2024 Week 5: Idaho (3-1) @ UC Davis (3-1) It's great to hear that the injured defensive starters will be back on Saturday. Do you know if any other players on either side of the ball will still be out?
I think our defense has been the strength of the team so far this year. They've bent at times but they haven't broken and they've come up with the big plays that sealed the win for us in two games even while they had a significant number of injuries to key players. They've shown a lot of depth and toughness.
The defense will need to have another stellar performance in this game as well and not let the game get away from us. We all know that our offense has had their struggles especially in the red zone where it counts the most and, if we can't take advantage of our opportunities on offense again, it will be up to the defense to keep things close if we are to have a chance to win.
It's not likely that we can get down big and come storming back. Our wins have been over teams that are a combined 1-11 and, even though we are 3-0 against those teams, each one of those games was a struggle. A 3-1 record overall at this point is what we all hoped for but I think we also expected that our wins would have been more decisive and confidence building than they have been.
Right now, most of pollsters aren't sure if we belong to be in the top 15. A win would give us a significant boost and put us squarely on radar of the FCS nationwide. A close loss might not hurt us too much but we'd I think we'd still drop out of the top 15 and, if we get blown out, we'll drop out of the rankings altogether.
This is a huge game for us. We could possibly have another record crowd in the stadium and we need to play well if we want them to come back. I think this game is going to tell us a lot about whether or not we are ready to compete with the top teams in the Big Sky. Go Ags!