2023 Week 9: UC Davis @ Northern Arizona I think the Ags are a slight underdog going into this game. Although NAU is only 2-5 on the season, they only lost to Sac on the road by a single point, 31-20, and they beat Weber by 17 in Ogden, 27-10, whereas we escaped with a one point win over the Wildcats. So NAU has shown that they can be very good and they have the home field advantage too.
On the other hand, I feel like the Aggies are still trying to figure out how to play well on both sides of the ball in a complete game. The defense has shown they can be outstanding but then they have had games where they struggled to stop teams on third and long and our special teams have been very inconsistent. Inconsistency and turnovers have hurt us on offense as well and the injuries we've had at RB have really complicated matters. Consequently, the offense has often looked one dimensional without the explosive rushing attack earlier in the season.
It will be good to have Larison back today but you have to wonder how things will go for him after the long layoff to rehab his injured knee. Hopefully, the bye week will have allowed Tompkins to heal up more as well. I keep thinking that the offense has yet to break out. Maybe today will be the day but it's going to be tough especially if the NAU team that took Sac to the limit shows up in the dome in Flagstaff.
A playoff opportunity is riding on today's game and the next two leading up to the Causeway Classic with Sac. I think today is a must win in order to keep our playoff chances alive.
Go Ags!