats and the Griz is literally identical. And what it reveals is that MSU is a substantially better performing team. That's even true in regards to offense, where the narrative in the media right now definitely favors the Griz. The Cats are almost a touchdown better and then obviously on the defensive side, they're 2.5 times better in terms of points allowed.

I think this is getting lost in a lot of the coverage of the team teams.

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Well there’s this. Cats aren’t even on the “3” list

What a stupid post! The Griz have only played 3 FCS teams with a winning record: NDSU, Sac State and SACRED HEART!

Ndsu?

He meant UND.

I know and you know. But posters confused those two schools a lot as they do South Dakota, State, and South Dakota and then get upset when the Montana schools get confused.
Probably should’ve just left it alone, but there’s been a lot of mistakes on that this week

And there’s really no excuse for people getting it wrong. It’s the Montana schools and the Dakota schools that run the FCS.

[Cataholic]

I’ll say what I said a couple weeks ago. The griz offense is good. I’m just not see what oldgriz is seeing that they are the obvious number one offense in the league.

Seems like our O has put up more points than theirs in league play. The common opponents we’ve played we’ve killed and they’ve let hang around.

Ah yat and other starters are good no doubt. I won’t bash on players. They look good. But numbers wise their starters get to play all game cause they can’t put anyone away.

I ask again, mainly to griz fans and especially to oldgriz claiming the griz are easily the better offense; what do they do that makes them better? Numbers don’t support it really and either do results of games.

I won’t even touch on the defense cause that isn’t close. I didn’t see final numbers but looks like that D gave up another 400 yards or so today. To a young kid. In their defense they stepped up when needed or a very bad eastern team had a chance to beat them!

In two weeks the 2 things I literally fear most is Washington Grizzly; and rowdy fans.

The Gris D did not step up in the end. The EWU QB fumbled the spike and ended up running out the clock accidentally. They Gris are nowhere near as good as the Cats.

MSU 66 - Weber 14. UM 38 - Weber 17.
MSU 57 - EWU 3. UM 29 - EWU 24.

In what world are the Gris even with us?

[rfischer94]

We will be going into Missoula as conquerors. Griz fans are starting to see the writing on wall

I wasn't to believe that the gris fans are seeing the writing on the wall. . Why do you think that?

[CodyCat]

I’ll say what I said a couple weeks ago. The griz offense is good. I’m just not see what oldgriz is seeing that they are the obvious number one offense in the league.

Seems like our O has put up more points than theirs in league play. The common opponents we’ve played we’ve killed and they’ve let hang around.

Ah yat and other starters are good no doubt. I won’t bash on players. They look good. But numbers wise their starters get to play all game cause they can’t put anyone away.

I ask again, mainly to griz fans and especially to oldgriz claiming the griz are easily the better offense; what do they do that makes them better? Numbers don’t support it really and either do results of games.

I won’t even touch on the defense cause that isn’t close. I didn’t see final numbers but looks like that D gave up another 400 yards or so today. To a young kid. In their defense they stepped up when needed or a very bad eastern team had a chance to beat them!

In two weeks the 2 things I literally fear most is Washington Grizzly; and rowdy fans.

The Gris D did not step up in the end. The EWU QB fumbled the spike and ended up running out the clock accidentally. They Gris are nowhere near as good as the Cats.

MSU 66 - Weber 14. UM 38 - Weber 17.
MSU 57 - EWU 3. UM 29 - EWU 24.

In what world are the Gris even with us?

In a world where Cat/gris is in missoula.

[rfischer94]

I’ll say what I said a couple weeks ago. The griz offense is good. I’m just not see what oldgriz is seeing that they are the obvious number one offense in the league.

Seems like our O has put up more points than theirs in league play. The common opponents we’ve played we’ve killed and they’ve let hang around.

Ah yat and other starters are good no doubt. I won’t bash on players. They look good. But numbers wise their starters get to play all game cause they can’t put anyone away.

I ask again, mainly to griz fans and especially to oldgriz claiming the griz are easily the better offense; what do they do that makes them better? Numbers don’t support it really and either do results of games.

I won’t even touch on the defense cause that isn’t close. I didn’t see final numbers but looks like that D gave up another 400 yards or so today. To a young kid. In their defense they stepped up when needed or a very bad eastern team had a chance to beat them!

In two weeks the 2 things I literally fear most is Washington Grizzly; and rowdy fans.

bUt YaRdS aRe EmPtY cAlOrIeS!!!

[GoldstoneCat]

I’ll say what I said a couple weeks ago. The griz offense is good. I’m just not see what oldgriz is seeing that they are the obvious number one offense in the league.

Seems like our O has put up more points than theirs in league play. The common opponents we’ve played we’ve killed and they’ve let hang around.

Ah yat and other starters are good no doubt. I won’t bash on players. They look good. But numbers wise their starters get to play all game cause they can’t put anyone away.

I ask again, mainly to griz fans and especially to oldgriz claiming the griz are easily the better offense; what do they do that makes them better? Numbers don’t support it really and either do results of games.

I won’t even touch on the defense cause that isn’t close. I didn’t see final numbers but looks like that D gave up another 400 yards or so today. To a young kid. In their defense they stepped up when needed or a very bad eastern team had a chance to beat them!

In two weeks the 2 things I literally fear most is Washington Grizzly; and rowdy fans.

The Gris D did not step up in the end. The EWU QB fumbled the spike and ended up running out the clock accidentally. They Gris are nowhere near as good as the Cats.

MSU 66 - Weber 14. UM 38 - Weber 17.
MSU 57 - EWU 3. UM 29 - EWU 24.

In what world are the Gris even with us?

In a world where Cat/gris is in missoula.
[/quote
Turning that place as quiet as a tomb is going to be so sweet.

[MrGoodKat]

Updated scoring stats for BSC play:

Montana State: 49.0 PPG; 10.8 PPG Allowed; +38.2 PPG

Montana: 37.8 PPG; 25.5 PPG Allowed; +12.3 PPG

The samples are highly comparable. Both teams have played 6 conference games, 3 at home and 3 on the road. The Cats' opponents are a collective 21-35 and the Griz's opponents are a collective 22-34. Four of the opponents are shared: EW, CP, ISU, and WEB.

[WalkOn79]

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Sure, it's relevant in the sense that it accounts for one of the losses and therefore the Cats only have one loss that really deserves to be considered.

However, it's irrelevant in the sense that it won't be counted against MSU in ranking or seeding and therefore it doesn't make sense to cite it for the sake of SOS resume building.

I'll put it this way:

MSU's resume is not and should not be harmed by the fact that they have a road loss to a highly ranked FBS team.

Also, MSU's resume is not and should not be enhanced by the fact that they went to Eugene and got their doors blown off.

So throw out that loss for the Cats and throw out the Central Washington game for the Griz. Where does that leave them? With essentially comparable schedules:

-Both teams have played 5 conference games, 2 at home and 3 on the road; the collective records of the two opponent sets are identical at 18-27.

-Both teams have played good MVFC team at home that has recently fallen on hard times.

-Both teams have played two weak FCS teams OOC-- Mercyhurst and USD for the Cats; ISU and SH for the Griz.

So the SOS in my mind is basically identical. The difference is that the Griz won their game against UND narrowly and the Cats lost their game against SDSU narrowly. So I have no problem with the Griz being ranked ahead of MSU.

However, I also have no doubt that the Cats are the better team given how much better they've performed in conference play.

It’s going to be a fun rivalry game. It’s interesting that you have no doubt, yet the FCS coaches and the FCS writers who cover the game professionally see the Griz as the better team.

Any doubts today? If not you’re delusional

[Monymony]

I am going to be extremely disappointed if we lose in Missoula. We are a lot better in every aspect.

[MrGoodKat]

In the last two games, the Griz scoring has followed an interesting pattern:

-Vs. EW: Scored 22 pointed on their first three drives; scored 7 points on their remaining nine drives.

-@ WEB: Scored 28 points on their first four drives; scored 10 points on their remaining ten drives.

This wasn't a pattern prior to the Weber game, so it may just be a coincidence. But I am wondering if it is a function of scripted offense being highly effective but unscripted offense being clunky.

[tetoncat]

It will be interesting to see the polls on Monday. Do Herder and the other experts ( ) still fawn all over an overrated Montana? Or do they finally acknowledge what the committee sees?

But, their explosive offense.

[OldGriz]

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Sure, it's relevant in the sense that it accounts for one of the losses and therefore the Cats only have one loss that really deserves to be considered.

However, it's irrelevant in the sense that it won't be counted against MSU in ranking or seeding and therefore it doesn't make sense to cite it for the sake of SOS resume building.

I'll put it this way:

MSU's resume is not and should not be harmed by the fact that they have a road loss to a highly ranked FBS team.

Also, MSU's resume is not and should not be enhanced by the fact that they went to Eugene and got their doors blown off.

So throw out that loss for the Cats and throw out the Central Washington game for the Griz. Where does that leave them? With essentially comparable schedules:

-Both teams have played 5 conference games, 2 at home and 3 on the road; the collective records of the two opponent sets are identical at 18-27.

-Both teams have played good MVFC team at home that has recently fallen on hard times.

-Both teams have played two weak FCS teams OOC-- Mercyhurst and USD for the Cats; ISU and SH for the Griz.

So the SOS in my mind is basically identical. The difference is that the Griz won their game against UND narrowly and the Cats lost their game against SDSU narrowly. So I have no problem with the Griz being ranked ahead of MSU.

However, I also have no doubt that the Cats are the better team given how much better they've performed in conference play.

It’s going to be a fun rivalry game. It’s interesting that you have no doubt, yet the FCS coaches and the FCS writers who cover the game professionally see the Griz as the better team.

Any doubts today? If not you’re delusional

No doubts today. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that might not even make the playoffs.

[Team10]

In the last two games, the Griz scoring has followed an interesting pattern:

-Vs. EW: Scored 22 pointed on their first three drives; scored 7 points on their remaining nine drives.

-@ WEB: Scored 28 points on their first four drives; scored 10 points on their remaining ten drives.

This wasn't a pattern prior to the Weber game, so it may just be a coincidence. But I am wondering if it is a function of scripted offense being highly effective but unscripted offense being clunky.

When the gris played sacred heart it was pretty comparable to this pattern as well. They had two scores near the end of the game off of two broken coverage big plays. Their fans were absolutely nervous in the 4th, same as they were today.

[Cataholic]

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Sure, it's relevant in the sense that it accounts for one of the losses and therefore the Cats only have one loss that really deserves to be considered.

However, it's irrelevant in the sense that it won't be counted against MSU in ranking or seeding and therefore it doesn't make sense to cite it for the sake of SOS resume building.

I'll put it this way:

MSU's resume is not and should not be harmed by the fact that they have a road loss to a highly ranked FBS team.

Also, MSU's resume is not and should not be enhanced by the fact that they went to Eugene and got their doors blown off.

So throw out that loss for the Cats and throw out the Central Washington game for the Griz. Where does that leave them? With essentially comparable schedules:

-Both teams have played 5 conference games, 2 at home and 3 on the road; the collective records of the two opponent sets are identical at 18-27.

-Both teams have played good MVFC team at home that has recently fallen on hard times.

-Both teams have played two weak FCS teams OOC-- Mercyhurst and USD for the Cats; ISU and SH for the Griz.

So the SOS in my mind is basically identical. The difference is that the Griz won their game against UND narrowly and the Cats lost their game against SDSU narrowly. So I have no problem with the Griz being ranked ahead of MSU.

However, I also have no doubt that the Cats are the better team given how much better they've performed in conference play.

It’s going to be a fun rivalry game. It’s interesting that you have no doubt, yet the FCS coaches and the FCS writers who cover the game professionally see the Griz as the better team.

Any doubts today? If not you’re delusional

No doubts today. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that might not even make the playoffs.

It’s official. You are nothing more than a troll. Cats beat EWU 57-3. You guys EWU by 5 at home on a fumbled spike by their third string QB. What a joke. You have lots to celebrate but you would rather troll on the Cats board. Textbook definition of loser.

[bobcatfan123]

We will be going into Missoula as conquerors. Griz fans are starting to see the writing on wall

I wasn't to believe that the gris fans are seeing the writing on the wall. . Why do you think that?

I live outside of Butte in Anaconda,MT. Almost everyone here is a Griz fan….. they are not feeling very confident after the last two weeks.

[OldGriz]

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Sure, it's relevant in the sense that it accounts for one of the losses and therefore the Cats only have one loss that really deserves to be considered.

However, it's irrelevant in the sense that it won't be counted against MSU in ranking or seeding and therefore it doesn't make sense to cite it for the sake of SOS resume building.

I'll put it this way:

MSU's resume is not and should not be harmed by the fact that they have a road loss to a highly ranked FBS team.

Also, MSU's resume is not and should not be enhanced by the fact that they went to Eugene and got their doors blown off.

So throw out that loss for the Cats and throw out the Central Washington game for the Griz. Where does that leave them? With essentially comparable schedules:

-Both teams have played 5 conference games, 2 at home and 3 on the road; the collective records of the two opponent sets are identical at 18-27.

-Both teams have played good MVFC team at home that has recently fallen on hard times.

-Both teams have played two weak FCS teams OOC-- Mercyhurst and USD for the Cats; ISU and SH for the Griz.

So the SOS in my mind is basically identical. The difference is that the Griz won their game against UND narrowly and the Cats lost their game against SDSU narrowly. So I have no problem with the Griz being ranked ahead of MSU.

However, I also have no doubt that the Cats are the better team given how much better they've performed in conference play.

It’s going to be a fun rivalry game. It’s interesting that you have no doubt, yet the FCS coaches and the FCS writers who cover the game professionally see the Griz as the better team.

Any doubts today? If not you’re delusional

No doubts today. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that might not even make the playoffs.

It’s official. You are nothing more than a troll. Cats beat EWU 57-3. You guys EWU by 5 at home on a fumbled spike by their third string QB. What a joke. You have lots to celebrate but you would rather troll on the Cats board. Textbook definition of loser.

I answered the question that was asked of me. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that has lost to Indiana State, South Dakota and (SDSU) might not even make the playoffs. Cat fans seem to think the SDSU loss, plus the near-60-point loss to Oregon, are bragging points for SOS. LOL. Whatevs. The Griz haven’t lost to anyone. The Brawl will be fun.

[BelligerentBobcat]

The Oregon game isn’t “irrelevant” when Gris fans are using W/L record as a point of comparison.

UM hasn’t played anyone like Oregon, or even SDSU when they were healthy, and that’s really what matters in the SOS argument if W/L record matters.

The “best” team UM played is probably UND, and they just got beaten by a 4-loss team.

Sure, it's relevant in the sense that it accounts for one of the losses and therefore the Cats only have one loss that really deserves to be considered.

However, it's irrelevant in the sense that it won't be counted against MSU in ranking or seeding and therefore it doesn't make sense to cite it for the sake of SOS resume building.

I'll put it this way:

MSU's resume is not and should not be harmed by the fact that they have a road loss to a highly ranked FBS team.

Also, MSU's resume is not and should not be enhanced by the fact that they went to Eugene and got their doors blown off.

So throw out that loss for the Cats and throw out the Central Washington game for the Griz. Where does that leave them? With essentially comparable schedules:

-Both teams have played 5 conference games, 2 at home and 3 on the road; the collective records of the two opponent sets are identical at 18-27.

-Both teams have played good MVFC team at home that has recently fallen on hard times.

-Both teams have played two weak FCS teams OOC-- Mercyhurst and USD for the Cats; ISU and SH for the Griz.

So the SOS in my mind is basically identical. The difference is that the Griz won their game against UND narrowly and the Cats lost their game against SDSU narrowly. So I have no problem with the Griz being ranked ahead of MSU.

However, I also have no doubt that the Cats are the better team given how much better they've performed in conference play.

It’s going to be a fun rivalry game. It’s interesting that you have no doubt, yet the FCS coaches and the FCS writers who cover the game professionally see the Griz as the better team.

Any doubts today? If not you’re delusional

No doubts today. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that might not even make the playoffs.

It’s official. You are nothing more than a troll. Cats beat EWU 57-3. You guys EWU by 5 at home on a fumbled spike by their third string QB. What a joke. You have lots to celebrate but you would rather troll on the Cats board. Textbook definition of loser.

I answered the question that was asked of me. The Cats lost at home to a team (SDSU) that has lost to Indiana State, South Dakota and (SDSU) might not even make the playoffs. Cat fans seem to think the SDSU loss, plus the near-60-point loss to Oregon, are bragging points for SOS. LOL. Whatevs. The Griz haven’t lost to anyone. The Brawl will be fun.

I know you’re trolling, but should you consider to try to have a decent conversation, why don’t you start by listing all the starters for SDSU that are injured compared to when they played at MSU. Your argument also isn’t allowing for any growth to happen during a season, and I think we all know that MSU has dramatically improved since the first two games.