Davis needs to roll in to Missoula EXPECTING to win. Because for the first time in 7 tries, we should.

Hawk and Plough will have them ready for the Big Sky big stage.

Looks like we are going to need to run the ball well due to weather.

Looking forward to see how good this team really is.

Viewing party for the Davis/Montana game in Santa Rosa:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2023386897700628/

No duck waders?

I wonder if Hawk will pump up the sound volume in Aggie Stadium and have the offense practicing going on a silent count?

Nice! Please, those in the North Bay take your biz to Santa Rosa this Saturday! All of Wine Country needs the business.

You can count on it, I think. Plough related in the Montana radio show how the noise messed up Northern Arizona and how he was not popular on the flight home

I apologize for my ignorance, but I am not sure how the FCS selection process works. I guess I can be excused since the Ags have never been in contention for a berth. Does the Big Sky champ get an automatic slot? If we do not win the championship, is it up to the committee?

Yes the Big Sky is a big enough conference that the conference champ gets an auto-bid into the playoffs. Otherwise, yes, it is up to a selection committee.

Adding to what CA Forever had to say about the Big Sky autobid, it is generally accepted that a team must have at least 7 wins to be considered for an at large bid to the FCS playoffs. Of course, the quality of those wins will be a big factor to the selection committee. Since the Big Sky is considered one of the top conferences in the FCS it is conceivable that we could get 3 or 4 teams into the playoffs.

If we win out I think we would could be seeded as high #3 or #4. If that were to happen we would likely get a first round bye and host a second round game which would be AWESOME!

forecast is back to 55 and rain. I’m up in my cabin and the best I could find was the ‘adult poncho’ at the Arnold Dollar General! I might still have my pants from the Causeway Monsoon

I've used a couple of large, plastic garbage bags in a pinch!

Cheney, WA. Anyone ever been? Thoughts?

Do people actually hang in Cheney for a weekend, or is Spokane the draw? Looks rural, beautiful, homes w character.

Dr. Mike, I recall a game from the Biggs era where I came up from the Bay, camped out near the Aggie Outlet, and a MONSOON hit in the second half... maybe that was the lightning game... I was wet from head to toe. At this minute, can't even recall who won...

That sounds like the Causeway. Cleared the stadium due to lightning. We won.

I can still picture sideline reporter Dan Dibley interviewing MBB coach Gary Stewart in the midst of the storm. Their coats looked like seal skin they were so saturated!

I'm too lazy to confirm Montana/Montana State's historical schedules, but my impression is that they generally have six home games and they stay away from FBS schools.

If true, then that's one thing I'm jealous about the Montanas or similar schools.That's because that's just a big advantage for playoff implications. You don't get an automatic loss for playing an FBS, and you get an extra game at home.

That's like getting a bonus 1.5 wins every year over a typical FCS school.

Any thoughts?

I was thinking the Causeway Monsoon was the Mud Bowl Causeway in 2000 at Hughes Stadium (home game) when we won in a monsoon and mud 13-10. My clothes are still wet from that one. The only significant play was a long post TD to Onome Ojo, one of the best players to ever wear the Aggie uniform. Unfortunately, I just found this recent article about him.https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/02/01/former-nfl-player-idd-as-richmond-cop-badly-hurt-in-sideshow-teens-charged-with-attempting-to-murder-him/

To be frank, I think/hope we're entering an era where 7 to 9 FCS wins will be par for the course each year. This is Year 2 of the rebuild after all, and it's not like our funding and recruiting will fall off after this season. So I'm not worried about the playoff impacts so much.

We're in a bit of a different situation from Montana, in that we have a ton of nearby FBS schools of comparable institutional profile and 3 of them are in an area with a high concentration of Davis grads (the Bay). If the interest picks up in the program it's a bit of a disservice to the California-based alumni to make the options an Aggie Stadium game, a SLO/Sac game, or none at all. So it would be understandable to get a pretty consistent alternating schedule of at least SJSU and Nevada on top of regular USD games and this new Cal series we have going. SDSU and Stanford maybe shouldn't be a regular thing, though I enjoyed those experiences.

That mud bowl game was played in a torrential downpour and 6 inch deep puddles. I think it was the worst field conditions I've ever seen.

Good to see that the article said Ojo would recover from his injuries.

Worse than Toomey in the early 80s?

Much worse...most of the field was in standing water!

Current forecast for Saturday is now 55 and sunny. I figure i'm packing light (my Dollar General poncho is lightweight!), and find a WalMart up there if the weather changes.

Last season my son and I saw Montana State at WSU. The year before that, when Idaho was still a BCS team, I saw Montana State in Moscow for the Vandal opener. Both Montana and Montana State have played the Washington BCS teams regularly.

You'll be able to find plenty of rain gear in Missoula even at WalMart. However, I hope you look good in camouflage. Of course, you could get a fluorescent orange hat with ear muffs to stand out a little better!

, Cheney is pretty small. My son's hockey team played its home games there and I was up regularly. It's pretty, but there aren't a whole lot of restaurant choices. Spokane is close by and has more choices for food. It can be kind of grim in the winter, but it will still be nice enough when the game is played. I was planning to go, but my wife has to go to Rossland BC that day and I'm going with her instead of to the game.

I believe the team stays in Spokane, from what i heard. My Dollar General poncho is a spiffy near-Aggie Blue, so i'm good to go there. MIght just wear old jeans and use Scotch Guard.

I totally agree. Thus far, we've benefited from what seems to be one of the easier schedules we've had (both in opponents and the quality of the year for those opponents), and stayed healthy in key positions. This game is a huge indicator of where we are this year and as a program in the conference. If we can come into the game to play this game (not avenge the 0-7 record), avoid mistakes that we've avoided all year so far, and can overcome the first crazy crowd we will see this year, then we come out 1-7.

Re: the crowd, there should bea fair number of players on this squad who have played in Autzen and at Wyoming's stadium. And Qualcomm had a big crowd for the Aggie game even though it's not as intimate as WaGriz. So it's not like it's a totally new experience

Our guys will be fine, Hawk will see to that. But I will say that, although I haven't been in Autzen, Qualcomm or Wyoming, i have played in Montana's stadium and it's no joke. Those fans feel like they're right on top of you. And they throw Ju Ju Bees at your helmet and heckle you for not being in the game. I mean, that's what I heard...

I did a semi-pro baseball game once @ the Eureka Crabs in July - it was quarter beer night. Best heckles I ever heard, and we all went out after the game to Lost Coast with the locals.

The coaching staff didn't consider the schedule easy. They worked their tails off, beat the Spartans and competed w Stanford. Yes, some BS teams may be down ... not trying to be picky. Our staff knew we were much better, speed better... but not an easy schedule.

It was viewed as a schedule where we could be improved and still have a worse record.Two FBS teams and a transitioning from FBS team etc. San Jose State, Idaho and Cal Poly didn’t play up to their billing; but some of that was us.
We are in the tough home stretch so we won’t count our scalps yet. Just a couple more wins and we will have exceeded expectations; if we haven’t already,