No idea what the extent of the injury is, but a safe guess based on seeing a guy in a boot would be that he'll be out 6+/- weeks. That puts him back for MSU as the absolute best case, first round of playoffs if it's not complicated. Praying for a speedy recovery

Back to the game. Breaking it down from YouTube, vs. NAU we'll see a lot of 5-down looks with a loaded box and sim pressures on passing downs (a lot like Cal Poly's D from 2024). They're going to play man with some variations behind it, but it looks like they lose the QB and if you're playing man coverage, that can lead to big gainers. Against MSU, the Safety #8 spied the QB in short yardage situations due to their Q Run game; don't be surprised to see him tracking CP at times, especially on passing downs in Man. Well-coached defensive unit.

The Offense is very multiple. They look similar to Weber and Poly speed-wise to me, maybe a notch below that. NAU runs the QB enough to make him viable, but their RBs are not what we saw from Southern Utah or Weber St. in the base run game. Those guys will catch a lot of balls. The OL is solid, TEs are OK. WRs look like bigger guys that run solid routes but don't appear to be that fast. As mentioned, the QB will check it down to the RB frequently and take the underneath throws on some of the deep concepts. Dink and dunk, move the sticks.

Their Special Teams gave up a long punt return vs. MSU.

Aggies 42-45ish
Lumberjacks 31 at best

Happy Homecoming!

Stats are easily skewed, trust what you see on the field. The Offense available to Plough is expanding because the QB is taking care of the football and distributing the touches very well. There's a new weapon emerging each week. CP just needs to be smart with his body and the Offense is going to keep rolling.

I think what you're seeing is a Defensive emphasis on stopping the run. SUU has an elite RB (as he has proven since we saw him), Weber ran the ball 43x, and Wulff at Cal Poly is an old O-Line guy and they tried to run it 37x. Our Rushing YPG allowed is decreasing, as is the Yards Per Carry stat (Washington skewed everything up statistically). When you commit to making teams one dimensional (ex. stop the run), you're going to give some things up, like balls up the seams (Cal Poly) and create some favorable matchups offensively in coverage (Weber State). With our pass rush and DBs, it makes sense to load up against the run and put it on those guys to make plays against the pass.

1000 at $1000 annually is a great concept. If UCD would hire someone wholly committed to soliciting for that sort of giving program, I think it's realistic given the sheer size of the alumni base and our metro areas. You could probably do at least half of it at Homecoming and Parent Weekends with the right person in charge.

Regarding the microphone, perhaps we can make it 1001 at $1000 with that gift specifically earmarked to rectify the mic issues, Call that person The Mic Backer...

For a guy like Buchanan, what matters for his long game is the film he's putting out right now. If he can play well and play a lot, it will ensure future opportunities. Just have to get enough film in the first 3-4 seasons to get to that second contract. Wish him all the best!

Exactly. Would take a legit FCS upset or FBS win for the 2nd place team to be considered, coupled with a 9-1 record with their only loss to an undefeated champion. Only way any of them makes it unless they have someone on the committee

Agreed on the middle of the field issues. We gave up some explosives in the same area with Rex in there, so teams see something they're attacking. We did give up two TD up the seam vs. SLO so whatever it is (scheme or personnel) it needs to be fixed. Every defensive call has a weakness. Getting thin at Corner, hopefully they can get back

Rex's injury occurred as his forward progress had been initially stopped. He sort of twisted and ended up with his back to most of their defense, which was jumping on and pushing the pile back. He was driving backwards to push and the whole thing caved in on him. Guessing the injury occurred from his leg drive and the weight of the pile collapsing on it. Truly unfortunate but it does no good to second guess and blame the coaching staff. It's done and they have to live with the consequences, we're just fans and injuries are part of the game. The best coaches and playcallers on the planet make mistakes and have plays they want back every week. Yes, losing an all-American hurts conference and national championship hopes and you won't replace his on-field leadership; but I would argue the sheer number of other injuries are equally as concerning. Next man up at a lot of positions. Go Ags!

Teams like Cal Poly, Idaho State, and UNC are all vastly improved. Good coaching staffs have really made those teams competitive. What takes the time is learning how to win. They're used to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Now they have to keep chopping away and find ways to win those games. Against everyone else except the Aggies

No.

Gutty win at SLO. Wulff has them trending upward, their team speed has greatly improved since last year. QB played out of his mind. Decent atmosphere, beautiful night, nice crowd. I told a buddy with close ties at SLO that they are vastly improved and better than Weber, especially since both are playing with backup QBs. The starter will be back for SLO at some point and makes them instantly better. The trickery and situational play calls were outstanding for the most part by Wulff and staff.

I thought Sievers played well, I noticed him making more plays than the other LB but that might have been schematics. He's going to be the Will down the stretch. Afato is pretty much backing up both ILBs at this juncture, I don't think they can afford to risk him at Fullback for a few snaps a game given how shallow the depth is at the LB position. He is exactly what you want in a FB though; add another 25-30 lbs and he'd be a real monster there. Or else find a shorter, undersized D-tackle to fill the role. TEs are too tall to do it effectively in the box and we're thin there as well.

The throw on the first Aggie TD was as impressive as I've ever seen. CP really stepped up on Saturday night, hopefully that is a preview of things to come. Pretty solid offensive performance overall. My only gripe is the way we start games. We need to find ways to avoid early 3-and-outs and be better in the first quarter but man do we finish!

The Sac game is the only comparable game between us and Poly. San Diego has no scholarships and only a few "slots", while Western Oregon is a very average Division II team. Both of us got whipped in money games, so throw those out. If SLO's QB1 is available, it changes everything. He has some weapons and it might be a real shootout. If he's out, Ags by 2 TD. If he's in, coupled with the depleted Aggie Defense, hold on to you seats.

I really enjoyed the interview with Mitch, it continues to impress me how solid these young men that come out of this football program are. Best of luck in the thick of Big Sky play and prayers for good health (and healing for the rest of the crew) and a great finish. Go Ags!

Great job on the video!

"There is no way that Spanos Stadium will ever hold 22,000 seats!"
DeLane Fitzgerald, Head Football Coach, Southern Utah University

Maybe his players have poor aim? I mean the QB only completed 53% of his throws and threw a pick against us so that might be the issue. Or maybe it's the fact that he is staring down a 3-4 win season and a loss to a Pioneer League team. Spend less time counting the fans in attendance and criticizing the opponent's facilities and crowd. I mean, San Diego's facility is a dump, was that to blame there? He's just deflecting from what needs to be addressed, which is his team's performance on the field.

There is no doubt that Deiffenbach makes a HUGE difference. Fortunately, he doesn't play Defense and the trend is that UCD will score on Poly. Deiffenbach gives them an absolute chance to get the shootout they'll need, he can spin it.

We've scored 146 points in the last three games against them. Defensive scheme is pretty similar to the past. If they have any chance of making this game close, it will have to be in a shootout. Their offense scored 2 TD on a short field and had a pick 6 against Sac. Not like they're lighting it up

The students filled four entire sections (3 middle and one south of the band) on Saturday. It was the general admission areas and the end zones that were less crowded than Southern Utah. With work, you could maybe expect to fill one more section with students, but I have been impressed in these first two games with how active the student section has been and the turnout was better than the games I attended last season. We've already out-drawn both the opener and game 2 by nearly 4k fans per. It's more of a community/alumni attendance issue thus far, the students have shown up. I agree wholeheartedly, the late starts can be rough but I think they're entirely necessary in September.

Asking a lot for kids/families to turn down the money that is being thrown around in CFB, which makes what Lan and Rex did by staying all the more admirable. Probably harder to keep a player who has already earned their degree than it is to keep someone who is still working on it but who knows. It all comes down to the individual situation and who the decision maker is. That being said, both Cofield and Vargas are going to be FBS targets, especially Drew. It is hard to find Corners while RBs are a bit easier to come by. Let's hope he's happy and he's looking big picture at the degree.

Rex will be interesting if indeed he has another year to play. Probably comes down to what the NFL scouts/projections will tell him as much as anything. Porter is a great FCS linebacker, but I don't know that the demand will be the same as the others. If I were betting, he'd be most likely to stay of the guys we're talking about.

Poly went hard in the portal to save the HC's job. He's a good guy and an accomplished coach; it is really hard to win there though. Their schemes haven't changed from last year when we shredded their D. Big question will be their QB. If Kelly is the guy they're not as good as when the Pitt kid is in there. That WR is a dude. BIGGER question is our health up the middle of the defense: Rex, Porter, and Nate. Fortunately, this is not a power run team we're facing and it will come down to our pass rush (STRENGTH) and secondary (also a strength). Poly played well for the first half vs. Sac when turnovers generated scores and great starting field position; will we get the kickoff team fixed? I like the Ags by a similar score to the Weber game, maybe 38-21/24 or so.