A Poll about the Spud game

[Copper Griz]

Spuds win by ATLEAST two touchdowns. This game has been circled all year for them. They have the skill and confidence to make this one embarrassing for Bobby and the boys. They are just a significantly better team. Your Oline has to play WAY better than they have been to even keep this one respectable. Will be fun game to watch though!

You know it is interesting you predict this. I think you are a little too biased. #1. The game hasn’t been circled for them all year. Their head coach is rolling against the Grizzlies. He is coaching at home with an undefeated conference record right now. The game hasn’t been circled for them. Not even close. He is shooting for a BSC title first and then a natty second. Every game is important and treated as such with their coaches. Head coach is very solid. Secondly, you are giving them way too much credit. EWU showed that they are not only beatable, but very beatable. I think this game is going to be a battle and could go either way. Spuds have the advantage since they are home. This game will tell a lot about both teams.

 

[Griz til I die]

I so badly wanna believe we can win this game but I just don’t think we’re going to. There’s no doubt we’re playing our best Football of the season right now and I think we’re catching the Vandy’s at the right time, but with the way they’ve been hyping this game up for months now, it’s gonna be a scene that nobody has seen out of the Kibbie Dome in a long time. They’ve already sold out the game, they haven’t played on ESPN in like 10 years, and it’s gonna be rowdy. This will be a tall task. I think we have a chance but it’s gonna be tough. We’re gonna have to really reach into the bag of tricks and we’re gonna have to dominate the special teams. It can be done but it will be no small feat.

 

['68griz]

BTW... Griz Spud game is on the mothership (ESPN) at 8:30 Saturday, gonna be a very long day!

Actually, it is on ESPN2.

 

[Wolf777]

Given our recent history of televised night games on the road, I have a hard time believing it will happen. We have made improvements, and that is a positive for the rest of the season, but also why the NAU game was so important. A loss in this game wouldn't be so bad given their rank if we were coming in undefeated. I think McCoy is way too talented, and given what we have seen from our coverage so far we are not going to stop him. If we can force a few mistakes and keep producing and sustaining drives on offense, then I think we will compete. If we have 3 and outs early and let them build a lead, we will not be coming back on them. I'm hoping Bradford has kept a few tricks up his sleeve for use to get home with pressure or disguise some schemes that will force a few turnovers. Some zone blitzes with some lanky tall linemen would be nice to see.

 

[bigtyme]

This Idaho team is likely the best team that have had since they played in the playoff semifinals in 1993. It is impressive how they have turned the program around so quickly. It is also hard for me to say nice things about the Vandals but I will give them their due respect. They punched us in the mouth hard last year and we didn’t recover.

I have them beating the Griz and Cats at home and winning the conference. The game on the 28th should be for the BSC title. I hope I am wrong here but this is what I am seeing so far this year in conference play.

 

[AZGrizFan]

This Idaho team is likely the best team that have had since they played in the playoff semifinals in 1993. It is impressive how they have turned the program around so quickly. It is also hard for me to say nice things about the Vandals but I will give them their due respect. They punched us in the mouth hard last year and we didn’t recover.

I have them beating the Griz and Cats at home and winning the conference. The game on the 28th should be for the BSC title. I hope I am wrong here but this is what I am seeing so far this year in conference play.

That coach has gotta be in year 5 or 6, no? I mean, we’ve all been told that’s what it takes…

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

This Idaho team is likely the best team that have had since they played in the playoff semifinals in 1993. It is impressive how they have turned the program around so quickly. It is also hard for me to say nice things about the Vandals but I will give them their due respect. They punched us in the mouth hard last year and we didn’t recover.

I have them beating the Griz and Cats at home and winning the conference. The game on the 28th should be for the BSC title. I hope I am wrong here but this is what I am seeing so far this year in conference play.

That coach has gotta be in year 5 or 6, no? I mean, we’ve all been told that’s what it takes…

People will hate this, but Eck inherited a team full of talent that was coached super poorly. I would argue without hesitation that it was a more talented overall roster than what the Griz had over that time period. Eck is a good coach.

 

[uofmman1122]

That coach has gotta be in year 5 or 6, no? I mean, we’ve all been told that’s what it takes…

People will hate this, but Eck inherited a team full of talent that was coached super poorly. I would argue without hesitation that it was a more talented overall roster than what the Griz had over that time period. Eck is a good coach.

Exactly. Idaho has always been talented.

If great coaches could always and easily turn struggling programs around in year one on coaching ability alone, then Beau Baldwin, who is clearly an outstanding coach, would've turned Cal poly around instead of leaving them spinning their wheels in mediocrity. The formula for turning a program around quickly almost always starts with having an under-utilized and poorly coached group of talented players. That's exactly what Eck and Troy Taylor had at their respective Big Sky schools.

 

[Stop_HammerTime69]

That coach has gotta be in year 5 or 6, no? I mean, we’ve all been told that’s what it takes…

People will hate this, but Eck inherited a team full of talent that was coached super poorly. I would argue without hesitation that it was a more talented overall roster than what the Griz had over that time period. Eck is a good coach.

At the same time, that is an indictment of the current staff too. Why haven't the Griz been as talented despite being much more consistently successful since 2018?

 

[poorgriz]

I'm guessing Clifton McDowell will crumble, and it won't be entirely his fault because the griz OL isn't that good and will not be able to do much against the ID DL. This will result in griz nation screaming from the rooftops..... "MY GOD, OUR QB SUCKS!!!" Check the game day thread for that comment, and there will be many others like it. It's not fair to the kid, but it will happen..... griz fans doin griz fan things.

 

[putter]

I hope McDowell continues to improve as a passer. That is the thing this team needs to have a chance of, not only getting by Idaho, but SAC and MSU.

 

[Grizzoola950$]

I voted yes for the reason I've stated before: The Griz play to their perceived level of their opponent. We saw this w/ the NAU defeat, and we saw this w/ their win vs Davis. In both cases the Griz effort was what the players (not the coaches) perceived as the effort needed to beat the opponent: NAU, not so much. Result, defeat. Davis, all our effort. Result, win. I think the Griz players will rise to the occasion and win. Coaches can harp on not underestimating the opponent, but I think with amature college players their attitude of what it takes to win hinges on their personal perception of the strength/weakness of their opponent. This why I voted yes. Go Grizz!

 

[AllWeatherFan]

When did beating Idaho become an “upset?”

Asking for a friend.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

I'm guessing Clifton McDowell will crumble, and it won't be entirely his fault because the griz OL isn't that good and will not be able to do much against the ID DL. This will result in griz nation screaming from the rooftops..... "MY GOD, OUR QB SUCKS!!!" Check the game day thread for that comment, and there will be many others like it. It's not fair to the kid, but it will happen..... griz fans doin griz fan things.

And Cat fans doin’ Cat things, like posting on eGriz.

 

[horribilisfan8184]

bobcats suck

And this is still eGriz,

Yes it is, and the bubz were immortalized in Polka diddy of all things, which they just can't escape, not even in a van, down by a riverdweller.

 

[Bear Spray]

People will hate this, but Eck inherited a team full of talent that was coached super poorly. I would argue without hesitation that it was a more talented overall roster than what the Griz had over that time period. Eck is a good coach.

Exactly. Idaho has always been talented.

If great coaches could always and easily turn struggling programs around in year one on coaching ability alone, then Beau Baldwin, who is clearly an outstanding coach, would've turned Cal poly around instead of leaving them spinning their wheels in mediocrity. The formula for turning a program around quickly almost always starts with having an under-utilized and poorly coached group of talented players. That's exactly what Eck and Troy Taylor had at their respective Big Sky schools.

Baldwin inherited a wishbone offense that wasn't very good. He gets to recruit kids with an entirely different skill set for what he does - for every position on the offense. Cal Poly I believe has high gpa standards which makes it even harder. Eck inherited a talented team who could step quickly into his system. Idaho had quality players and a coach with a bad attitude. If either of these coaches were hired 6 years ago they'd have the Griz in the top of the fas by now.

 

[grizfan07]

I think the Griz D needs to put a spy on McCoy. Either Janacaro, Flink, or Hill, heck even Fouch. Maybe even rotate them so he doesn't know who has an eye on him at all times. We should be running a 4 man front all game to contain the run and maybe just maybe get some pressure on McCoy. If the defense can do that and offense can generate some points on long drives, we have a chance.

 

[uofmman1122]

Exactly. Idaho has always been talented.

If great coaches could always and easily turn struggling programs around in year one on coaching ability alone, then Beau Baldwin, who is clearly an outstanding coach, would've turned Cal poly around instead of leaving them spinning their wheels in mediocrity. The formula for turning a program around quickly almost always starts with having an under-utilized and poorly coached group of talented players. That's exactly what Eck and Troy Taylor had at their respective Big Sky schools.

Baldwin inherited a wishbone offense that wasn't very good. He gets to recruit kids with an entirely different skill set for what he does - for every position on the offense. Cal Poly I believe has high gpa standards which makes it even harder. Eck inherited a talented team who could step quickly into his system. Idaho had quality players and a coach with a bad attitude. If either of these coaches were hired 6 years ago they'd have the Griz in the top of the fas by now.

Maybe, but I'm pretty confident that neither Eck nor Taylor could've had the Griz as a top FCS team by 2019 if either had taken over in 2018 with the talent we had.

By now? That's an interesting thing to think about. It's early to say for Eck (he's winning with a lot of Petrino recruits right now), but Taylor was a great recruiter who probably could've gotten us to a good spot. I don't trust him in the playoffs as a coach at all, though.

And you're proving my point about Baldwin. It takes a lot more than just a great coach to be able to turn a program around immediately. Choate was an amazing coach that created the culture you guys enjoy now, but his first two teams were dogshit (and yes, before you say it, the Griz did indeed lose to two dogshit cat teams. It wasn't fun lol).

 

[Mavman]

The Griz have not put pressure on a qb all season. Do you really think they can do it against Idaho? ...

I think this is a diagnosis/symptom thing. Bradford had to fix the coverage and alignment issues at the expense of blitzing. The Griz have not been getting burned though the air or ground but also not getting sacks. If they can start to get home, this D could be legit

I have been wondering about this. Seems even though there has been zero sacks there has been some pressure and Griz have kept things in front of them and been good against the run. Maybe Bradford is making needed tweeks to make this a more well rounded D.

 

[Yukon]

Idaho by 30.