99% chance it goes exactly as you say. SDSU wins on Saturday with what they already know, which is pretty close to what you posted, and because they're the better team.

If the Aggies pull the upset though, then it's probably going to be close, and that's where every little bit would have helped. That's where I get concerned about having to look staff and players in the eye next week knowing that I saw info that maybe could have led to some minor tweaks to the D in the first quarter or something.

While I kind of agree that this information probably isn't very useful, remember that I'm an SDSU athletics employee. I probably won't have any interaction with the football team or staff before Saturday but it puts me in a really awkward position to see game plan stuff and have to decide what to do with it.

These forums are definitely public, and if the staff and DE doesn't want to publish something then AST shouldn't either IMO.

Can't seem to find the article you were referencing; did it get pulled?

The fireworks game last year had many if not most attendees for the full game as I recall. I think 25-30k butts in seats for the actual game might be a reasonable expectation.

Trolley is a good plan and I recommend it to anybody else who's going. You're right about getting out; just be prepared to wait at the station for a while and get your day pass or return ticket in advance.

I went ahead and watched that whole press conference. What stood out:

- Long sees parallels between this year and the one where SDSU lost to an FCS team
- New players don't have experience but he really likes their attitude
- New punter has been largely inconsistent in practice until Monday (a curious thing to announce)
- Concerned about how much of a mystery UCD is; they've been watching film from the staff's previous schools
- Thinks that SDSU is actually better this year in terms of athleticism, but hasn't reached potential yet
- Relying more on passing game and deeper WR corps than previously until OL gets experience; particularly wants to keep opponents from stacking the box

Terrible to hear about Allen; a promising career and possibly lifelong mobility ruined by a moment of bad luck. Hopefully his future operations go well and he can still continue his education.

It looked like the ones who actually did analysis on that prediction thread are calling for the higher Aggie scores. Implies they're sleeping on the Aggies a little.

Mark me down as 38-17. Won't be close after four quarters; won't be a huge blowout either. 14-7 at the half before the Aggie D gets worn out.

Agreed, there was nothing wrong with the classic solid blue-gold but if it was a foretold conclusion that we would follow the trend of stylish new uniform patterns then this is about the best possible outcome.

Re: health, someone on reddit mentioned SDSU has injuries on the DL.

Additionally I read in the paper that who sat out for how long due to pox affected who got the starting position for WR (I think it was). Also the starting TE is coming off a foot surgery and one of the backup RBs is questionable.

So the short of it is that SDSU is not playing with the ideal list of starters and backups, and some of the ones who are there might see limited reps.

Edit: Also, I really dig the new uniforms. I wonder if we'll be seeing new away jerseys on Saturday too?

Going to the alumni tailgate but (reluctantly) rooting for SDSU starting at kickoff, though my primary hope is for a competitive game with no injuries. SDSU needs to keep NY6 hopes alive with a win and UCD needs to prove that it can hang with a respectable program. A win by 1 or 2 TDs for State will mostly satisfy everybody I think.

As I said in a different thread I don't think it'll turn into a massacre and the Ags may even have a slim shot. There shouldn't be any doubt that Coach Long will try to pound the ball up the middle a lot, including on third and long sometimes, so there will be opportunities to get stops. I've seen arguments both ways that the SDSU defense should be fine or worse compared to last year, so I don't know exactly how that would go but do hope that the new-look Aggie offense can make a few big plays.

What happened in the FCS game last year was that New Hampshire stacked the box effectively and eventually State started resorting to long bombs with the expectation that our WRs could beat the DBs in 1v1s. It worked, but it's not what this offense is built for and airing it out like that with a QB who doesn't usually throw that much could turn sour very fast with some good defensive plays and a little luck for the Aggies.

I also really want to see what Hawk does with Spencer. Wildcat? Multi-QB sets? Lining up as a WR? If he's as versatile as I've been hearing that opens up a ton of interesting possibilities.

Also I wonder if there will be a replay on FB. Really want to see what that coverage will be like.

Eh, I tend to give them some slack. I remember applying to college even as a non-athlete is a huge information overload and reps from every school are always pressuring you to apply/commit early or jump into stuff without adequate information.

Once a recruit signs the paperwork their rights basically vanish, so better to seem slightly disingenuous now by reversing a non-binding decision than hastily lock yourself into situation you can't easily get out of.

SDSU finished #25 last year and got as high as #19 but voters are unconvinced this year after graduations at RB, OL, the D in general. Ironically Pumphrey leaving is probably the least problematic thing for SDSU but it's the change that voters are probably aware of the most.

Highly doubt Aggies will be taken to the woodshed. SDSU's offense isn't built to run up the score and I think/hope that Hawk's offense will be explosive enough to move the chains against even good defenses.

I expect the game to stay relatively close for the first quarter or two until State starts wearing the Aggie defense down and pulls ahead by a couple of TDs. Of course soon after that Long will pull Penny (if he hasn't already) and then later the entire first string.

This is of course the "no new cases of chicken pox" scenario. Anything goes if that comes back.

While Blue is doing a great job it's worth noting this is a MWC thing and it's likely UCD had little say in it.

You may need a Facebook account to stream, but it's quick to sign up. You don't have to make any info public if you only want to create a dummy account to stream.

I think sports bars might have a little trouble streaming this if they don't have a computer hooked up to the tv. I'm pretty sure the grad does have that setup but I don't know if that's exactly common.

Well if it leads us to eventually getting more FCS opponents for OoC games then that's a plus in my book.

I understand if there's a financial necessity to fbs games but if they can keep it down to a MW school then one of those and two fcs opponents would make for a challenging but still manageable slate.

To my knowledge the game isn't televised. Normally ooc games for MWC teams have been streamed online on MW Network or Twitter but this wasn't one of the events SDSU announced for streaming.

Per Twitter, all but 3 SDSU players had vaccines according to parents. Same guy said elsewhere that confirmed case count is still at 5 but 3 more players are having cultures done.

So if this is true then that means some players who got vaccinated caught it. Though if UCD players got shots this week it might be a bit better protection than shots 17-20 years ago if it's true that it weakens over time.

There's a vaccine and booster, but it was introduced from 1995-2000 so current college-aged adults are right on the edge of maybe having both, or one, or none. Even if they had it (especially just one I think) it's prone to wear off at around 20 years.

UC currently requires both doses of the chicken pox vaccine (CSU does not), though that rule was only introduced in like 2016 so the upperclassmen Aggies could possibly not have had it.

Daily Aztec is now reporting that 15 players caught it, though Athletics denied it. Supposedly players and staff have a gag order.

http://thedailyaztec.com/83295/sports/source-preseason-pox-outbreak-larger-than-reported/

We're still at the point where anybody catching it now wouldn't be contagious by season start. And presumably nobody showing symptoms on Game Week will be allowed or able to play, so UCD might only be at risk in the first place if any SDSU players started showing symptoms one or two days after the game. Although Hawk should perhaps consider taking players on a field trip to the vaccination clinic at the Health and Wellness Center after practice one morning. I assume expenses for medical issues incurred or at risk in games are covered by ICA for athletes?

That makes sense. From my reading on the disease it seems that these 5 guys will easily be at full health and no longer contagious by the game. But another issue is that the incubation period can be up to 3 weeks, so if anybody else caught it over the weekend then we might not see another wave of cases pop up until game week.