More or Less Confident?

[Wolf777]

Two high safeties cherry picking creates “take what they give you.” All Dowler really does is wait for tipped or over thrown balls. The key match up for us on offense will be Pantiloff and Eiden. KAY’S blind side protection is essential. The who’s better argument- pretty even and will come down to game planning and execution. As always the refs play a part as well. My primary concern is will Montana weather the early “commotion.” Bobby has had a difficult time having his players ready from the get go in bozo. If they can stay in this thing early expect a dog fight!

Eiden is a force and flexed his muscle last week as it seemed like he was in on Vidlak all night. Brott is limping in but probably will play on one leg if he has to, and their backers are back to being healthier. There is a reason the game plan called for exploiting quick options the first game. They develop pressure with their front 4 alone. Occasionally will bring 5. Very rarely 6. Allows them to devote more to coverage.

 

[billingsgriz]

I don't think we have to worry about anybody not being ready. More than the rivalry, this is the semifinal game. Winner likely wins the chipper. Everybody from both sides knows it. There's going to be pressure on everybody. Can't wait!

Agree, but more pressure on you than us--game at your house, not ours, and you're favored, we're not ?

I just wonder if the ABC crew will pick up on a few of your player's Beavis and Butthead routine in demonstrating mock public masterbation at the conclusion of Brawl I and maybe link that to the big nationally televised " Coach Vigen vs. Julius Davis WWE cage match" following the Yale game ?

Probably not .. but ya never know.

 

[Moneymoney]

The Griz are definitely better than Cats. Don't get me wrong, the Cats are a good team but the first time they beat the Griz was because they got lucky. The one play everyone loves to talk about as the turning point which was the pick 6. Wortham running a slant to the left and being trailed by a defender who had his hands on him and it bounced off Worthams hands into Dowler. If Wortham catches that ball, Dowler is completely out of position but in a perfect position to catch a lucky tip. But sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. And that's exactly what it was, they got lucky and it happens. But the fact of the matter is Ah Yat was dealing in that game and completed 82% of his passes, threw 1 TD and ran for another. The Bobcats couldn't stop the Griz offense. Besides the pick, the Griz get a FG blocked for the first time since I can't remember. But that's the way it goes sometimes but nothing the Cats did showed me the Cats were better. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a Griz fan. Also take a look at the SFA game where Dowler gets another pick. He's beat and out of position and in a perfect place for a tipped pass. Both times Dowler is beat but because he intercepts a tipped ball, people think he played it perfectly. I actually hope he continues to do what he's been doing because if the play goes like it's supposed to then there's no pick but a TD for us.

You are forgetting the part where we ran the ball for 7 minutes straight and your inferior d-line couldn’t do a thing. Dowler was literally the safety over the top of course the tip went to him. Even if the ball didn’t get intercepted it was 3rd down and we are getting the ball anyways.

 

[Oldskoolgriz]

I don't think we have to worry about anybody not being ready. More than the rivalry, this is the semifinal game. Winner likely wins the chipper. Everybody from both sides knows it. There's going to be pressure on everybody. Can't wait!

So you're telling me nobody at MSU is worried about whether or not Julius Davis has taken his meds before the game? Haha

 

[EverettGriz]

You are forgetting the part where we ran the ball for 7 minutes straight and your inferior d-line couldn’t do a thing. Dowler was literally the safety over the top of course the tip went to him. Even if the ball didn’t get intercepted it was 3rd down and we are getting the ball anyways.

First, he wasn't "over the top". He was beat and badly trailing the play.

And if you're counting on MW to drop that pass again, I'm going to pull up Tootsie's website to see what band we're watching the night of the 4th.

 

[TheNorthRemembers]

I feel more confident in the team's ability to beat the cats but that comes with a caveat. The Griz are just plain terrible on the road in the playoffs. They are 1 and 13 on the road if you don't count the championship game at Marshall in 1995. In games leading up the Natty the only time that the Griz have won a road game was in 2008 at James Madison. So I think that the Griz are playing their best ball at the best time of the year and that they are way better positioned for a win than 3.5 weeks ago. It's just the road record in the playoffs that worries me and they be playing in what will be the most hostile environment that a Griz team in the playoffs has ever faced. Illinois State already has 3 road wins this year so perhaps the Griz can keep that narrative going. More confident than before and I hope that translates into a victory.

True but this isn't your typical road game. We're not traveling across the country to play an unfamiliar opponent. This is a 3 hour bus ride to play a team we just saw 4 weeks ago. Its not the same thing as going to Brookings last season.

 

[billingsgriz]

True but this isn't your typical road game. We're not traveling across the country to play an unfamiliar opponent. This is a 3 hour bus ride to play a team we just saw 4 weeks ago. Its not the same thing as going to Brookings last season.

But although it's only a 2-3 hours bus ride, we are still traveling out of state to Boz Angeles, now a subsidiary of Big Sky's Yellowstone Club : ( !!!

In a related note, the Bozeman City Commission has just adopted " Californication, " by the RHCP as. Boz Angeles' new official city anthem and song.

 

[GallatinGriz03]

True but this isn't your typical road game. We're not traveling across the country to play an unfamiliar opponent. This is a 3 hour bus ride to play a team we just saw 4 weeks ago. Its not the same thing as going to Brookings last season.

Its been mentioned that the Griz haven't performed well on the road in the playoffs. This is the list of teams the Griz have lost to on the road, excluding Championship games.
2011--@sam houston 31-28 Sam Houston lost in the championship game to NDSU that year
2014--@EWU 37-20 EWU was loaded that year, but underachieved by losing the next week to Ill. St.
2015--@NDSU 37-6 After shocking NDSU in the first game of Stitt's tenure, NDSU put it to the Griz and won the Championship later that year
2019--@Weber 17-10 This was a bad beat. Griz DESTROYED Weber 3 weeks prior. Weber lost to JMU the following week
2021--@JMU 28-6 JMU lost the Championship to NDSU.
2022--@NDSU 49-26 NDSU lost the championship to SDSU
2024--@SDSU 35-18 SDSU lost in Semi to NDSU

In my opinion, that Weber game represents the only time the Griz underperformed on the road. That EWU team was stacked and beat the Griz a couple of weeks prior. The loss at JMU was unfortunate, losing our QB and best WR in the span of a few plays. All the others the Griz were decided underdogs.

Not so this week against the Cats. From what I understand about point spreads, a 5 pt spread on the road is saying, Cats are slightly better, giving them 3 points for being at home. The Griz are coming in like a buzzsaw the last two weeks. The Cats have looked like they are sleepwalking through their two games. Could they flip the switch and up their intensity? Sure. In fact if they don't and Cats play like they did against Yale or SFA, this game will be over by half. Could the Griz cool off? Sure. 2019 was similar. Played two great games, Idaho and the above mentioned Weber, prior to getting smoked in Bozeman for the Brawl.

This team at this time, just feels different. Yeah, I'm feeling more confident than Cat/Griz 1.0. I think the Griz play like they have nothing to lose, fly around on defense, shut down MSU's running game, and has enough weapons on offense to come out with the W! GO GRIZ!

 

[go4two]

How many Eat &*& Grizzlies, Go Cats Go do you think will be said at the litter box this weekend? What's the over/under? Little Brother has it in every cheer!! Hopefully, we'll shut that down when we go up by two scores.

 

[Bobcat99]

Agree, but more pressure on you than us--game at your house, not ours, and you're favored, we're not ?

I just wonder if the ABC crew will pick up on a few of your player's Beavis and Butthead routine in demonstrating mock public masterbation at the conclusion of Brawl I and maybe link that to the big nationally televised " Coach Vigen vs. Julius Davis WWE cage match" following the Yale game ?

Probably not .. but ya never know.

I think the pressure is pretty equal for both. It's win or go home. It's not like it matters more to one team or the other.

 

[4_0_6]

How many Eat &*& Grizzlies, Go Cats Go do you think will be said at the litter box this weekend? What's the over/under? Little Brother has it in every cheer!! Hopefully, we'll shut that down when we go up by two scores.

At least they will be doing it while playing the Griz. Other teams must be like, wtf are they singing about!?

I do think noise could be an issue for Griz O...not like they have played in that this year. I was at ID St game and it wasn't that loud and us Griz fans (with help of clueless students) almost matched the home crowd when D on field. Additionally, seeing the high snaps still happening in last game was not ideal.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

The more I think about this pole, the more I think I'll change my vote to "Bobcats Suck" only. It really sums it up nicely and has nothing to do with football prowess. It doesn't matter if they beat an NFL team, they still suck, you know? It's like when LeBron was the best player and everyone was still like, "Yeah, but that dude sucks." Same principle. Bobcats just fuckin' suck somehow. I don't exactly know why. How exactly does the posi trac on the back end of a Plymouth work? It just does.

 

[UncleRico]

The more I think about this pole, the more I think I'll change my vote to "Bobcats Suck" only. It really sums it up nicely and has nothing to do with football prowess. It doesn't matter if they beat an NFL team, they still suck, you know? It's like when LeBron was the best player and everyone was still like, "Yeah, but that dude sucks." Same principle. Bobcats just fuckin' suck somehow. I don't exactly know why. How exactly does the posi trac on the back end of a Plymouth work? It just does.

I would say the Cat fans that post on here certainly do suck. Then I decided to look over at their forum and I realized that way more suck than I thought. I thought most were Jeff the obsessive Winnebago salesman with multiple screen names. But now I think there are a lot of Jeffs.

 

[Vamos Gatos Vamos]

Rico, hope I don't suck here. This should be another classic. From this side of the divide, Vigen's 39 and 2 at Bobcat stadium, both overtime losses to the Dakota states. Homefiled advantage is a real thing, and the Griz haven't played many games away from Wa Griz this year, and certainly not against a quality foe or crowd as loud as MSU's. Bobby hasn't won here since 2009 I think, and not since he returned. The Cats have more players with significant recent playoff experience. A Griz win puts them into the front runner seat for a natty & shuts up the narrative of slipping farther behind. A Cat win looks like a natty front runner too, but also pads the last 10 Cat Griz games to 8 wins 2 losses. A Cat win is 2 in the last 3 weeks, and 3 in the last 13 months. A Cat win is devastating to the Griz. That's pressure. A Cat loss is devastating too, but there's more pressure on the Griz here. My ten cents. Looking forward to a great game, hoping it's not a blow-out either way. We're on ABC, ratings will be through the roof. Hope both sides represent Montana stellarly.

 

[MartyParty]

So you're telling me nobody at MSU is worried about whether or not Julius Davis has taken his meds before the game? Haha

Yeah that Davis guy is unstable and abusive, before and after games

 

[Moneymoney]

First, he wasn't "over the top". He was beat and badly trailing the play.

And if you're counting on MW to drop that pass again, I'm going to pull up Tootsie's website to see what band we're watching the night of the 4th.

11:59

Cole Taylor is on Wortham. Caden is playing over the top because he knows a wr on a lb is not a good matchup. Maybe watch the game

 

[mthoopsfan]

Rico, hope I don't suck here. This should be another classic. From this side of the divide, Vigen's 39 and 2 at Bobcat stadium, both overtime losses to the Dakota states. Homefiled advantage is a real thing, and the Griz haven't played many games away from Wa Griz this year, and certainly not against a quality foe or crowd as loud as MSU's. Bobby hasn't won here since 2009 I think, and not since he returned. The Cats have more players with significant recent playoff experience. A Griz win puts them into the front runner seat for a natty & shuts up the narrative of slipping farther behind. A Cat win looks like a natty front runner too, but also pads the last 10 Cat Griz games to 8 wins 2 losses. A Cat win is 2 in the last 3 weeks, and 3 in the last 13 months. A Cat win is devastating to the Griz. That's pressure. A Cat loss is devastating too, but there's more pressure on the Griz here. My ten cents. Looking forward to a great game, hoping it's not a blow-out either way. We're on ABC, ratings will be through the roof. Hope both sides represent Montana stellarly.

There is not more pressure on the Griz. That was a stupid comment. Obvious from another Never Played the Gamer.

 

[Moneymoney]

There is not more pressure on the Griz. That was a stupid comment. Obvious from another Never Played the Gamer.

Dude has CLEARLY never put pads on.

 

[uofmman1122]

11:59

Cole Taylor is on Wortham. Caden is playing over the top because he knows a wr on a lb is not a good matchup. Maybe watch the game

Caden himself admitted in the post game on that play that he was out of position and cheating up. If Wortham makes that catch and makes Taylor miss, there is no one there because Dowler is out of position.

Sometimes the ball bounces your way, even when you make mistakes, and that's certainly what happened here. I also don't think that play matters at all this weekend.

 

[wbtfg]

Caden himself admitted in the post game on that play that he was out of position and cheating up. If Wortham makes that catch and makes Taylor miss, there is no one there because Dowler is out of position.

Sometimes the ball bounces your way, even when you make mistakes, and that's certainly what happened here. I also don't think that play matters at all this weekend.

I believe Caden was actually supposed to be covering the tight end on the other side of the formation, who was running wide open with no one within 10 yards of him. Luckily Ah Yat didn't see that.