It's a simple matter of perspective. Quotes from around the Big Sky Conference, September 29.
SACRAMENTO STATE 38, NORTHERN ARIZONA 9
Northern Arizona coach JEROME SOUERS: “The big plays, particularly right before the half, absolutely killed us.” Quote from the Sacramento Bee. "It was one of those games that whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. I was really disappointed in our offensive team execution in the first half. We looked like a team without direction.” Quote from the Arizona Sun.
PORTLAND STATE 28, at EASTERN WASHINGTON 21
Portland State coach JERRY GLANVILLE: "When we came out (of the locker room), we let the two lines come out first – because they had to win the game. If the lines didn't play, we had no chance." Quote from the Spokesman Review. "We're just getting better all the time. Brian White made some nice plays. He was the key. He made some good plays." Quote from the Portland Oregonian.
Eastern Washington coach PAUL WULFF: "Our offense couldn't relieve our defense. We weren't stringing anything together and it put a lot of pressure on our defense – and eventually, against that (PSU Vikings) offense, you're going to break down. We just didn't execute all night long and we never got in sync. We were really flat." Quote from the Spokesman Review. "I thought our defense played well in a lot of situations. It was just a frustrating game. We had a lot of injuries throughout the game, more than I've seen in a ballgame. It kind of put us out of sync and it just continued to escalate during the game." Quote from the Portland Oregonian.
at MONTANA STATE 40, IDAHO STATE 20
Idaho State Coach JOHN ZAMBERLIN: ''It's hard to be pleased when you lose. 'The biggest thing is, I believe, we made strides, made improvements. If we can stick together and stay together, we're going to win football games. It just takes time to build that foundation.'' Quote from the Idaho State Journal. “They played well that second half and made some plays,” “And there's the difference.” Quote from the Bozeman Chronicle.
Montana State coach ROB ASH: “What I liked is that our football team stayed calm, we made some good adjustments at halftime. When you can win going away like we did, it kind of eases the frustration of the first half.” Quote from the Bozeman Chronicle
at MONTANA 18, WEBER STATE 10
Weber State coach RON MCBRIDE: "For me to get this program where we want to go, we can't just play a good game. We've got to win." Quote from the Great Falls Tribune. “Basically, I liked how hard we played as a football team. I think our team left everything they had out there. I didn't like the way we played mentally, at times.” Quote from the Missoulian.
Montana quarterback COLE BERQUIST: "There is a ton of stuff the offense can do better. I gave the ball up twice, and that's unacceptable. And our receivers have to step up and make big plays." Quote from the Great Falls Tribune.
Montana running back GREG COLEMAN: “Coach Bobby (Hauck) told us before the game it was going to be like this. They're just a real aggressive team. They were out on a mission to stop our run game. It was just a hard-fought game.” Quote from the Missoulian.
Montana coach BOBBY HAUCK: “It was what we knew it would be. They consider it their rivalry game and they played like it.” Quote from the Missoulian.
at CAL POLY 56, NORTHERN COLORADO 21. No quotes available as of Sept. 31.
