Here are my Top 3 candidates for Cal. And Plough ain't going to Cal at this juncture. Maybe after one of these guys gets fired next, but not in 2025/26:

Tosh Lupoi would be a really interesting hire at Cal. Dude can flat out coach and get after it, but does he have the personality to recruit today's soft ass California HS football player? Reminds me a little of Aranda at Baylor; heck of a football coach, great mind and talent as a DC, but is he a head coach? Actually, he also reminds me a little of Ron Rivera, so maybe this is the guy.

Rolo may not be fun to work with or work for according to this thread, but he is an outstanding football coach and recruiter. And he is actually a good guy from what I know, and I'll leave it at that. He's used to doing less with more, and if you watched their upset of SMU, the players and staff love him.

Will Stein, another Oregon staffer, is a good fit. Likeable and humble dude, very personable, QB friendly, Offensive guru, has the temperament for California recruits, I like this one. He has also spent a lot of time recruiting California since he's been with the Ducks.

I too was a bit surprised by Wulff's firing in SLO, I thought they were close. They did load-up on transfers last year, which is typically the smoke coming before the firing. Two LA-area P4 candidates could emerge as the lead dogs in that one.

Portland State is a dumpster fire. They need to hire the right guy (everyone loved Barnum but that only goes so far) and get their recruiting mess straightened out, then address the facility situation. 20+ miles from campus to stadium is no recipe for success, just ask UCLA. Their ability to take anyone academically should make it easier to recruit there, but that also creates other headaches.

Signing off to load up the old Family Truckster with provisions, then pointing it north up the coast towards the Causeway. Safe travels to all Aggies heading to town to see that MOTHER LOVING (sic) WATER TOWER GET LIT AROUND 4:30 PM ON SATURDAY NIGHT!!!

I am with you 100% with that concern. A lot of it is the kicker I'm convinced. In modern coverage schemes (unlike when I played football a long time ago), the kickers are instructed exactly where to put the ball and all the coverage shifts in that direction. I feel like we have to be mis-hitting the ball and putting it in the wrong spot. That's my hunch; I can't see our schemes being that bad. at this level of coaching/play.

Great perspective, I had not taken that close a look at the schedule. 0 Sacks vs. Nevada is telling. My only concern, which I am sure has been addressed, is how we protect one of the edges in our play action protection. Mano y mano I think we're fine.

Perfect for all of us Californios to bundle up and act like we're watching a game out in Iowa or something!

Two teams that can both run the ball for 200+, it will be a matter of stopping them on the ground and Special Teams making some plays and creating field position. Ideally, the Ags will force the Go-Gos to play from behind and put the ball in the air. To do so, we'll have to protect the QB against what is statistically one of the best pass rushes in FCS football. Conversely, Marion will throw a ton of personnel groupings and formations at the Blue Force. Expect to see as many substitution matches as you've ever seen on Saturday. The Go-Gos will be running different groups in, and we will wait and send our guys out to match as late as the officials allow. Cat and mouse game that I'm really looking forward to. This thing is probably the Aggies by a TD or less and that is what I expect it to be unless we can force them to throw and/or force some turnovers and actually cash them in for once. Go Ags!

Mercer scored their points in the second half vs. UCD back in August as well (see above post about 2005 Stephen F. Austin game). Playing down there is just different. Hard coming out of those steamy locker rooms and getting up for the second half. That time of year, it rains daily at 3:30 no matter what. Throw in the chance of thunderstorms and other weather systems, coupled with lightning (which is what shuts games down when it strikes within a certain distance) and you have some major challenges to playing a complete game. And if you do avoid the rains and lightning, you're blessed with a blazing "90/90 day"; 90+ degrees with 90+ humidity. Miserable.

No idea why I went on a Southern weather rant. Here's a scheduling suggestion: start playing the Ivy schools OoC. Cal Poly and San Diego have hosted Ivy League opponents, and we're a much easier sell as far as like-institutions to the Ivy admin that pays for the trip. Plus we'd offer a better guarantee and it will better prepare the Ivy teams for their new playoff autobid.

I agree with the comment about avoiding the Pioneer. There is occasional recruiting value to show face down in San Diego, but no benefit to playing ANY of the other Pioneer schools. They are Top 10 D3 programs most of them as far as level of play.

Duly noted Doc! All I care about is beating their asses this weekend and they can go off on their adventure. I just hope they survive it (the FBS Independent adventure).

I agree 100% per my post on the wrong thread again (I think its on the Causeway thread) :rofl: Go Ags!

SJSU just fired their Defensive and Special Teams Coordinators as they wrap up a miserable 3-7 season. Nevada, aka. the other Tahoe team, sits at 2-8 with victories against the Go-Gos and, you guessed it, San Jose State. WHY WOULD WE LEAVE THE BIG SKY/FCS TO BE A PART OF THIS?!!! Group of 5 football sucks, the stadiums are mostly empty, and they play for The Snoop Dawg, Famous Idaho Potato, LA, Hawai'i, and New Mexico Bowls, possibly the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Is it worth the additional TV revenue? I would rather aspire to win the Big Sky and FCS titles than go play a bunch of crap programs (half the current MWC is sub-.500 and they'll be left behind by the "new" PAC 12 schools) and money games.

Idaho was so insightful in bailing on the FBS pipedream, kudos to them and the Big Sky is better with them. Boise will never come back, but Nevada should. The Go-Gos should come back with their cowboy hats in hand. The Ags can stay put for another decade+. Even with the facility upgrades that dropped today, it's still not the best stadium or atmosphere in the Conference. Keep building the foundation, develop players and coaches, raise money, and we'll know when the time to jump is right.

Just one man's humble opinion...

This is classic! The Aggies have already won Round 1 of The Final Causeway without playing a snap. I love what Dr Mike said about the fairgrounds :rofl: Substance over flash...

I had the same thought about momentum and our last 3. I feel like this has become a must-win.

Haha! Exactly

Do you think Nevada or SJSU wants to play UC Davis at this juncture? Nothing to gain, everything to lose from a recruiting standpoint. If I were Choate or Kenny I would want no part of that game. Their FCS games need to be against schools they don't recruit against. Cal and UCLA are different stories. UC schools helping each other out, big Aggie alumni/recruiting/fan bases in both regions, I'd try to play both those games as often as possible.

Regarding the schedule, the Go-Gos are facing an identity crisis, and I'm not talking about which cowboy hat to wear or what check is the president going to write that the football program will have to cash. Nor are they the victim of atrocious Big Sky officiating any longer. I'm talking about who are they? Here's what we know:
*FBS Independent beginning in 2026
*They have two games schedule for next year. From an athletic administration standpoint, that is a nightmare on November 19. The Go-Gos allegedly play @ Fresno State and host Youngstown State according to the web. Also, some sites have them playing Southern Utah and Lamar. I'm not sure how much I trust random websites that aren't official, but this points to them not closing the door on FCS opponents. Their plan may be a slow rise with a hybrid schedule, I haven't followed it close enough.
*Ironically, the date UC Davis is slated to host the Hatters of Stetson, is also listed as the date that the Go-Gos are hosting the Penguins of Youngstown. This tells me that IF one of the parties wanted to keep the Causeway alive, that was the open date to do it and it didn't get done for whatever reason. My guess is that the Ags needed a home game on that date and the Go-Gos wouldn't oblige for obvious reasons. Davis isn't the one needing games so they got a home cupcake before the Griz come to town. Winning the Big Sky > keeping the Causeway alive.

So who is CSU Sacramento? From all appearances, they're a self-declared FBS program that will need to fund an additional 35+ scholarships and play their games at a renovated horse track while begging for games. Can someone say Cal State Northridge... add a bunch of scholarships, play at Devonshire Downs, travel the world, ooops, not sustainable, drop football. Stay in your lane. I hope they don't ever come to this for the good of the game.

I think something else to your point is that he has fumbled twice in the last three games pulling up at the line of scrimmage near the sideline, looking to throw, and been walloped from behind trying to extend the play. Throw it away, run, get out of bounds. All better than a turnover or potential turnover unless its an end of game scenario or you're out of downs. Young QB, these are little things that will be gained with experience.

Copy on the two salaries. I am in full support of the "people in place" and the job they're doing. In fact, I think our recruiting classes since Plough has taken over have been and are outstanding (we're just young and will need their help sooner than later). What I'm suggesting is bolstering the operation where it needs to be bolstered. I am asking hypothetical questions, not making suggestions or speaking on the job anyone is currently doing. For example: Do we need to improve nutrition offerings? Do we need a GM or additional help in recruiting or in the recruiting budget? Would a football fundraiser be a means to generate the money that we will need to break into the Top 4 conversation consistently? This is about helping the people who are already in place and not an indictment on the job they're doing. If Plough continually talks about making the same investment that the Top 4 make, what does that look like? How are those programs structured, where are they raising their money, where do they spend it, what do we need to address in recruiting (the staff will likely say OL/DL), etc. Just looking to put this coach and his staff in the best position possible. Go Ags!

We need to shore-up some things with our play action protection... we've been hurried by Power pull protections, then we adjusted to a Zone protection with a rat killer vs. MSU and got harassed at times by their DL finishing plays. Sac is one of the top QB Sack outfits in the Big Sky, if not the country. How the Ags protect is going to be a major tipping point in the game.

Man I'm too worked-up from what might have been in Bozeman and the crap call on the sideline that gave Sac that catch. Going to get a lift in and clear my head, I'll jump back in tomorrow or Wednesday once I settle down. Pray for me. Go Ags!

Everyone brings up good and relevant points. At the end of the day, there is a Side Judge or Head Linesman on the sideline whose job is to ensure that a foot comes down in-bounds. There is a Back Judge that focuses more on the possession aspect of the catch, but he is also tracking the initial foot-down mechanic as well I'm guessing but from a different angle. This missed call is egregious enough to demote the official that was on the sideline. Ship him/her down to work the JUCO circuit with an occasional NAIA or D3 game. Like I said, it felt like an easy call from the TV angles. How the hell does the Big Sky not have access to that replay? Practically every BSC game is an ESPN+ game at the least. No way they can't get up to par with camera angles to support the officials. Bush league

Wow, I had no idea we had that many associate ADs! Typical state school... I'll rephrase it then: let's re-evaluate the current roles and assignments of the existing administrative and support personnel and see where we might be more efficient or currently deficient. Do we need a GM, how is the recruiting side operated, do they need help? I can tell you now that nutrition is a platform of Plough's and it must be addressed and upgraded. He's raised money on that side and feels like we can continue to grow there.

I hear you on the equity piece and fundraising. Age-old dilemma. However, those "other sports" are all moving to the MWC ahead of football. I'm sure there is financial benefit to that. Perhaps a football fundraising position (salary probably <200k) could be leveraged as an offset to the cost of the move for the last sport to join and elevate?

Good points, thanks for enlightening me on the six Associate ADs and massive support staff.