• AggieFinn
    500
    The 7-2 Thunderbirds are already playoff eligible and coming into Davis with sights set on a Big Sky Championship (they play NAU after the Ags).

    We can expect a physical, 4 quarter game. Head Coached by former Aggie RB Demario Warren, he enters his 2nd season coming off a 6-5 campaign in 2016. SUU qualified for the playoffs in 2013 and 2015, losing to Sam Houston State in the First Round both of those seasons.

    The Aggies traveled to Cedar City last season in early October and managed to score 3 points....while giving up 24 in what was a quiet rout of attrition.

    QB #3 Patrick Tyler (6'-4", 200 lbs.), a native of Compton, CA, is a cool customer and is on the National Watchlist for CFPA National Performer of the Year. So far this season Tyler has gone 117/277 (64%) with 17 TDs and 9 INTs. His efficiency rating is 140.2, and he has spread the ball effectively as 5 different Thunderbird receivers have over 200 yards this season. Tyler is also averaging 35 rushing yards a game with 3 scores so far this season. Top targets for Tyler include #18 WR Landen Measom a FRESHMAN from South Jordan and #19 TE Logan Parker a junior also from South Jordan.

    Patrick+Tyler+Southern+Utah+v+BYU+udLdK_Qu40ml.jpg

    Rushing the football has given SUU tremendous balance as they have 1860 rushing yards so far this season, coming from 4 sources, spearheaded by #23 James Felila (6'-0", 200 lbs., Kearns, UT) with 743 yards on 174 carries (4 yd avg.). #21 Jay Green (a sophomore from Modesto) and #23 Terrance Beasley (a freshman from Inglewood) have also been explosive averaging 5.0 and 7.8 yds per carry on the season, respectively.

    New life abounds for the surging Aggies (5-4) now after they dropped 59 points on an Idaho State team that beat Nevada earlier in the year. It will be a tough test at home, where the Aggies have managed to find a way to lose to good teams in recent times (See vs. EWU 2017, vs. Weber State 2016, vs. Montana 2015, vs. South Dakota 2015).

    12950102.jpeg

    I hope Hawk and Co. have the Aggies on laser sharp focus all week after a big road win, because this SUU team has the ability to beat us by 40. Whatever razz dazz, new wrinkles we can come up with should come out now...if Davis can grind out a home victory against these very tough Thunderbirds they will have a chance...a CHANCE...at hitting the Playoff scene going into Sac (who trounced SUU earlier this season in Sacramento).

    2017 SUU Highlights @ Weber State and vs. EWU & Cal Poly:





  • CA Forever
    670
    Nice write up Finn! I don't predict an Aggie win in this one, but crazier things have happened before. We have to stop trying to make gimmick run plays work. Defenses have been sniffing it out for weeks now and it's just not working. Even ISU's suspect defense totally dominated against gimmick runs. It has become a detriment to the team to run those plays. Stick to the offense's identity and we might have a chance.
  • AggieFinn
    500


    I agree on fly sweep...if you can't block for it to be successful, it's not a deterrent in the arsenal.

    Another note - Hey UC Davis Athletics - is it so much to ask to get a YouTube highlight compilation for every UC Davis game? SUU does it every week, it should be standard.

    A kid can cut it in about an hour.

    Another Another note - couldn't find tape on the the SUU @ Sac game...but the Honut QB Kevin Thompson had a huge, Cam Newton like day, throwing and running for huge chunk of yards, and 7 total TDs on the night (Sac had 586 of total yards on offense). SUU also turned the ball over 3 times.
  • movielover
    534
    I was shocked last night. We actually produced a higjlught clip of the game... someone did.

    We've been asking for it for years.

    Yesterday they also produced these boring 5 second blue and gold GIFs with no video. Stale.

    Great write up.
  • movielover
    534
    University of Northern Iowa, where Pat McCann coaches, has now beaten 3 top-10 foes.
  • DrMike
    742
    I couldn’t much of the field on the reverse so I don’t know what we might have gained if their end didn’t make a really good play. We have occasionally used the fly action as play action to open a back side pass but haven’t seen it as decoy much. That makes predictable. Surprised we didn’t see any wildcat. Went to I-formation once in red zone sucessfully
  • movielover
    534
    Maybe we are saving some special sauce for SUU?
  • 69aggie
    377
    I guess if you have a $170+ million athletic budget and a coach that makes $5 mill a year, this is predictable: Texas Aggies will fire their HC after this season if he does not win more than 8 GAMES THIS YEAR! So says Dallas Morning News today.
  • AggieFinn
    500


    In Texas, the expectations couldn't be any higher.
  • SoCalAg
    1
    So if we win out...do we get a playoff spot?
  • aggie6thman
    158
    SUU would be our signature win...I just don't see it happening even if we win out.
  • The Big Easy
    16
    Good work...great write up!
  • movielover
    534
    We have to concentrate on one game. SUU.

    We have proven that we can beat lesser teams, and we balled w EWU for 4 quarters, coming up short by 3. We competed with NAU, but only played well 1/2.

    Can we beat a legit team? FCS rankings last week.

    #2 NDSU
    #11 EWU
    #14 Weber
    #16 NAU
    #23 SUtah

    We competed w #11 and #16, why not #23?
  • DrMike
    742
    I think they might take 4 Big Sky teams. With so many teams bunched up toward the top, we’d need some help. SUU, Weber and NAU are 5-1. EWU Montana Sac and MSU are next at 4-2. MSU plays NAU play each other next week, the others (beside SUU!) should cruise. So even if we upset SUU, there would be 6 or 7 teams ahead. The final week has MSU v Montana and Weber v NAU, so not much help there.

    So don’t think so. Weber or NAU will be 8-1 and the other 6-2. EWU 6-2. Then a possible logjam at 5-3 . Montana winning out to finish 6-2 would be bad. Win out and get some upset help from someone like Dakota. We’d need EWU to fold so we could leap over them
  • CA Forever
    670
    I don't think there is a real path for us to make the playoffs even if we do manage to win out. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive to get wins these last 2 weeks. A 7-4 season would be monumental for this program. It helps build a foundation for new recruits and promoting the program in general.
  • DrMike
    742
    couldn’t agree more! 6-5 with a California sweep would be great, but 7-4 would be a huge first step back.

    Honestly at the beginning of the season I didn’t see 5 sure wins on the schedule. I didn’t expect the drop off in Portland, Poly and Dakota, but with all the new pieces and the recent history another 2-9 or 3-8 was my unspoken thought. Glad to be proven wrong!
  • movielover
    534
    My take. Keys.

    Key #1 - Maier (duh)

    Key #2 - Dr. Blue figuring how to sign a larger class.

    Key #3 - large, quality JC recruits who help right away. Martin C, Flowers, LB Moe, RB Modise, QB Maier, DT Cloud. That's 6 huge contributors. Best JC class ever? Coach Tucker helped with that! Did Mrak also help?

    Are playoff slots picked by formula, committee? It could be enticing to add a California school with a top 5 QB and WR. Plus ability to draw 10,000?
  • CA Forever
    670
    There are the autobids and the rest is selected by committee as far as I know.
  • BaseballAtDobbins
    60
    Either way, SUU is a good team and it will take everything to beat them. A California sweep is always good esp since those are the guys you are competing with for most of our player battles. Granted Sac State isn't as smart as us and Poly. USD does have the beach aspect in "America's finest city" despite being non-schollie (but they can do academic scholarships right)? So every in-state win should count for something esp in our recruiting hotbed. I mean we're not getting Pac12 quality guys, but our state does produce great FCS talent as well.
  • agalum
    332
    Suc beat SUU. But its still men against boys :). While i want to beat SUU, beat Suc and we beat our two biggest rivals and we walk away with a winning season. I have a lunch bet with the guys at work at the start of the season. I took 5 wins for the Ags. I think i am going to be off by one game.
  • Kerberos
    58
    Better to be off in this direction instead of the other!

    SUU will be the 3rd time this season that we're playing the team at the top of the conference standings. Had we played Weber State only a couple weeks later, it would be the 4th. A win on Saturday would be a huge statement for the program and the direction it's moving in.
  • movielover
    534
    6 wins we're in great shape. 7 wins we are in outstanding shape.

    Loaded at DB and LB. A monster DE / DT would be great.

    We also seem set at QB and WR. Some O linemen and a stud RB would be a good start.
  • WILDCAT
    2
    You guys would be my new best friends if you win Saturday
  • CA Forever
    670
    I wouldn't hold your breath. The Aggies are definitely improved this season, but we've struggled against some of the stronger teams.
  • WILDCAT
    2
    Anything can happen man, Davis is going to be riding high and play really well at home. The odds may not be in your favor, but anything can happen in the great sport of Football
  • Oldbanduhalum
    599
    I spent 7 hours with a Weber football alum driving through the first snow storm of the year yesterday (in Washington - long story) . He is definitely an Aggie fan this week. Go Ags!
  • WILDCAT
    2
    All of Wildcat nation are UC Davis fans this weekend.


    Of course this is all moot if we stub our toe at Portland State next weekend
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.2k
    Well, as it turns out, my wife and I will be home for the SUU after our misadventure in southern Utah between our car and a poor deer. The repair shop has now told us that they expect the car to be fixed by the 22nd. We want to be home for Thanksgiving and it would be too expensive to stay here for that long so we booked a flight from St George to Sacramento on Friday. Then we will return to St George on the 29th to pick up the car and drive back home. So that means we'll be in the stands on Saturday rooting for the Ags to upset SUU!!
  • BaseballAtDobbins
    60
    and Causeway too? Great news though!
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.2k
    Yes, we'll be at the Causeway too! I think that will be a very tough game also but, as we all know, it is never acceptable to lose to Sac!
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