I don't know if we are thinking of the same play but the critical one I remember was in the first quarter also where we had them stopped for another 3 and out and then there was a holding call on one of our corners. Then, next play IIRC, Barriere threw a bomb down to the one yard line on a busted coverage. They scored and the momentum changed quickly.

An early decision by Hawk that left me scratching my was the choice to punt on the 4th and inches at midfield early in the game instead of going for it. They had picked up momentum and were beginning to roll and we needed a make a play to to give us some life.

Hawk normally takes risks to win and I think that conservative call sent the wrong message. The game was still within striking distance. Punting in that situation sent a message to them and to our team that we didn't think we could pick up a few inches. They got the ball back a moved down the field.

Three biggest factors that turned the game into a blowout to me were:

1) The dominance of their D line and the constant pressure on Jake plus the outstanding coverage of their DB's blanketing our receivers and then Jake desperately throwing into double and triple coverage. We were lucky that they only picked him twice.

2) The athleticism of Barriere. He made us miss all day long and ran us ragged. Our D was gassed just chasing him around all afternoon and being on the field so long. When things began to snowball we were missing tackles and they were still gaining more yards with several Ags hanging onto the ball carrier. I think the D was just worn down and Barriere was the main man who wore them out.

3) 5 turnovers that led to 21 points.

The call by their coach to have Barriere throw for another TD on 3rd and goal with 41 seconds left in the game with the score 52-20 was as poor sportsmanship as I have seen in a long time. 32 points ahead with 41 seconds to go wasn't enough...bull crap...that was just rubbing it in...

There's a lot on the line next Saturday. Time to lick our wounds, learn what we can, heal up and take our frustrations out on the Hornets!

that’s the call. I think he had them stopped inside their 20 do we should have gotten good position on the punt. Oh well

I'm not focused as key one 4th and short call.

Interesting that by my unofficial count (from pbp notes), 44% (11) of our first quarter offensive plays (25) went to Gilliam, 20% (5) to Harrell.

I'm befuddled why we didn't go back to our one RB who is a proven downhill runner who breaks tackles (w solid handles). There was one missed reception, and he prevented an INT on another pass.

I'd prefer not to see their 24 / 27 seniors again, and hope they come back to the pack next year.

Davis Enterprise: Eagles fly high in second-half rout of Aggies, 59-20

“Mama told me there would be days like this, but she didn’t tell me it would be today,” said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins.

“We just couldn’t find a rhythm out there, but you have to give them a lot of credit. Their defense gave us problems all afternoon and when their offense got rolling they really poured on the coals. That’s a very good football team.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/eagles-fly-high-in-second-half-rout-of-aggies-59-20/

We were outclassed this weekend by a home team on Senior Day. This game was the third in a row of tough games, and while I hate to make excuses, this one stacked up against us in every way. We come out and destroy Suck State, win a playoff game, and that will be a hell of a season.

Yep, great season.

We're in the playoffs, anything can happen... except the Bison losing.

Well, we'll just have to bring the kryptonite.

Hate to say it....but them California boys weren't ready for it up there. Its a different game in CA.

Good experience for a young team.

I was watching some of the highlights and you could see us laboring. There was one where Doss made a great catch off his own tip, and we came up hugging and puffing like he had run a marathon. I imagine it’s like trying to adjust to altitude

Cheney Elevation is 2352 feet

probably felt a lot higher breathing in that 30 degree air!

Some of the Eastern fans sitting near me were confidant our team couldn't handle the cold. I wanted them to be wrong, but there's no question we had trouble with it. I don't want to say that's why we lost. EWU is a great team. We've improved tremendously but there's still a ways to go.

I'd think its especially tough if you just come in for 1 or 2 plays.

It's easy to become dehydrated in very dry, cold weather too.

That last TD by EWU is what will cost them if we meet them in the playoffs. All that did was encite the Ags to whip their a****. Never give an opponent a reason to kick your a**. That TD by EWU gave the Ags a reason to kick their a**. Big coaching mistake on their part. It's like telling someone that can't succeed at something. The last thing they want to do is let you be right!

:up: :up: :up:

Momentum is so big too, psychology, TOs... just take away 3 of the 4 TOs (forget the Hail Mary), offense completes another drive in the 3rd quarter... so the D gets a blow ... and its a different game... don't get me wrong, they are very, very good... but I don't think they're 5 TDs better.

Points scored after a game is decided don’t mean much
Happy to note that the playoff commitees computer method quoted on this board didn’t reward point differential past 21 points.

saw one of the brackets that shows a possible UCD vs SDSU - the one in the northern tier state not the one where it is always 72 degrees - matchup If in Brookings that time of year .... yikes!

That would be a brutal draw...

I made a comment during the game that the temperature "felt" much colder than what the thermometer indicated. My feet were frozen. In hindsight, would it have helped if the team got there a few days early and practiced on the field? I remember back in the D2 days when we were hosting a playoff game, one of the dakota teams got here like in the middle of the week and were practicing at a high school in Vacaville.

Well, after seeing my therapist, I am putting this game behind me and looking forward to the Causeway, if we can play it.

Unless some teams ahead of us drop and we get a seed, I would bet it is us vs. U-San Diego at our place. USD has played Poly and NAU the past two years.

and won both.

... heh.

It's interesting that these playoffs, really seem to be more like Regionals in the first round, expanding to the bigger/longer trips across the country thereafter.

I think SDSU finally got an indoor stadium, but could be wrong

Nope. New Stadium but not indoor
https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/south-dakota-state-university/2016/08/27/dana-j-dykhouse-stadium-s-game-changer/89347180/

Nice upgrade ikn Brookings though! Good to see the investment