Montana State head coach Brent Vigen on Nevada win, Central Connecticut State matchup

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1:01it up. I think there were some moments where they were right there, you know, in particular thinking about the, you know, Brian's interception. That was a big opportunity for them that the interception takes that away. You know, we're able to tack on some more points and get up to three scores, 17-0, even the stop before the half and getting the interception in the two-minute, you know, right before the half. Again, it was an opportunity to stop that. You know, the second half, unfortunately, we weren't able to put them away, I guess, but at the same time, probably never gave them enough life to ultimately, you know, let that thing get to where it was really scary, quite frankly. And that's credit to them. I think Nevada continued to fight. I think our guys did. I think there's plenty of correctable things out of that game. And, you know, how do we, how do we respond moving forward as is kind of where we're at? And I think the thing is, hey, that was a really important big win. You don't know how any of these games are going to go,

2:07so I think there was a lot of growth in that, but there's still tremendous opportunity for us to improve. And that's, when you can do that out of a game, you win, in particular against the FBS team with an opportunity like that. That's a, it's not a bad place to be. We're three games in, I think our, our team is continuing to evolve. And, you know, I like where we're at certainly record wise. And honestly, where we're at as an offense, a defense, and special teams, I think we've seen some really good things. And, you know, ultimately, we got some place to go too. So that's, that's just where we're at. You know, with Central Connect coming to town again, excited to play at home, excited to play a 1 o'clock game. You know, this is a team that's been the playoffs the last couple of years. So I think we definitely recognize that. You know, they've had two challenging games and, you know, even trips and here's a challenging trip for them, the most challenging trip. So, you know, hopefully that can play to our benefit. But, you know,

3:09definitely recognize that they're, they're a team that's capable. You know, you don't make the playoffs in consecutive years as a program without being a program that's where it's supposed to be within, you know, within its reason, within its, and within its league. You know, and for us, a great opportunity to cap the non-conference stretch here in the right way. And that's, that's taken step forward. And there's not necessarily a score tied to that, but there definitely is some performance that's that's going to be tied to that. So real important that we have the weak practice in front of us. You know, on the injury front, Dom went out and he will be without him for a while. And then ultimately, you know, I know Bryce is staying popped up through the course the week. You know, I will just have to see what that means for Bryce day to day. He had hit with a tough infection and ultimately was in the hospital for a couple days. So that being said, being able to bounce back, he's on the right side of it. We've been able to bounce back

4:10this week to play. We'll just have to have to see. Otherwise, the status of anybody else doesn't really change a whole lot. So, you know, excited about this week ahead of us. And, you know, the challenge it's in front of us. Hey, Bob Catfans, Brent Vee and your head coach. I want you to consider joining the quarterback club if you aren't already. And if you are, please consider raising that level. Our place in the national scene right now is so much to do with the continued growth of the quarterback club. I know it was a bold move 25 years ago to see a need and to create the club. And without it, hard to say where we would be. I think the weekend, the week out to support we feel is one thing. But really, with the quarterback club, I feel allows us to do is when we have to make decisions, we don't have to think twice. Whether that comes down to recruiting, how we develop our players, how we attempt to retain our players, how we do the same thing with our coaches. The support that the quarterback club has given us has allowed us to build this program. It has allowed us to increase our expectations.

5:15The point where we only have one expectation. And I know that's been the goal over these 25 years for the quarterback club is to put Bobcats football in the national spotlight and ultimately win that final game. And that's obviously what we aim to do that's certainly appreciate anything and everything the quarterback club has done and will continue to do for Bobcats football. The biggest thing I want to do from my position as a head football coach is thank you. Thank you for all you've done in prioritizing Bobcats football. And thank you for all you'll continue to do in the years to come as we continue to have needs and continue to want the same thing which is ultimately raising that trophy at the end of the year. Thanks a lot to go Cats. The kind of different formations you had out there you had the first one that with the two tight-ends and the receivers behind it and also a lot of direct stands to add them. What did you guys like so much about those kind of things? Well I think they're just creative ways of painting a

6:18different picture for the defense while still running our offense. You know there was an emphasis on getting the ball in the perimeter and the first play and getting blockers out of that is part of it. You know I thought we did a really good job of forcing them to defend the width of the field early and I think we got some guys whether it's any one of our receivers should even get in Rocky on the perimeter I think is is a real positive play for us and then it changes how the defense maybe looks at things and I think it did change how they covered us as the game went along and how they deployed their guys. You know and then it's been able to do creative but say presentations of of our offense in you know some in the case of directing snap or directly snapping at the atom it's they're all things that were within our scheme and within our offense and you know where they where they come up so my point to that is some of those things are things we've been practicing for multiple weeks and they just haven't they haven't shown up and

7:22there they do in that that that game plan so we'll continue to find creative ways to present our scheme or offense to the defense in a lot of different ways and you know ultimately I think getting the ball spread around to you know all the guys is still a challenge which is a good problem to have. I talked about culture in the post game but seeing it kind of watching again there were so many tackles he made the team to prevent bigger runs or they plays did you feel like rewatching it that that was something that he was you know especially good at that game? Yeah you know anytime you tally 13 tackles from the from the safety spot and he was he was not always down in there that's a good and bad thing it means he's he's doing his job as the safety but the ball is getting to him maybe a little bit further along then we would have liked so how we are handling the the fits to to that side he was probably a little bit more involved than he maybe should have been

8:22but at the same same token he was making the play and and you know I think there was probably far too many shoestring tackles for our liking in that game not just this culture you know that means the ball is getting out on on block players and you know you need those guys make plays which we we did and but at the same time that's not how we want to operate so so run game wise I think there were definitely some things from a fit perspective that we weren't exactly dialing on but you know to Colter's credit he made he made a lot of those plays and and you know ultimately you know getting that punch out at the time he did I mean that was that was huge because that kind of ended the game right there it was a ten point game at that time and you know they certainly still had had a chance but then when we were able to turn them over and and eat up a bunch of clock and get the field goal it kind of ended you know all their threats you feel like there were some plays left out there on the field Saturday night yeah you know I think they're always our I think more so in this game it was

9:29we kept doing enough things to get ourselves in downed distances that are not ideal you know too many secondalongs whether that was caused by penalty we had seven offensive penalties you know maybe one guy not quite getting it done and now if we have a tackle for last more tackle for losses of a negative run plays then we would like we had a couple drops in there so you know all those things add up so so yes we left some things out there I think we just we left opportunity out there more than it was you know I know the first game the Utah Tech game there was clearly a bunch of plays that we just left out there I think this was more we squandered opportunities by our own doing a little bit more often than you like and you know there was there was more than a few opportunities in this game to take it to 24 or zero and at 24 zero it would have felt a lot different

10:29I think than 17 zero did even though they're both three scores it's just it's a different version of three scores it's the max of three scores and you know how that then forces them to go about their business offensively so we can play better offensively and we have to clean it up I think is how you the best way to put it and we're capable of that I think that's that's a good thing but there's you know I say there's tackle for losses there's negative run plays well that has something to do with their players too I will see over the course of time whether where that defensive line stacks up but I do think that'll be one of the better defensive line if not the best defensive lines we face all year with really active linebackers and they're going to do things in their own right to make it hard and you know then we added to it by making it a little harder than we needed to ourselves I'm Seth Fodder I've led soldiers in Iraq and through the Philippine jungles as a green beret but now I'm a dad and I'm worried about their future our country's being torn apart by politicians in DC who are there to get rich they just vote the party line not what's best for their state

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12:45member FDIC equal housing lender coach the penalties and the miss summons kind of you know on a road in a hot stop environment gets up the ST still finding a way to win what does that kind of show about where you guys can be when those things are cleaned up yeah I think it's I'd say is where we're at and you know what we were able to pick ourselves up over and over again and you know the offense set the tone with the with the early score and then the defense found a way to continue to you know pick the operation up over and over again and then we scored a couple more times in the first half but there was a couple more opportunities so you know where we can go I think you know that that's definitely in our estimation a higher level how we can perform are we you know where we typically would be three games in that's hard to say I guess but you know there's definitely things to clean up and when you look at it we have a couple perimeter holds which may or may not always get called but I know why they they get called we

13:50um we have an interior hold on a play in the two minute that that shouldn't have happened and we have a you know we have a wide open guy going down down the field and you know that play what can that what that can do the change just the complexion of the game um a couple procedure of calls that that aren't on the interior align and and you know that should not happen it shouldn't happen on in any way if it's a perform but we have a couple of those so um yeah I I think it's it's kind of it's what it's where we're at and and we need to clean it up and you know I suspect that we do have a much higher ceiling than we've displayed and to your point to go to and still manage to work through that is I think a reflection that we have a team that believes a team that that's not going to point fingers at one another um if the defense needs to pick up the offense it will if the offense needs to pick up the defense it it will and that's the way we want to be able to operate and then coming into the year you know question marks a corner and all that and then two

14:51guys getting their reception this week and then obviously came going out of culture coming in I think you just won defense player the week and the big guy so what do you like from that group the three game yeah I speak to the corners I think that we've seen growth and consistency each week and then here we had a chance probably for the first time to make some plays and you know Brian's play was was an exceptional play and and you know Tim's as a play that uh he's right place right time but that's that's that's positive and I thought T'Kari was the one that probably had the the collection of plays I think he had four pbUs um so for those three all to you know I think to now be maybe challenged a little bit more and respond I know Tim was right where he needed to be on that touchdown okay so can you learn from that I hope so but even able to bounce back and move forward from there is is a challenging thing for a young corner so um please with their progress and then you talk about culture I think that's what we would have expected um this wasn't brand new for culture to have to go on and play in a in a big moment and he showed that and I think culture

15:56is a better player than he was last year um you know he played I'd say he played fine last year when he came in which fine was going to be good enough um coming in in those those stretches now I think he he's better than fine and that's that's what we we need out of him and you know he's worked really hard to put himself in this position to be you know a guy that can function at really high level out there and and I probably you know this time last year would have said boy that's there were a long ways off so to get the action you got at the end of your last year to perform like you did and I'll take that to another level um that's a testament to just his continued growth and development. Go can you elaborate on any areas on offense that you want to see cleaned up coming in this week? Well I think our ability to establish the run game I think you can make a mistake of just looking at the numbers because um I think we could flip around and say our perimeter

16:58let's just say bubble screen game has has offset that a little bit uh in each of these games and all that being said when when everybody in the stadium knows we're going to run and the defense knows that too you know we got to be able to run the ball a little bit more effectively so if we get ourselves in that situation again I would like to see that um function better you know I we weren't quite as efficient in the passing game in the in the second half um we didn't throw it as much but there were some opportunities that we we we just missed and we dropped a couple balls we haven't done we haven't done that um you know I think we're we're coming along uh offense align wise I you know this wasn't a question of like our physicality um our willingness to throw it in there it wasn't wasn't that um we just made some you know critical like individual errors and it wasn't even like it wasn't going the wrong way um anything like that we just we we louder so I was going to beat a couple times and then you have a a TFL um you know and that's

18:03that's all line tight ends included so can we can we block it all out better do we need to block it all out better yes um and can we recognize that was a decent team uh that we've just a decent front in particular that we face yes so I you know I don't know that it's a magical a we need to run for this or throw for this or score this it's just you know it needs to keep taking the steps and I think we have through these three games and you know you got to see through some things to be able to find that I know this um we've turned it all over once on offense this year um that is operating at a high level um and third down wise we did take a step back and and that's where we have been able to make up for some things we've been able to perform and even in that game we completed some third long so it's just it's probably if I say one word it's just consistency and in getting getting that that mark on offense is really challenging sometimes and you know this

19:03will be a great step in that right direction if we can be consistent on on set in the heart of Montana's untamed wilderness a legend is brewing Jeremiah Johnson brewing the official beer of the big sky conference brewed with the rugged spirit of the west Jeremiah Johnson is simply a world class straightforward no nonsense beer do well yeah I think Blaine is growing up quite a bit and that's just you know you go from um that potential tag and having a you know a really good first year in the weight room in a great summer and you know a good enough spring to take some strides and you're you follow it up with the fall camp and now you got to play in some games so I think the good thing about Blaine is he's he's played well in these games um I think he's gained confidence our

20:06coaches have gained confidence in him so if you're really good about you know where we are with him now going into his fourth game you know I think both Jake and Logan been around here a long time having had a ton of opportunity but they've both worked really hard to put themselves in his position to help this team out and in whatever fashion that might be um you know and then I think Seth Brock is the one that's you know he'll play he'll play a lot and he'll play um you know probably both sides of things uh so you know it you know it hurts us to have to lose dom dom's a really good player um but we got to be able to figure it out from there and I think Blaine's emergence I think even to say Seth's emergence is a big piece to that and then you know being able to plug Jake Logan in to be able to you know do what they can is going to be a piece to it so we have you know five guys for the two spots um we're down one of our best and that's that happens so you know um

21:10and that next man up your your opportunity grows for all those guys and they all have to step up and for we say four or a while is that we do we kind of like getting over to I think uh I think we're dealing with a month and a half um you know so that's you call it five six games uh that probably best case okay and our buys in there too so essentially tonight you can use multiple quarterbacks in their two games some of you guys just you know dealt with this past week what's the challenge about preparation wise well I think the challenge is if if guys are entirely different um and that was you know with with Nevada it was going from one version to another version to a version that hadn't hardly played so they're all three were maybe quite a bit different so you're trying to just dial in what what does this particular quarterback capable of I think with what they've shown so far more similar than different I'm sure they're trying to figure out who their best

22:13guys is from from my vantage point so I don't know if they're ideally playing to I think they're that's just kind of the way it's it's gone from these first couple games so I think it's a little bit better opportunity to defend their offense than a particular quarterback but um you know we'll we'll find out when we see him firsthand and then last week Zach talks about how the defense along is exciting for the challenge you go to have against Nevada's run game how do you feel like they did you know I thought we we fit some things up really well we really defend their counter play really well um that was a play that they got loose quite a bit the first week um and I thought they have good back so we didn't I think our pursuit was the biggest thing played our factors we didn't tackle awesome and we tackled okay um I already mentioned we didn't fit everything perfectly some of the downhill runs but our pursuit is what uh one today and that's uh maybe not the first second guy making a play but the third guy is going to get there in the fourth and fifth guy are

23:14going to be right there I think we had a number of those plays where you say that's that's the effort and the pursuit you want to see on defense and then we were able to you know make some plays in some short yard situations because we did get some internal knockback and in in our scheme took over and you know I thought interior wise between talent Josiahs, Zack Black, Hunter, Sharpen, all those guys played really well you know and that's if we can play really well we can come out of game you know I'm in particular against an FPS team to say those those four guys that groups that unit played really well then we're going to be able to do some things against the run game so really please um with how that group of guys have emerged because I know lots made of losing Paul and losing Alec and you know that was a huge step in my mind for that that group um and if we can continue to say those four guys and you know Hudson didn't get a lot of run but Hudson's in that group as well Hudson Wien so um really encouraged by that group I guess um you know what relative to the run game. I'm working on something about Zack Black so how would you

24:18kind of take some up what what he's his growth over his career as much as he can with the injury 23? Yeah tremendous amount of growth in all ways and I think he's he's been a guy physically that we've always felt like had potential he's a tall guy that's an athletic guy he had some stretches in his career were getting to the appropriate weights was challenging um he has had some setbacks injury wise he's he's been you know in position at times I think to to really take off and and for whatever reason and a lot of it was as Ben injury um especially smack in the middle of his career that was curtailed I guess but was was was steady last year and didn't have this huge role but was steady and you feel like okay and I just think he's continued to grow up and and really value this opportunity and he was a no question about coming back for a six year and you know the deal was okay you come back for a six year that's great but we we need you and I think

25:19his mindset his his Ben where he clearly understands that and you know a few games in here he's playing his best football he's taken on I think an active role from a leadership perspective within that group that that he hadn't you know hadn't had to before or maybe been looked at in that regard um you know at the end of the day I think you know Alec Eckert was a really solid player for us and and that's kind of what we need Zach to be a really solid player a solid presence I think he's I think he's doing that for us right now and um you know I would guess that that was maybe his best game the other night you know and and hopefully he can keep raising that bar were a couple weeks down the road maybe we say that's his best game but really pleased with Zach his progress him hanging in there and working through things him growing up you know I guess all the things that you want to see happen I guess sooner or later in his case a little bit later for a lot of reasons

26:24but I'm glad he's still here I'm glad he's doing what is he doing best in that game and just but overall is he doing well he's he's showing up I think on Saturdays with a mindset that he's going to do right and make plays and then one you know that's make plays when the plays are there to make and it doesn't come about over and over and over again for a D-Lime in but in that game you know he made a couple hustle plays that were we're awesome I think a couple technical plays that were what we're looking for so I think it's just kind of putting it all together and it playing out so it's it's maybe not flashy or anything like that but um he's where he's supposed to be and his effort is uh what's supposed to be and he's making an impact. Townic Country Foods is proud of its tradition of providing excellent customer service and quality groceries at an affordable price. Townic Country Foods is proud to be locally owned and operated across the state of Montana and they are proud to support Montana State athletics. Townic Country Foods is 100% employee-owned and they

27:28have nine locations serving towns throughout Montana. Townic Country Foods is in Boseman, Felgrade, Helena, Livingston, Lewistown, Billings and Indyllis. Their focus is on great food at a great price with a huge selection of organic and natural foods. More information visit TNCfoods.com. In 1959 at streets grocery in Whitefish Montana's special spice was born Alpine Touch. It's the taste you grew up with well seasoned through the test of time as the tradition carries from one Montana generation to the next. From its humble beginnings to a trusted brand here's to the next 60 years Alpine Touch. Montana's special spice since 1959. Coach do you mention the first two opponents being tougher matchups on the road for Central Connecticut? Both of those against a double-hand kind of really. Do you see that as an opportunity for you guys to do the same and start off fast in this game? Come up. Well they've been challenged for

28:32sure and there's another challenging trip to itself. Just because it's happened twice in that regard doesn't mean it's going to just happen. We have to go about our business. I suspect they're going to do everything they can to write the ship. They have been a winning program. They've been a playoff program and they've been competitive. In their game against Rhode Island they play us as competitive last year. So is that why they take on this schedule a little bit differently to get out of their comfort zone of their conference. I'm not so sure about that but they're challenged and we have to do our part to recognize that regardless of what those two scores were they have ability and they're going to come in here and try to write the ship. We

29:32make it as hard as we can on them at the same time. So you definitely recognize those two games and that's the primary thing we're looking at right now are those two games but we got to understand that again their mindset of who they have been as a program is maybe different than a team that hasn't built anything and hasn't had success within the beginning part of the season. What's the doctor about their defense? They do have a they're pretty active front. They're not size wise. Maybe what we've seen to this point but active. I know the coaches at twitchy that's a fancy word for guys that have some real ability and some snap to them. They've been tasked though in these first few games. Probably been on the field a little bit more than they would have liked but I think the front in particular, the front seven is what catches my eye as far as the group that's got they can run. They can they come out and

30:37gates and play hard and you know we got to do everything we can to offset that.