There is a big media advantage to being the premier sport in a state as opposed to the coverage Davis gets, which is pretty limited to local news. Davis gets about 25% more media coverage than it did in the Far Western Conference, but that’s offset by paywalls.

It is just history, it’s not based on this year. That’s a major downside to polls.

Sagarin is pure points. Montana hammered teams they beat.

I think Montana loses this week. It will be a matchup of two teams with the easiest schedules in the Big Sky. Matchup of a team which lost their tough games against a team that won their only two tough FCS games and is home.
Montana State beat Davis and Weber both at home, and now they get Montana at home. They didn’t have to play Idaho or Sac. Lucky schedule.

LOL at having Montana ranked over Davis. Substitute Cal or South Dakota State for Northwestern State or a Indiana State and they would be 6-4. Davis’ road win over Idaho is better than any Montana win and Montana lost to Idaho at home.
Against conference competition they’ve lost more games than Davis. If either team wins this week and the other loses, they’re the better team.

"Davis ended the 2018 season after winning one playoff game ranked 101."

Oh, you're talking about Sag, yes, this is true. I was referring to the national FCS ranking going into the end of season when UC Davis got the #8 seed in 2018.

UCD all the way up to 89 in the Sagarin rankings. That I believe is the highest ever this late in the season. That’s the sixth highest FCS school.
https://www.college-sports-journal.com/college-sports-journal-sagarin-fcs-top-25-nov-12/

Tompkins was pissed that the defender slapped at him after TD, he looked at the ref to see if anything was going to be called and then did the hand wave and then pose.
We’re do you draw the line on this stuff? You see the flex lots of tackles, and the dance after sacks. The only way calling it makes sense is the wave because that was directed to a individual opponent.

Time to give the assistant coaches some credit.
The running game is better than any of the Plough Speckman and Keane coached teams, while we still have an effective and efficient passing game, So hats off to the new offensive assistants.

The key stat was time of possession.

I wonder if the Tubs guys are nervous now.

Like going for two. Maybe see Tompkins

Shall we run until they stop it or throw it for variety

These refs are poor to say the least

I was going to mention that game but because they had their preferred QB out I’m not sure it’s an exception to your observation.

if losing by ten or more is getting hammered, not getting hammered by the good teams is a hopeful but recent trend.

My interpretation of Hawkins meaning on best Davis team is that he’s talking about talent,
Obviously this team is more talented top to bottom than any of the D2 teams although they may have had some outstanding players. It’s also a more talented team than any of Biggs or Gould teams, Biggs didn’t even get full complement of scholarships for a few years. Only in Hawkins era have freshmen been able to play in four games leading to more depth and the COVID extra year allowed more experienced players on the roster. So in that context his comment makes sense. He’s looking at a deep roster.
Problem is other teams are deeper too.

Most places Hawkins.would be subjected to just this kind of criticism, it’s not strange given we’ve had so much trouble compared to Sac down the road.

I’ve been disappointed at the lack of upsets, but they are called upsets because they’re unlikely.
Davis played in a tough league and have played tough out of conference games. I think Davis become a more talented team overall in the Hawkins era. The top teams in the conference are all better teams than they were a few years ago. The COVID extra year and the liberal transfers have benefited teams and some like Sacramento have benefited from transfers more than Davis. But that’s a short term boost. I think theyre still going in the right direction. Davis run game looks better than it ever has, at least to me, and defense better depth than ever.

Good assessment. I thought Haden was bigger before your post. He played tight end as a freshman, which is why I thought he was bigger. You don’t stop a guy like him, but our DBs are taller and more athletic than a few years ago, so I’m hopeful. We played against him twice in 2021 so he won’t be a surprise,
I like Kraft a lot also. Davis was a pleasant surprise this year, he didn’t look as fluid and athletic last year in his limited opportunities. If healthy we have good receivers.