EUGENE — Montana State was dominated by No. 7 Oregon 59-13 Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium.
Brent Vigen recapped the loss for the Bobcats, who host South Dakota State next week.
Below is a transcript of Vigen’s postgame press conference.
BRENT VIGEN:
Opening Statement:
“First things first, credit to Oregon. That was a really good outfit, and they played extremely well. In a game like that, you need a few things to go your way. You can’t give them an inch; if you give them an inch, they are going to take a mile. I think that happened far too many times, whether that was offense, defense, or special teams. You can’t control their readiness, and they were certainly ready to go today. That’s a team that is going to go places. We commend them on their effort. For us, that was a stiff test. We had a lot of guys playing first-time roles. At a minimum, I thought we competed really well and played until the end. At the end of the day, games like this are great opportunities to compete against the very best. We also learn more about ourselves at the same time. We weren’t quite there. You hope along the way to make enough plays to stay in a game like that, but it just didn’t work out that way today. We have to learn from this and get ready for next week.”
On the team’s mindset going for the last touchdown…
“I think the mindset is to just keep playing and fighting, regardless of what the score says. I think we did that the whole game, whether that was offense, defense, or special teams. Offensively, we had our chances to move the ball. I know we didn’t get that fourth down at the end of the first half that could have made a difference. We had to settle for two field goals along the way. I’m proud of our guys because they didn’t lie down; they kept competing. I think we can definitely build off of that.”
On Oregon’s closing speed…
“On a talent scale, I think they can match anybody. They have big talent, long and small talent, that is everything. You need them to be a little off to be able to gain the traction you need. Credit to Oregon because beyond being super talented, they are a well-coached outfit. That is more than evident throughout the course of last year. You don’t go undefeated through the regular season, win the Big 10, and be some kind of so-so outfit. They are a high-operating machine. At the same time, the trick is how you motivate those guys in this new world. They were clearly motivated today, and again, credit goes to them. We were able to make some plays here and there. We’ve got some players, too. I think that showed up from time to time, probably just not enough.”
On shuffling the offensive line…
“I think we came out of fall camp feeling like we had six guys capable of starting. Unfortunately, Burke [Mastel] could not go, so that shuffled the whole thing. Braden Zimmer got to play a football game in Autzen Stadium against Oregon, so that is what we gained out of that situation. Everett Carr never really played a football game, and he just played one against some beasts. JT’s [Reed] ability to step in at center was really commendable how he functioned throughout the course of the week getting ready to go. Titan [Fleischmann] sliding into right guard, which was not a place he had played since his second or third year. Also, Cedrick [Jefferson] flipping was great. They were going to be a tough matchup no matter what. I thought Matt [Smith] did a good job getting our guys ready to go. I think our guys are going to look at the experience they gained from this game rather than just the result.”
On if there is an update on Takhari Carr…
“I don’t know. Obviously, he did not finish. We probably won’t know until tomorrow or through Monday what that will look like.”
On Burke Mastle’s timeline…
“He will be available next week. We will have to see him practice to see what makes sense. He has not practiced yet. The intention is for him to practice on Monday and see what he can do.”
On the lessons from this game and outlook on upcoming games…
“Well, you can’t let these hard feelings linger, but you better look at that film and say, ‘okay, what did I do well and what can I improve upon?’ And South Dakota State is a really good opponent coming in so take this experience that we just had and the things that went well, build off of those, and the things that didn’t, figure out how to do them better. And I think as coaches, to hop in all game like that with a lot of new people and new places, now how can we continue to stress our guys and who can we build off of? Because I’m certain that there’s good things that are going to be on that film, and I’m sure there’s things that we say, ‘okay, now we seem like we saw under the lights, and do we need to make an adjustment of some sorts?’”
On #8 Justin Lamson’s adjustments in-game…
“First and foremost, Justin is a competitor, and we can go places with that. I thought he stood in there a few times and made good decisions. He didn’t get out and run but he’s athletic at the same time. Again, that’s an athletic bunch he’s trying to run away from at times. He’s got leadership capabilities. So, generally, pleased with how that looked. And he, first and foremost, is going to compete until the end and you can do something with that type of mindset. He’s a new guy but there’s a new guy taking it all on, and I definitely think we got something in Justin.”
On #14 Taco Dowler’s receiving performance…
“It felt like that was going to be a piece to this puzzle that might look a little bit differently. Getting a guy like Taco (Dowler) as one of your targets and being able to get the ball in his hands quickly and let him run, we did that from time to time before, but I knew we would do it much more. I think he stepped up and really did well with those opportunities. I wonder when the last time a Montana State receiver caught twelve balls. Probably been awhile. So, he’s a playmaker, a competitor, and I know from a competitive standpoint, he’s at the top of the list, too.”
On the blocked punt and penalties early in the game…
“That sequence where we had, maybe our one play of the day where we flipped the field, Colby [Frokjer] hit a really good punt, we covered offense well, and we were called back. They said we were back off the line too much. You typically get a warning for that, but I guess it was too egregious. That was our second punt, and then we turn around and get the next one blocked. You don’t know what kind of swing that causes. If it would’ve stayed with the first play, it might have been. You give that kind of team a short field — I want to say that was maybe their third possession—that is not going to go well for us. To your point, I think the penalties, you got to walk away with next to nothing in that regard and we had a few too many today. And those are those itches and that opportunity in particular for them to pin their ears and come back at us a second time was a critical situation. It really just accelerated their ability to open the lead.”
On the young defensive group’s performance…
“A group of guys that will compete, that young corner group. I think more than anything they got caught tackling some big dudes pretty high a couple times. I know Carson [Williams] had the one pass interference, which we’d rather had a pass interference than a touchdown. And we had a wide open one later in the game. So, I’m sure it’s going to be a mixed bag but, same thing, that group of three corners in particular, you can’t do anything but grow like crazy out of an opportunity like that. You go through a game against whoever and you don’t get tested like they did today. Who knows what’s next? So, I’ve been pleased with that group’s growth and I’m sure they learned a lot today.”
— James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten.
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