Everyone have a nice weekend of honey-dos, Costco runs, yard work, hopefully some grilling, church, etc. Going to be a long weekend, let's come out firing on Monday :fire:

Sac is still a possibility if/when we go MWC. They'll have openings on their FBS Independent schedule! Gotta keep winning the rivalry games while we have them so that when they stop, we have the trophies in the building. Will need a new, Tahoe-themed one for Nevada since they're already bitching about that. Maybe the Golden Trout or something

Bottom half of the MWC. Ags can compete with any of those programs on a one game basis but playing all of them consecutively would be the issue. Not to mention the non-conference slate upgrading. One thing to consider is that we're currently in the 63 equivalency scholarship-bracket compared to 105. If we're projecting to be approximately middle of the pack with 63, imagine what we look like as we grown towards 105, pretty exciting!

Or that over the last four games opponents are averaging around 35 pass attempts per game...

Exactly. Post-season awards are stat-driven and lockdown Corners don't get stats because OCs and QBs are scared of them. His impact, and the fact that he is usually covering the opponent's best guy for a large portion of the game, is unquestionable. Maybe Sports Information can help promote his cause because he is making a huge impact. Much easier for our D staff to do their thing when they only have to worry about defending 10 players rather than 11.

Hawaii has the right guy steering the ship (alum QB Timmy Chang), he'll never leave, and he will get guys. When Hawaii stays in it's lane and isn't traveling to the Eastern Time Zone and gets to play seven or eight home games every year with Wyoming and/or New Mexico being their worst trips, they will compete. Nobody really runs their Offense anymore (Run & Shoot) and you don't need 4-star players to execute; you need football players that understand defensive coverages who learn to adjust routes. EVERY route is a sight adjust. They will pick-up some stud transfer WR/TE types because of their location and will be a royal pain to defend. They're comfortable shooting it out with opponents but will naturally have some of the better Front 7 personnel in the conference. Their definition of success isn't predicated on NIL money; it's more like ohana and Island Pride with some renegades and undervalued receivers mixed in.

It appears that we spent the money we had for transfers at DB (and Middle LB) which has proven a wise move. I haven't really looked at the depth chart, but the guys playing the second half at Cal Poly and vs. NAU held-up fine, and that was against a guy like Briscoe at Poly (FCS leader in Receiving TD and Big Sky leader in Receiving Yardage, I think). Cofield limped off the field for a minute vs. NAU but finished and played well. He has been outstanding and might be the best Defensive freshman in the country. With an additional week of recovery, the Secondary should be good to go for UNC, who has a couple pretty good WRs, both listed at 6'2"

UNLV is going to be the standard in that conference. Facilities are unbelievable and there is a lot of money behind them. Mullen is an outstanding coach and a very likeable guy. Air Force is consistently competitive and a nightmare to prepare for so they'll always be in the mix. Their NIL pitch is that every player gets paid anyway, and walks into an $80k job the day he graduates so that is attractive. Northern Illinois beat Notre Dame last year and is mostly good in my lifetime. Those three will be the top tier. In the middle, SJSU is very well run and Kenny has experience getting a lot out of very little. Wyoming was good not too long ago and has great facilities and a wind that never stops blowing. The bottom tier is Nevada, New Mexico, UTEP, and for now, Wyoming, with the Cowboys are probably the closest to getting into that middle-tier of the conference and going to a bowl.

Primary considerations for the seedings: won-lost record, strength of schedule, Regional Advisory Committee rankings/feedback (this is made-up of selected coaches, correct?), and games reviewed by the committee on video.

If I recall, #14 had a nice play on our sideline vs. NAU, right? Nice to see a receiver listed above 6' out there, but the sub-6' dudes have been absolutely dynamite this season

Bye weeks are boring so I'll chime in with a prediction:

Sac State 35
Northern Colorado 17

Too many athletes

I agree 100%. NAU is a solid, solid football team and will likely end up 7-5 or even 8-3 when the dust settles. Their trip to Pocatello will be one to keep an eye on though. From what I can tell, ISU might be better than Idaho this season.

The only rankings that matter come from the NCAA FCS Championships Committee. The rest is just fan fodder

After sloppily reviewing the opening drives for both teams, I have reached the following conclusions on UNC and Idaho:
1. Idaho is not as good as they were last year. They do not look like they did in '24, especially in the Front 7 defensively.
2. While improved, Northern Colorado is not Southern Utah-good on offense and they look more like NAU as far as the dink-and-dunk stuff. They are very comfortable with what they are though, and they are better than they have been.

Just my initial impressions...

Lamb is a very good football coach and proven program builder. This game is one to be cautious of. However, UNC is prepping for travel to and a game against Sac State. The Aggies start UNC prep today with four extra days of practice and the weekend off. And we're better. Advantage: Plough boys...

Gundy would be a great fit if he'll play the NIL game. Corvallis not drastically different than Stillwater aside from the climate. Perfect spot for a good 'ol boy; Erikson was just that, but also a bit of a savant to boot. All comes down to NIL and roster management these days.

All refs suck and miss calls... nature of the business. Looks like they missed that one too.

Listening to the Aggie Pride Podcast the other day, they talked about the old, big Horseshoe Trophy that used to be associated with the game. I know Cal Poly's football program is housed (for now) in that crappy old building across the street from the visitor's stands near where the teams dress. Here's a though; has anyone ever thought to dig through that old building and the storage there for that trophy? It could be buried under boxes and random junk somewhere in that building.

About what was expected. NAU was not explosive, and they resorted to trench warfare to limit Aggie possessions and run the clock. Defense played a solid game but struggled when NAU had their burst in the 3Q, Finished well.

The kickoff coverage unit is an issue. It all starts with the Placekicker. He may tackle well, but why aren't we hitting the ball higher and deeper like every other kicker in the country does? Is he putting the ball where the Special Teams Coordinator is telling him to? That matters a bunch. What about the coverage personnel? The ball kept exiting out the right side of our coverage scheme/returner's left. Something was amiss and I'm not sure if it was the inconsistency of the kicks or the guys covering on that side. Either way, teams score at a much higher rate starting at their 40 yard line and closer than they do inside their own 30. Little things like this are the difference between good and great.

Offensively, CP is really playing good football. He's distributing the football, he actually made some great decisions in not throwing balls and in throwing some away, and he seemed more comfortable in the pocket to me. #1 fumbled again and that needs to be addressed. I liked that they didn't bury him on the bench like last time; fix it in practice. Again, a little thing that separates good and great. It was great to see #7 emerge, his catch on that Corner route was huge. Sam and Fish are special.

Nobody ever talks about our OL so I will. Those guys are playing well. We are facing loaded boxes and all sorts of exotic fronts, stunts, and blitzes, and while we did allow several sacks, those aren't always on the O-Line, especially with a mobile QB. Keep up the good work big fellas

If program support is a big deal to Plough, why would he leave his self proclaimed "dream job" to take a job on a much less level playing field than the Big Sky and FCS? Oregon State can't win in today's college football and nobody wants them. That job is a dead end. 3x the pay for 3-4 years of aggravation before you're fired. Bray (former OSU HC) was an alum and a rising star as a D-coordinator and he got fired after 1.5 seasons. I highly doubt that Plough would uproot his family, have the kids change schools and the wife resettle, and leave his dream job to go coach against the same teams he'll be facing in 3-5 years anyway. I agree that he should leverage this situation to better his situation and the situation of his coaching staff and the program, but it would not be smart to take the Oregon State job. No one can ever accomplish what Erickson and Riley did there ever again. They don't have the money or the bandwidth to compete and win consistently.

Recruiting rankings at places like Sac are fool's gold. They look good around signing day or after the portal closes, but get to the start of school and into October/November and the star ratings don't matter. Those guys that took the money, or drank the hype Kool Aid will quit and look to transfer or flunk out believing the portal is something more than a place where kids are dumped by college programs because all scholarships are one year contracts. The portal typically OPENS with 10-15k names in it that carried over from the previous season(s).

The beauty of Aggie Football lies in the development of players. Look at the Sam LB/Edge positions for example. Those groups are loaded-up with long bodies with great growth POTENTIAL, not ready-made starters. Elite programs don't rely on Freshmen to start the season. We're not there yet given all the FR that are starting, rotating, and who will be sprinkled-in at the end of the season on Special Teams, but we're trending in the right direction. Davis will stick to the traditional model mostly; recruit great kids who are there to develop and are bought in to redshirt. Pull guys out of the portal as needed (good character, academically proven), and maybe play a freshman or first-year transfer in some spots. Previous teams and staffs have built upon this foundation and the current staff is doing a great job of continuing that tradition.