2nd pick was miscommunication between Maier and Crawford?

watched it a couple times, don’t think it was miscommunication. UNI rushed 3, dropped 8 into coverage (gave them ability to bracket certain WR’s). They had a safety over the top and a corner underneath on Crawford’s side and Jake did not see the corner at all. It looked bad live (as if there wasn’t an Aggie WR even close). Then if you watch the replay that is shown from behind Jake, you can see ball would have gone right to Crawford if not for the corner. I just think JM didn’t see the corner (maybe because he was rushed feeling pressure from the right end??). Most likely just didn’t see the corner at all is my guess.

Got to give UNI a lot of credit. They were resiliant on defense and played Maier tougher then any other team. Yet Jake did enough to get the job done. Moving forward, to compete with teams like that, we need the kind of physical play (size?) on the line that UNI has. While we had our moments getting after their QB, most of the time he had plenty of time. Had Jake had that kind of time, he would have shred them.

Great game, but we likely need to play better against EWU.

Catch the huge redshirt lineman on our home side Sat? Transfer. 6'9", 310#. Albright?

absolutely. UNI was going to be a test and the Ags handled it. Not pretty & could certainly point to chances to have won that game by more but UNI made it tough. Real good first playoff test and UCD made plays when they needed it, especially on D. Good momentum heading into this week.

EWU presents challenges up front as well. The Ags OL is very young and getting better by the week. That’s a good thing bc they need their best game of the year. Ags need to score 30+ while doing it against a very good front 7. I don’t see a way EWU is held to less than 30. They just can’t have 350 yards rushing and 59 points. win the turnover battle. Gotta slow down the run. Need a few more stops than last time. UCD gonna be much better prepared this time - they’ve seen them, they played in the cold, they will game plan differently. Can they do enough to win it? Gonna be fun to watch on Saturday. I believe in Hawk & this team.

we need the kind of physical play (size?) on the line that UNI has[/quote]
UN's most imposing unit is their offensive line.
However the size difference between their OL and ours is not that much. Using the list for offensive linemen in the game notes we find that their average offensive linemen is
6' 5.5" 296lb and our is 6'4.3" 294lb.

I think that since Amoah, Lamson, Pettek, Parks and Richardson are all lower classmen they'll all gain some weight and strength almost without trying
But it is interesting that UNI seems to have a minimum height for offensive linemen of 6'4', even their other roster OL linemen are tall


LT 73 Nick AMOAH 6-3 290 RFr.
or 70 Colton LAMSON 6-6 285
LG 75 Charles HAYS 6-4 305 Jr.
or 77 Ramsey HUFFORD 6-3 296 Sr.
C 74 Connor PETTEK 6-3 300 RFr.
or 56 Will MARTIN 6-3 290 Sr.
RG 56 Will MARTIN 6-3 290 Sr.
or 60 Jake PARKS 6-3 290 Fr.
RT 72 Riley GALLANT 6-6 300 Jr.
or 79 Kooper RICHARDSON 6-6 298

LT 75 Cal Twait Sr. 6-5 305
78 Tyler Putney Sr. 6-6 302
LG 74 Jackson Scott-Brown Jr. 6-4 312
72 Justin Peine R-Fr. 6-5 293
or 67 Erik Sorensen R-Fr. 6-6 320
C 55 Colton Lueck Jr. 6-4 286
79 Ezrah Szczyrbak Sr. 6-4 299
RG 71 Nick Ellis R-So. 6-4 308
70 Trevor Penning R-Fr. 6-6 289
RT 76 Spencer Brown R-So. 6-8 290
77 Matt Vanderslice So. 6-7 257

Interesting, I never really looked quantitatively, just perception from watching the game. Maybe it's experience, but whatever it is, they were protecting their QB better then we were protecting ours. Overall we have a young team. It's exciting to think about next year considering where we were, and where we are. But this season helped set the bar. Can we at least match it next year? I hope so.

We could use some improvement on the defensive line. But even there its not so much a size issue as just being better.

UNI boards calling for Farley's head. Hope he doesn't end up at Sac, lol.

It seems Farley needs to find a version of Plough. If the complaint is that their play calling is too predictable and seemed to get better when McCann called the plays either make McCann the OC or find some young guy with a more contemporary offensive approach.

looking back....we were 'this close' to blowing that game out. Doss had his hands on a ball in the endzone on the first drive (TOUGH catch, but one we have come to expect of him) and we settled for FG. And, we couldn't get it into the endzone after that incredible catch before the end of the half. get both of them, and its 24-6 at the half with us getting the ball. I know they were lamenting their INT's , but the first one of ours should have been caught and led to a scoring opportunity (they missed a LONG field goal, so credit our D). the 2nd INT led to one of their redzone INT's, so kind of a wash.

i know there's some 'IF's' there, but if ONE of those had been TD's instead of FG's, we'd have been in a position to turn up the heat on defense in the 2nd half (instead of the run-first approach we had to play, leaving the flats open). but, its a WIN!

TT continues to put up impressive ypc stats and yardage after contact. Can't we get him in earlier?

Agree about TT but also see why the coaches love Gilliam. We would have scored at end of first half if we had enough time on the clock to run. It’s hard to pass into the end zone from the 2.

i agree; he runs really tough between the tackles, but has the patience to find the seams. Gilliam is REALLY good at the off-tackle run. he almost put the game away with 2 or 3 10+ yard runs on that last drive (make the FG and its over). Thomas has also really improved in the passing game, both as a receiver and protector. I'm guessing they feel a bit more flexibilty with Gilliam, so they stay with him a little longer.

looking back....we were 'this close' to blowing that game out. — DrMike

THIS ^^^
Farley post-game was a little off....made it seem like they gave us the game with turnovers.

Thomas SHOULD have scored at the end of the half on that shuffle pass. that was a really creative call with the motion and he would have waltzed into the endzone but we missed a block. again 'this close' to blowing it wide open.

Coaches always focus on their teams failures in postgame interviews and the other teams strength pregame, coaches are smart guys they know the press conference playbook

FWIW.

Rushing
Gilliam 5.3 ypc
Thomas 6.9 ypc

Receiving
Gilliam 7 yp receptipn
Thomas 10.62 yp reception

Is that for the season or last game?

I like how Modise, Thomas, and Gilliam all get carries. There styles are so different that it seems to keep the D on their toes, or heels :).

Season. I love that we have 3 talented backs.

Agreed. I think flexibility is the difference although TT is developing well as a receiving option. His run for a critical first down in the last drive was awesome, and illustrated his strength I think. In my mind, those first downs despite the failed FG that would have sealed it, were a big factor in the victory since it changed field position substantially.

We left at least 10 points out on the field on Saturday vs. UNI. They would say they left points on the field too...but a dropped pass inside the 5 (turnaround for a huge INT return that set up a UNI field goal) and a missed UCD field goal. That's a 13 point swing for UNI.

Edit: we actually got the pick back after that huge play from the Preece drop. 10 pt. swing

Doss dropped a TD on the first drive - 14 points now

Well, let's just say, for a first time playoff game, we made just enough plays to beat UNI...to beat EWU we need to be turnover free and we need to make every big play.

Yes - have to put up 6 every time in the red zone.

Wait...with that turf...I guess that means every drive. :lol:

i was telling a buddy, we should fair catch EVERY kick. use the new kickoff rule to our advantage and take over at the 25. same as punts. in the cold, i worry about turnovers in the kicking game. hard to hold on to the ball in damp, 30-degree weather after a full-speed collision.

Every time he talks he has my full attention...awesome...

This is a good read written by a UC Davis student:
https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/owen-yancher-i-felt-the-aggie-pride/

“I watched as the stadium erupted in the fourth quarter when UCD head coach Dan Hawkins noticed himself up on the jumbotron and pointed to the old school Cal Aggies logo on his hat.

I felt the energy, the overwhelming emotion. I felt Aggie Pride. And I think most of the 8,000-plus that made it out to the game Saturday night did as well.”