Will Aggie fans show up for the Causeway? Will there be a good student turnout? If If the game against EWU is any indication, then the answer is no. There were only 7344 at the game last night between the #4 and #6 ranked teams in the FCS and the majority of those fans were quiet most of the game. The players had jump up and down and wave their arms at the crowd imploring them to make some noise. Very disappointing to say the least!

You can't fault the team or the Athletics Department for the poor turnout. They did their part to make this a great game to attend. The Ags came into the game with their highest FCS ranking in the D1era along with an 8-1 record and the Athletics Department did an outstanding job of promoting the game with military and first responder displays, ceremonies to honor veterans and Pint the Wonder Dog and, still, 3000+ fewer fans showed up.

It can't be very inspiring for the players when they run onto the field and see the the east side is 70% empty and the west side maybe 70% full. There was a small group of maybe 100 EWU fans on the east side that sounded louder than the Aggie fans. It's disappointing to me so you can imagine how it must feel for the players.

I think we could have a couple thousand Sac fans in the stadium on Saturday and they will be loud and boisterous. Sac fans are excited about their team and they'd like nothing better than to put a beat down on us. We need our fans to show up and loosen up a bit and get into the game.

Yes, and he's gone next year.

We could use some WR's with size and speed also. We haven't had a 6'3 or taller WR is a while that presented a mid to deep threat because of their speed.

This is a huge game for both teams with big playoff implications at stake. I think Sac will be a top 8 seed with a bye in the first round of the playoffs if they beat us. If they win, hopefully, we would still get to host in the first round but I don't think that's a lock. We could end up on the road.

I've watched Sac continue to get better and better as the season has gone along and they are peaking right now. They are going to come into Davis fired up and ready to make a statement. I think we could be as much as a 2 TD underdog given how both teams have been playing recently.

This was the foggiest game I've ever been at since the playoff game against Lehigh at the Toom in 1977 with a 10 am kickoff. We were in the rowdy Aggie fan section of the north end zone and could not see the ball as it disappeared into the fog on the kickoff of that game. Last night was nearly as bad.



Great photo gallery of the EWU game here:

https://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article255809856.html

I guess that the old football adage that "the game is won in the trenches" held true last night...

Their OL size made a big difference last night:

LT 6'6 320 & 6'7 320
LG 6'5 305 & 6'6 300
C 6'3 300 & 6'3 300
RG 6'5 310 & 6'4 290
RT 6'4 290 & 6'6 300

Sounds like we have like minds, CA!

I would guess that there are a number of factors at play here in regards to EWU being able to recruit the talent that they seem to get each year. They have established the fact that they are consistently at the top of the FCS each year with a highly explosive offense that is attractive to recruits that want to be a part of a team that plays like that. I would also guess that they have much more relaxed academic requirements for their athletes than we do so the pool that they can select from is much larger.

We're getting better but we have not yet established that we can beat the top teams in the FCS and go deep into the playoffs and/or win a National Championship. EWU has earned those credentials and we haven't yet. We're getting into the conversation but we're not yet established at the top like they are.

Quotes from Hawkins and Best from the Enterprise article:

“I’ve coached against some great quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy winners, and what he did tonight is right up there with the best of them. He gives you a lot of problems,” Aggie coach Dan Hawkins said afterward.

“You have to tip your cap to them. They were coming off two losses and had to go on the road and came in here and played great and got the win.”

While offering praise to the winners, Hawkins noted “It’s never fun to lose, but it was a heck of a game and I’m proud of our guys. There were a lot of great plays in that game and they made more of them than we did. On the hero’s journey, you have to learn from your setbacks and we will.”

“Our players responded to two weeks of adversity and this week there was a ton more,” Best noted.

“Our players are resilient and they played with the most amount of guts I’ve ever seen coming down here and away from home for the first time in a month against a top-five outfit. From about the second quarter on, we controlled the game and especially did so late in the game when we needed it.”

Leading 24-20 early in the fourth quarter, Eastern scored on a 10-yard run by Isaiah Lewis and a 4-yard run by Tamaric Pierce.

“The opportunity to respond was here and we responded,” Best added. “That’s what a mature football team does.”

For his part, Best was thrilled to break an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak. And he, too, gave much of the credit to Barriere.

“He’s a legend,” said Best.

“He’s a present-day legend. He’s still writing his script, and every day he tries to get better and we found a way to win. A lot of the credit goes to the players up front protecting him while he’s staring down field.

“I thought we were physical and controlled the line of scrimmage for the better part of the day. Don’t forget about the defense, they played lights out. It was a fun game to watch if you could see it through the fog. I couldn’t be more proud, and the ride home will be very joyful.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/aggies-cant-keep-up-with-eagles/

Post-game quotes from Hawkins and 'Bryce Rodgers:

“Our kids didn’t back down, we played great, battled, gave some blows, took some blows.” he said. “So that’s part of it. But, again, the season goes on. I told them, my speech, one way or another, whether we won or lost, was probably going to be pretty much the same. So we’ve got to get ready to go for next week.”

Rodgers said the plan coming into the game was to prevent Barriere from playing backyard football and being able to step up in the pocket. “They have a lot of weapons on their offense,” Rodgers said. “They got some good running backs, have a good running game, and got a good pass game, and they know what they got back there in No. 3. So they know that when in doubt, you gotta do the scramble drill, basically, and they’re just trying to get open. So they do that very well.”

“Hats off to those guys, they played great,” he said. “I’ve had either the unpleasant or pleasant experience of playing against a number of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, or Heisman Trophy finalists, I would put Eric Barriere right up there with any of them. He’s super talented.”

Regarding EWU's offensive numbers:

"Eastern Washington’s numbers were eye-popping. The Eagles outgained Davis, 625-283, and ran 101 plays on offense to just 63 on defense. “Never have I been a part of a game like that in my 16 years of playing football. That’s crazy,” Rodgers, a senior, said. “I didn’t even know there was that many snaps taken. I think that just says something that we just need to work on getting off the field more, honestly.”

“They have a lot of weapons on their offense,” Rodgers said. “They got some good running backs, have a good running game, and got a good pass game, and they know what they got back there in No. 3. So they know that when in doubt, you gotta do the scramble drill, basically, and they’re just trying to get open. So they do that very well.”

Regarding the next game against Sac:

“I think that Sac State is a good team,” defensive lineman Bryce Rodgers said. “But in terms of how we look at it in the future, it’s the next game. We’re not really worried about the playoffs like that. We’re just worried about winning this next game.”

“It’s no pressure,” said Hawkins. “Our standard is, amongst ourselves, to be the very best version of ourselves. Although we line up against other teams in other colors, in other venues in other places, it’s always to live up to the best version of ourselves, and I have 100% confidence in our guys that we’ll do that.”

Regarding Lan Larison:

“His foot’s been bothering him bad for quite a while,” Hawkins said. “And it’s still not 100%. But you’re not going to find anyone tougher than Lans Larison. ... He’s extremely explosive, as you saw. He’s extremely tough.”

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article255802571.html#storylink=cpy

South Dakota beat SDSU on a Hail Mary with 1 second left in the game.

I think you make some good points. We have never established who exactly our QB is this year. Our OL has had trouble protecting them also. Look at EB3 tonight. He really didn't need to scramble because his OL allowed him to simply sit in the pocket until somebody got open. I don't think I've ever seen a QB stand still in the pocket for so log just scanning the field. Any decent QB, let alone a great QB, will find an open receiver if he can stand in the pocket for 8 seconds waiting until someone gets open. Our QB's have not had that kind of protection.

Good for Poly! Our loss to Idaho State is a very bad loss that will hurt us in the playoff draw.

Sac is demolishing Portland State 42-14 with 13 minutes to go. We will lose by double digits if we play like this again next week.

You can not see half way across the field.

Defense looks gassed. EB3 has so much time he can just wait until someone gets open. No pass rush at all.

It’s not easy to see the ball in the stadium.

Between the smoke from a food truck and the fog rolling in you can barely see the field!

Kari son: 98 yards in 23 seconds in full football gear. That’s fast!