The FCS fans over on the AGS Forum ranked Montana above the Aggies in their final poll and most see us as one of the first four out of the playoffs.

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?318675-AGS-Poll-Results-2022-SEASON-Wk-12-SELECTION-SUNDAY

Many thanks to everyone that stepped up and donated! It looks like we're good to go for another year of talking about Aggie sports. :up:

Quotes from the Enterprise article:

Hawkins:

“It was a great game. A great battle between two great teams, but they made more plays than we did,” said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins.

“I told our guys afterward I love them. I love them a lot. But most games and most seasons are made by a few plays that decide which side of the ledger you’ll end up on.”

“We’re definitely a playoff team, but I don’t know if we’ll get there,” Hawkins said
.
“That’s all out of our control. We may be the No. 5 team in the nation and we played the top four, but you have to prove it on the field.”

Taylor:

Asked if UC Davis should receive a playoff opportunity, Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor didn’t hesitate
.
“Absolutely,” he said. “No question about it. If you look at their body of work, they should be included. It would have been easy for them to schedule three easy games to start the season, but they didn’t do that. They didn’t have to play Cal and South Dakota State to start the season. They should not be punished for playing a tough schedule.”

“That’s a really good football team we played,” said Taylor, who was gracious in victory.

“They were very poised and playing with a lot of swagger and confidence. We’d get ahead and they’d just come back and continue to compete. Davis had been lighting people up recently, scoring an incredible amount of points. I was really proud of how our defense was able to hold them to 21 points.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/football-uc-davis-fall-in-great-causeway-classic-to-hornets/

Did we mess up on the fake punt defense? Is the punter supposed to be covered on every punt no matter what?

From the Bee article regarding the fake punt:

On fourth-and-11, McGough was ready to punt with just under 10 minutes to play, saw a rush coming his way and then took off for a 20-yard gain that led to O’Hara’s last score. “It was not a planned fake,” Taylor said with a laugh. “I wasn’t looking, and I turn and my Australian punter is running with the ball. When he first practiced fakes, he held the ball but didn’t have his hand over the point of the ball. He’s gotten better with that.” Said Dunniway, “You see what he can do in practice and think, ‘That’d be cool’ if he did it in a game,’ and I look over and the dude is running for 30 yards. We really needed it.”

On going 11-0:

“To go 11-0, that’s not easy, but these guys continue to work, to stay focused,” Taylor said. “They don’t look in the rear-view mirror, don’t look too far ahead, and that’s easy to say, but not easy to do. What they’ve done since we’ve been here, especially this year, is really quite remarkable.”

Regarding how physical the Sac defense hits:

“It’s a ruthless thing — fly to the ball,” is how Bailey described his game and that of his defense. Said Dunniway of some of Bailey’s hits, “I was watching the video board and thought, “If someone hit me like that ... I don’t know what I’d do. We have Ash making highlights, guys on defense, it’s fun to watch.”

Regarding the crowd of 23,073:

Unbelievable crowd today,” Taylor said. “It’s what I imagine we could have here.”

Hawkins:

“I told our guys we’re a playoff team,” he said. “You never want to turn in gear. It’s a sad thing when you do.”

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/article268749287.html#storylink=cpy

More than any single play, the fake punt really hurt and it was a brilliant call by Taylor. It looked like he caught us completely unaware.

Totally agree. We could have started on the 25 with a fair catch on the kickoff or maybe even better field position on a return.

Here's a comment from an NDSU fan on the AGS Forum:

I think UC Davis is out and that's a shame. In the running for best team in history left out. Has anybody ever played three top 4 seeds before? Just 16 combined points would give them wins over SDSU, Weber, and Sac St and a top 2 seed.

It's been that kind of season for the Aggies...

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?318621-Final-Playoff-Prognostication

I was just about to post the very same thing about the 2 plays that hurt us the most. The injuries to Castles, Gilliam and King certainly didn't help us either.

It would be awesome if the selection committee does their homework and the Aggies get in. How awesome would it be if we got selected and won a game or two and ended up getting a rematch with Sac.

I couldn't agree with you more but I don't think the committee will take the time to consider the facts that you just stated. They'll see 6-5 and look away. I hope they don't but I think that's the way it's going to go.

The FCS Selection Show will be televised tomorrow morning on ESPNU at 9:30 a.m. PT.

Yes it does and we didn't win a single close game this year.

Has any coach at any level done what Troy Taylor has done at Sac in just 3 years? It's astonishing...

We lost quite a few players to injuries in today's game. If we were to get in, we would probably be at much less than full strength also.

I honestly think that we are as good as at least half, if not more, of the teams that will get in but, unfortunately, I don't think we will get in. We have 4 close loses to highly ranked FCS teams and one FBS team but, the fact remains, that we have only one win that anyone notices and that's the win over Idaho in their house. Are we good enough, yes, compared to many of the teams that will get in. Will we get in, no. Sac gave us the boot.

After getting slaughtered today, I think Montana is out also. It would be a biased travesty if they get in...

Unfortunately, that's the story in the Big Sky Conference.
Strength of schedule will always be a crap shoot each year with some teams benefiting and others getting screwed.

EWU 45 Northern Colorado 21 - Final

Final stats were pretty even although it felt like Sac was never in serious trouble. They made the big plays when they needed them and Taylor surprised us at critical times with his superior play calling. Our defense put in a valiant effort. The coaching edge goes to Sac State in this one. Sac also has a punishing defense and they sent several of our key players out of the game with clean but brutal hits.

Total yards: Sac 426 Aggies 420
Passing: Ags 307 Sac 236
Rushing: Sac 133 Aggies 90

We're probably better than half or more of the teams that will get into the playoffs but I think we'll be on the bubble and one of the first 4 out.