Saturday, November 6
Cheney, WA
2 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Eastern Washington
Isaiah Ifanse and the Bobcats visit Eastern Washington Saturday
Photo by: Garrett Becker
GAME #9: Fourth-Ranked Bobcats Visit No. 5 Eastern Washington for Top Five Showdown
11/3/2021 5:18:00 PM | Football
MSU faces explosive Eagles on Saturday at 2 pm MT
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State coach Brent Vigen was discussing Eastern Washington quarterback Eric Barriere, but he might as well as been describing the Eagles offense and in fact the entire team.
"He really doesn't have any deficient areas," Vigen said of the Eagles star who leads the FCS in passing yards per game (412.1 yards per game) and total offense (430.1 yards per game). "He throws well from the pocket, but he's dangerous when he gets outside because he always keeps his eyes downfield. You never see his eyes drop, and he throws an accurate ball outside the pocket. Plus, they utilize him in the quarterback run game. He's productive on scrambles that always seem to come in key situations."
Barriere leads No. 5 Eastern Washington into action Saturday at 2 pm MT (1 pm PT) at Roos Field in Cheney against fourth-ranked Montana State. The game, televised by SWX Sports on ABC stations across Montana and on SWX (channel 503 on cable and 8.2 over the air) in Billings, is only the second top five matchup in Bobcat history. The other was a November 9, 2013 contest between the No. 5 Cats fell to the fourth-ranked Eagles54-29 in Cheney.
Vigen understands the importance of Saturday's showdown between the 7-1 Bobcats, 5-0 in Big Sky play, and the 7-1/4-1 Eagles. "It's obviously a big week for us," he said, "a big game in front of us against a challenging opponent. I think we utilized the bye week well to do the things we've talked about. The first was healing up physically, and the second was moving forward with our next opponent to get work done, and we also got out recruiting a little bit. I appreciate the guys' efforts during the bye week, their attention to detail, and I think we made good progress."
Barriere's ability shows up on film and in many unquantifiable ways, Vigen said, but the statistics are "video game-like." Barriere throws for 412.1 a game but also chips in 18.0 yards a game on the ground. He's thrown only six interceptions in 319 attempts. He's far from Eastern's only offensive weapon, though. Dennis Merritt has rushed for 663 yards, 5.2 a carry and 82.9 per game, with an FCS-leading 16 touchdowns. Merritt's 300 receiving yards and three touchdown catches make him a multiple threat, while Talolo Limu-Jones averages 103.8 yards a game receiving.
Vigen said turning the page after EWU's offensive successes stands as a looming challenge. "We have to understand that (Barriere) is going to make plays, they're going to have some success," he said. "What can we do to make him uncomfortable? What can we do to contain him over the long haul of a game? That's important."
Executing fundamental skills rises to the top of the to-do list when facing elite competition, which Vigen said is certainly the case Saturday. "We've got to tackle real well," he said. "Whether it's him when we have chances or their receivers, who are very talented, we have to tackle."
The answer to winning important games lies in a collective effort, Vigen said. "To beat Eastern Washington you have to have a team effort. Offensively you have to stay on the field, you have to keep them off the field, your best defense is when (Barriere) is over on the sideline. You have to tackle well, and tackle as a team. We need to keep everything in front of us (defensively). (Weber State) created a special teams edge (by making) a bunch of plays on special teams and faking three punts. Not that we'll fake three punts, but you have to find an edge. So if anything that's the recipe Weber showed, you have to do it as a team."
While the Bobcats have shown a knack for making big plays offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game, much of the team's success this season has come from limiting mistakes. Quarterback Matthew McKay threw his first interception on his 81st pass of the season, and hasn't thrown one on the 96 that have followed. The Bobcats lead the FCS in turnover margin at +1.50 per game, and in interceptions thrown (one). The team's 1.25 sacks allowed per game is 17th nationally, while MSU's 2.75 sacks per game is 20th.
Continuing these trends, Vigen said, is crucial. "We have to play to our strengths. We have to minimize their run game, and I think we have good ability to get after the passer. No matter who we've played that's something we've been able to do. We don't need to recreate ourselves by any means, but we need to play well."
#GoCatsGo
"He really doesn't have any deficient areas," Vigen said of the Eagles star who leads the FCS in passing yards per game (412.1 yards per game) and total offense (430.1 yards per game). "He throws well from the pocket, but he's dangerous when he gets outside because he always keeps his eyes downfield. You never see his eyes drop, and he throws an accurate ball outside the pocket. Plus, they utilize him in the quarterback run game. He's productive on scrambles that always seem to come in key situations."
Barriere leads No. 5 Eastern Washington into action Saturday at 2 pm MT (1 pm PT) at Roos Field in Cheney against fourth-ranked Montana State. The game, televised by SWX Sports on ABC stations across Montana and on SWX (channel 503 on cable and 8.2 over the air) in Billings, is only the second top five matchup in Bobcat history. The other was a November 9, 2013 contest between the No. 5 Cats fell to the fourth-ranked Eagles54-29 in Cheney.
Vigen understands the importance of Saturday's showdown between the 7-1 Bobcats, 5-0 in Big Sky play, and the 7-1/4-1 Eagles. "It's obviously a big week for us," he said, "a big game in front of us against a challenging opponent. I think we utilized the bye week well to do the things we've talked about. The first was healing up physically, and the second was moving forward with our next opponent to get work done, and we also got out recruiting a little bit. I appreciate the guys' efforts during the bye week, their attention to detail, and I think we made good progress."
Barriere's ability shows up on film and in many unquantifiable ways, Vigen said, but the statistics are "video game-like." Barriere throws for 412.1 a game but also chips in 18.0 yards a game on the ground. He's thrown only six interceptions in 319 attempts. He's far from Eastern's only offensive weapon, though. Dennis Merritt has rushed for 663 yards, 5.2 a carry and 82.9 per game, with an FCS-leading 16 touchdowns. Merritt's 300 receiving yards and three touchdown catches make him a multiple threat, while Talolo Limu-Jones averages 103.8 yards a game receiving.
Vigen said turning the page after EWU's offensive successes stands as a looming challenge. "We have to understand that (Barriere) is going to make plays, they're going to have some success," he said. "What can we do to make him uncomfortable? What can we do to contain him over the long haul of a game? That's important."
Executing fundamental skills rises to the top of the to-do list when facing elite competition, which Vigen said is certainly the case Saturday. "We've got to tackle real well," he said. "Whether it's him when we have chances or their receivers, who are very talented, we have to tackle."
The answer to winning important games lies in a collective effort, Vigen said. "To beat Eastern Washington you have to have a team effort. Offensively you have to stay on the field, you have to keep them off the field, your best defense is when (Barriere) is over on the sideline. You have to tackle well, and tackle as a team. We need to keep everything in front of us (defensively). (Weber State) created a special teams edge (by making) a bunch of plays on special teams and faking three punts. Not that we'll fake three punts, but you have to find an edge. So if anything that's the recipe Weber showed, you have to do it as a team."
While the Bobcats have shown a knack for making big plays offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game, much of the team's success this season has come from limiting mistakes. Quarterback Matthew McKay threw his first interception on his 81st pass of the season, and hasn't thrown one on the 96 that have followed. The Bobcats lead the FCS in turnover margin at +1.50 per game, and in interceptions thrown (one). The team's 1.25 sacks allowed per game is 17th nationally, while MSU's 2.75 sacks per game is 20th.
Continuing these trends, Vigen said, is crucial. "We have to play to our strengths. We have to minimize their run game, and I think we have good ability to get after the passer. No matter who we've played that's something we've been able to do. We don't need to recreate ourselves by any means, but we need to play well."
#GoCatsGo
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