Pretty nice day today. Little cold but the sun broke out. Here are some notes from practice today. Monday 13 April:

Lots of special teams today. Great coaching on technique.

Folks we have a kicker! I think it was the FR #30 Hughes with multiple good kicks from the 30/40 yard line. Pretty strong leg.

Kollock took most 1st team reps today. He looks good for the most part. Lots of drops today by multiple receivers. Had a couple runs. Not superfast but has some running ability.

86 Pohlman was used a lot. 85 Khutsishvili with some drops.

Cleeland had some ups and downs. Some good throws and some misses. Either QB could start at this point, however to me it looks like Kollock has taken a bit of the lead.

16 Black-Glass the kid out of Fresno City College with a nice pick off Kollock.

27 Parnell with a nice catch.

13 McCormick with a nice break up. Good read.

Offensive line was 65 Porotesano LT, 60 Hassen, 52 Collier, 75 Fanua, 66 Thurston.

*Offensive line looks a bit overmatched. Defensive consistently beating OL off the line. Still early, but if there was one place I'd worry it would be the OL. I haven't seen the push off the line much. LT still seems iffy. Unit looks young.

The FR 78 Beverly kid is huge. His pads too high and he consistently gets beat off the line. Def needs some time in the weight room but the frame is there.

Porotesano will be key. Not sure who his back up is, but will be something to watch.

Defensive line looks promising. 99 Parker looks good. Like a giant meatball that is disruptive. 96 Few on the outside with some containment. 92 Mayo looks like the anchor of that unit. 42 McKenzie lined up as as DE. Lots of talent on the DL. Young but talented.

Overall the team looks good. It looks more talented than any Davis team I can remember, but they also look pretty young. It will be interesting to see how the team looks with the Conner brothers back.

-SG

I agree. Our DB's look like the strength of the defense. Very strong. I think our defense is going to be better than last year. I also think our special teams will better as well.

Quick updates from practice 4/8:

1. QB's look like head to head battle between Treynor Cleeland and Jackson Kollack. Kollack looks the part of a big time QB. Throws a pretty ball. Carries a bit of a swagger. . Cleeland has a strong arm, but missed some throws. Pretty good athlete. Can scramble. Eason looks 3rd string and left...looks like he pulled a hammy.

2. Offensive line is shaky. LT today was a problem, blown by and pushed around.. Def can tell this might be our weakest link on the team. Curious who the starting LT will be. Center had a number of bad snaps which resulted in QB's having to pick up the ball on the ground resulting in sack, blown up play, or scramble.

3. Drew Cofield with two great plays today. A great over the shoulder INT and a big tackle later in the flat. Both got sidelines hyped.

4. Keep an eye on Brayden Rosa #37 who was making plays all over the field. Had a nice sack. Very quick with a high motor.

5. Julian Fernandez made a great INT pick six. He is one big kid. The defense looks really good, but that's usually the case early in practice. Still, the overall talent on defense looks improved. Adding Rex and Porter will only make them stronger.

-SG

Just watched practice this morning. That new QB from Minn looks really good.

Can't say but, it's great news involving players we love. No FBS moves.

I've always said we should embrace what we are good at. Wine. We are the best viticultural program in the world. We are not just "Aggies" we are Wine Makers. If we started pushing that, nobody in the world could compete with us, because we are the best wine making school in the world.

Amen!!!!

I'm not worried about the QB position at all. The talent in that group is the best we have ever had at Davis. And with Coach Plough leading them, zero worries.

I'm not sure who wins the job, but I'm excited to see the battle in the spring. Early money seems to be Cleeland, but if Eason or Kollock perform is wouldn't shock me.

The Equestrian people have gone over the top. The amount of self-centered importance and entitlement is crazy to me. They are not interested in UC Davis the school all they care about is horses for their kids. I was talking to a parent the other day and they were over the top angry and wanted to just burn the whole university down for not letting their kids have horses. I don't get it.

It's in the early stages but I think the next tv deals are starting to spook schools. What is the point of playing in FBS when you have little to no chance at winning a title. Add if the super conference takes shape they won't be invited anyway so start planning at moves.

You guys see App St is looking at returning to FCS? There a couple more that will be reclassifying.

Me too! Spring game? I'll be making tacos!

I love this idea. Put a fence around this area and let them know if they get the grades and want to play at Davis you are a priority. From Fairfield to Tahoe this should be ours bread and butter. Look around at all the housing being built in the area. There are a ton of Californian's moving to the Sacramento area and that means new schools and more kids. Davis athletics are in a unique position of being a highly academic school with an emerging athletic department in a growing metro area. Both will grow together and if you play it right, Davis could become the UCLA of the Sacramento area.

Shoot me admin access I'll do it.

Alright who ever out bid me for the Giants expereience!!!!!! Grrrrrrrr lol Great night. Very well done!

Not me. I think its a mistake. If Nebraska can't break through, I'm not sure how North Dakota can.

Told ya. Huge changes are coming. Hold onto you butts!

There are other teams missing as well. Consider it a rough breakdown. As for how the league would look and playoffs, I could do another prompt. The 75 teams are meant to display how many FBS teams will not be in the top tier league in the future and how the overall construction (as you have pointed out) will need to be fixed.

There is going to be a ton of movement with FCS and FBS teams. This is why I think the smart play is to just sit back and let the dominos fall. Current conferences might just dissolve or merge with other conferences. Look at SACST, they are in the MAC, but what if the MAC doesn't exist in a couple years or the MAC stays together but the conference decides to become FCS due to $$$.

Good post. I played around with AI to come up with teams which would comprise the top 40 football schools. And then asked to provide a list of all the schools in the FBS that did not make the top 40. I then asked it to make a league out of the rest of the FBS schools not in the top 40 and this is what it came up with:

The “Power 40” Super League
SEC Core (10)

University of Alabama

University of Georgia

Louisiana State University

University of Florida

University of Tennessee

Auburn University

Texas A&M University

University of Texas at Austin

University of Oklahoma

University of Mississippi

(Mississippi gets the nod over some others due to consistent competitiveness + SEC value.)

Big Ten Core (9)

Ohio State University

University of Michigan

Pennsylvania State University

University of Southern California

University of Oregon

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Michigan State University

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

ACC Power Brands (6)

Clemson University

Florida State University

University of Miami

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Virginia Tech

University of Notre Dame

Big 12 Survivors (6)

University of Texas at Austin (already counted — skip duplicate)

Replacing duplicate:

Baylor University

Texas Christian University

Oklahoma State University

Kansas State University

Iowa State University

National Brands / Independents (5)

Brigham Young University

University of Utah

University of Pittsburgh

Stanford University

Duke University

Final 5 Spots (TV Market + Legacy Value)

University of Arkansas

University of South Carolina

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Arizona

Arizona State University

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ break ++++++++++++++++

Remaining FBS Schools (Not in Power 40)
American Athletic Conference Core

University of Memphis

University of South Florida

East Carolina University

Tulane University

University of Tulsa

Temple University

Rice University

University of Texas at San Antonio

University of North Texas

Florida Atlantic University

University of Alabama at Birmingham

United States Naval Academy

Mountain West Core

Boise State University

Fresno State

San Diego State University

Colorado State University

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada, Reno

University of New Mexico

University of Wyoming

Utah State University

Air Force Academy

Sun Belt Core

Appalachian State University

Coastal Carolina University

Georgia Southern University

Georgia State University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of South Alabama

James Madison University

Marshall University

Old Dominion University

Arkansas State University

Texas State University

MAC

University of Toledo

Miami University

Northern Illinois University

Western Michigan University

Central Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University

Bowling Green State University

Kent State University

Ball State University

Ohio University

University at Buffalo

University of Akron

Conference USA Remnants

Liberty University

Western Kentucky University

Middle Tennessee State University

Louisiana Tech University

Sam Houston State University

Jacksonville State University

New Mexico State University

Florida International University

Kennesaw State University

University of Texas at El Paso

The list of FBS teams that will not make the top super league is around 75 teams. 75!!! Let that sink in. Now look at the Mountain West Conference. Do you see that most of the schools are not in the top 40? So if we jump to the MWC, are you sure we are moving up, or are we just moving sideways and paying more money for the opportunity? We lose the chance to win a national championship and will be perineal FBS punching bags. I'm not sure I want to be Cal to be honest. I'd rather stay FCS and win championships.

Why were they robbed? You know why. It's because Texas and college football can pack a Rose Bowl stadium and impact the local economy far greater than Stanford ever could. Stanford lost the Rose Bowl and multiple Heisman's because the national narrative is Stanford is a niche school. It is not a serious football player and never will be.