• CA Forever
    653
    With paycheck in hand from Cal, it's time to move on to week 2 with the Lions of Texas A&M Commerce coming to town. The Aggies trounced the Lions last season in a 48-10 win where the Aggies weren't even playing particularly cleanly. Things didn't get much better for the Lions as they would go on to finish the season with a 1-9 record with their only win against McNeese who also finished 1-10.

    The Lions will be looking for revenge though under 2nd season of HC Clint Dolezel. They started their 2024 campaign against San Diego State where they actually held a halftime lead of 6-3 before getting steamrolled in the 2nd half leading to a final score of 14-45.

    The Lions had 2 different QBs take snaps against the Aztecs, but were led by redshirt junior, Eric Rodriguez, who finished the game 14/20 for 105 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Sounds like he may have sustained an injury against SDSU. In terms of rushing they were led by EJ Oakmon who had 30 yards and a TD on 8 carries. On defense, LB Brandon Tucker led their charge with 15 total tackles. No turnovers were forced by the Lions.

    I think the Aggies should win this game by a fair margin if our defense plays like they did against Cal and we clean up the offensive mistakes.
  • movielover
    524
    Tucker just 5'10", 225, built like a fireplug.
  • CA Forever
    653
    This could also be a better chance for Lan to get going. Commerce was bleeding rushing yards to SDSU. In terms of total offense SDSU outgained them 468-180.
  • Zander
    190
    Based on the playoff committee's creativity last year, basically every game not against the current Massey top 15 is do-or-die now -- and everyone needs to stay healthy enough to squeeze two wins out of Idaho/EWU/UM/MSU/Sac.

    Hoping for a confidence-builder game from Hastings, LL to burst for some long runs, and a comfortable lead so that the starters get rest in the 4th. And I'm just simply excited to see what the defense does against FCS offenses now.
  • CA Forever
    653
    Yes, this is an absolute 'must win' game for us if we want even a chance at making the playoffs given our schedule this year and as you stated we need to make it a rather comfortable win at that.

    With the updated Massey ratings after week 1, they are giving the Aggies a 97% chance of winning this matchup, but I do think the Lions should offer more of a challenge than they did last season. That being said, we will have the home field advantage.
  • Riveraggie
    239
    It is just math that if Davis loses 3 of the 5 games you mention Idaho, EW, MtSt, MT, Sac, and win every other game they’ll be 8 and 4 and likely make the playoffs but not with a high seeding. If thats the way it turns out then better hope at least one of the teams Davis beats along the way is ranked to give Davis a quality win. If they get upset along the way then they will need to win 3 of those 5 to be 8-4. Need to be 8-4 with a quality win, however that works out.
  • Zander
    190
    I'd agree we're more likely than not to get in at 8-4 but thinking about it more I'm cynical enough to want a buffer of at least one more win if possible. I'm remembering last year the argument for Davis making the field was essentially also a serious case for Sac to get left out at 8 wins including an FBS win.

    FWIW, I poked around Sac's schedule and they could potentially pose another bid-stealing situation with us because even with two FBS opponents they have a very good chance of heading into Causeway Week with 7 or 8 wins.

    A scary scenario would be having 8 wins coming into Causeway, Sac having 7 with a loss to Weber, and then them picking up the Causeway win -- Sac would then have not-much-worse losses, fewer FCS losses, and H2H over us on selection day. Not to mention Weber has a chance to build a resume with that scenario.

    In other words, we almost have to treat @Sac as do-or-die as well depending on what their record is looking like in the last few weeks
  • Riveraggie
    239
    .
    Don’t want to count chickens before they hatch, but It comes down to ranking and record. If Davis and Sac are both ranked similarly, the loser won’t drop much in the polls. But to be a sure thing to get in, even at 8-4 I think they need a signature win. That is almost a sure thing, but not a certainty, depending on the seasons some of their victims have. For example Its possible to be 8-1 and then lose the last three games, and then you have to hope your team has a win over a ranked team earlier in season.
  • CA Forever
    653
    Game notes are already up. I don't see any real changes in the depth chart.

    Game Notes
  • movielover
    524
    How fast is this for football?

    Stacy Dobbins - 11.20 - 100 meters

    https://www.athletic.net/result/vOiay5Mc1irdoneFo/
  • movielover
    524
    His junior year he led the state in receptions.
  • Riveraggie
    239

    Not as fast as Chukwudobe or Colton Silveria ran in high school.
    Slightly faster then Cole Wright the Boise transfer.
    I’m sure we’ve had many others faster than him in the 100. I think he is elusively quick.
  • Aggie Pride Podcast
    131
    Coach Coombs interview tonight for the POD to recap cal and preview Commerce
  • agalum
    325
    Just realized these guys are transitioning to division 1. For some reason i thought they were a naia school. Remember when S. Alabama came to town during their transition? That was one of my worse Aggie nightmares.
  • Riveraggie
    239
    South Alabama wasn’t transitioning, they were starting their program in Division 1.
  • AggieFinn
    467


    Correct, they were building directly with a FBS recruited grade roster. Young players and transfers.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.2k
    He's really building family like, team culture that's rooted in Aggie football history and, as a result, the players we have will want to stay here and players looking for a more supportive environment via the portal will want to come here. I think great things are in the works for Aggie football.
  • BaseballAtDobbins
    51
    How concerned should we be that they looked good as long as they did vs San Diego State?
  • CA Forever
    653
    Interesting that taking the name plates off of the jerseys looks like it's going to be a permanent change. I understand the 'honoring the past' take Plough has on it, but I have to be honest and say that I much prefer having the name plates present.
  • CA Forever
    653
    I think that they will be better than last season and they played a solid defensive first half, but SDSU was not predicted to be the creme de la creme of the Mountain West this season. The Aggies SHOULD win comfortably if the offense can play cleanly, but that has now been a challenge for a season plus for our guys.
  • Zander
    190
    Speaking as an SDSU fan, they’re in basically full rebuild with a new system and apparently freshman QB. They also haven’t had a decent offense in the better part of a decade. That was a prime setup for an FCS scare.

    Maybe A&MC might move the ball marginally better vs the Aggie D but like others have noted we should both get going on the ground and have a bit of a better attack through the air than SDSU did at first
  • CA Forever
    653
    Another great episode guys! It's only a matter of time before Coach Coombs gets the call from a big name program. Dude is too smart and has put too good of a product on the field to stay here forever unfortunately.

    I agree with you Brock in terms of our offensive identity or lack there of. There's a lot of questions marks there and I think we'll get more answers this weekend. For instance, tempo was a hallmark aspect of Plough's offense when he was here previously yet he specifically stated that they played slow to limit Cal's time with the ball. Are we going to hit the Lions with some high tempo on Saturday and catch them off guard?
  • Riveraggie
    239
    Plough said in one of his interviews, i don’t recall which, that they look for signs teams are vulnerable to tempo, example being the San Jose State game. He said in another interview that tempo was a big thing for a while but teams are better prepared for iit.
    Shortening the game makes sense when playing against better opponents. It is like being in a casino, your probability of walking out with money decreases with the number of bets, the odds catch up with you.
    It remains to be seen how much Plough is going to feature Larison. They threw to him 7 times with 1 completion. I think he has got to be running from scrimmage against FCS opponents more than he did against Cal.
  • DrMike
    716
    Did you watch the game? I turned it on in the second half and it was still close (i think 24-14 or 16-6), but from that time on SDSU pretty much had their way with them. TAMC had 180 total -> not sure what the break down was first vs second. Both teams combined for 31 (!) penalties, so maybe that slowed the Aztecs down early? I, honestly, didn't watch too closely. Those games at Berkeley wear me down!

    Plough said at the press conference that the defense wes good (fast, flying around) and the offense much improved from last year. 180 yards doesn't seem like a big showing, unless penalties (long yardage) and SDSU's growing lead (lots of pressure) slowed them down.
  • Riveraggie
    239
    If you look at the drive chart the Aztecs had punt punt FG punt downs FGA in the first half
    In the second half it was TD TD TD TD downs. Plus an interception for a TD.
    Quite an avalanche.
  • NCagalum
    258
    . I think he has got to be running from scrimmage against FCS opponents more than he did against Cal.

    Absolutely. “Shredville” in concept is fine and can be entertaining, but you have a Larison you give him a bunch of touches. Of course offensive strategy is conditional, as other options open up especially when the defense stacks the box to try to stop him. I still remember the quote from Hawk regarding the Idaho State game “quit overthinking and just give the ball to Lan”.
  • CA Forever
    653
    Texas A&M Commerce Game Notes

    Commerce game notes still list Rodriguez as the starting QB after he went out with an injury against SDSU. That being said, I don't know if they really update their depth chart in the notes from week to week.
  • 88Aggie
    22
    I wouldn't mind if Plough bought a razor and used it before press events and either ditched the hat or turned it around with the bill facing forward to look a little more serious. He doesn't need to be Pat Riley as that is not Davis style but he also doesn't need to look like he just finished cleaning out of the hog pen!
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