All right, Game 1 is in the books--always hard to measure a team after one game, but the Aggies hung around against an FBS team and stayed in the Top 5 for the Coaches Poll & AGS rankings.
San Diego is coming off a loss at Cal Poly. It was close in the beginning until Cal Poly pulled away halfway through. SD mounted a comeback but it was too little, too late. But they showed they can be explosive if you let your guard down.
The Poly game was the SD quarterback's first start and, although he threw for 416 yards and 4 TDs, he also gave up 3 INTs. It will be interesting to see how that style of play works out against an Aggie team that forced 4 turnovers against an FBS team.
This, in my opinion, is a take-care-of-business kind of game. San Diego is always prepared and are good every year, so UC Davis had better shake off what they "coulda" done against Cal and do what they "gotta" do against USD. It will also be a better evaluation for what the offense is like minus-Doss.
Just watched the SLO - USD game. The Torreros, as is often the case, have a real gun slinger in their QB (6’4”). They don't grind it out, but run a few plays and take deep shots. They have a 6’5” TE. All their receivers look good, and have a knack for getting open in the middle of the field. Poly really burned them on the long ball. Their dbs seemed to be several steps behind the poly receivers. SD does have a dynamite kick returner and it showed against poly.
I hope our DBs can essentially cover SDs receivers like Cal did to us. It will be nice to not have to deal with C Brown jr.
BTW, poly looks legit this year.
Wife and I will be flying commercial down to SD for the game, arriving Friday. Did someone say Mexican food and Margaritas?
Orlando Ornelas, a true freshman,is listed in the depth chart at Harrell’s position. He must have looked very good in camp. Has run an 10.99 second 100 in track. Was QB his senior year and the first commit we had in 2019 class.
Just saw that. It’s Harrel or Ornelas. When i first read your post i was worried that Jared was hurt. I really like his athleticism and have heard that he is a very humble, respectful individual. Aggie Pride.
Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. As we all know, the depth chart doesn’t mean who’s playing, just Hawkins tool to motivate or acknowledge some players. But I think it’s meaningful that of all the new receivers Ornelas is the guy.
I’m really happy that Harrell and Vaughan are healthy and on our team, thanks Coach Gould. Funny that wide receiver is the position where his recruits still have leading roles.
Remember last year’s game got dicey. They had a pick 6 then scored immediately after our quick turnover to turn 20-7 into 21-20. Remember Plough called a hook and lateral to Doss on next possession that kick started us to a big win.
Year before was close for a half. Doss scored on a 75 yard bomb a minute into the game, but was 14-7 us at half. Hawk went for a 4th and 1 on OUR 30 that broke for long TD, and that broke it open.
Never ever overlook an opponent no matter what level. That being said, I am fairly confident that the Aggies will take care of business in this one. San Diego's defense look porous against Cal Poly. Hopefully our offense can gain some confidence back in this one after their performance against Cal (which is still undetermined if their defense is that good or if we are shaky on offense without Doss... or a combination of both).
And let’s not forget SD wins the Patriot League every year and is a regular in the playoffs. I think Dr. Mike nailed it, “No turnovers, get ahead early and pull away.” We dont want them to get momentum at home. Look for them to take a lot of deep shots. Our secondary needs to step up and essentially do what Cal did to us.
Packing bags now. Go Ags!
We fly out at 11:30. As opposed to our trip to San Diego State two years ago, it’s AM this time not PM. That wasn’t my finest moment in travel planning.
Hey guys, my wife and are a couple of days into a 7 week trip to Michigan, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New England. We'll be at the Army @ Michigan game tomorrow but I'll be checking my phone for updates so post up often. We still got our season tickets again since we want to support the program. We return on October 24th and will be excited to go to the Weber State game on the 26th.
BTW, I heard last night that the game is sold out. Im sure glad I bought my tickets in Davis before heading south. Who would have guessed a sell out? Maybe they have a small stadium.
I’d be shocked if it’s full. In the past, it was about half full for our games down there. Maybe the 2:00 start, and early in the school year makes a big difference? Their largest attendance last season was 3100
I love the line in the SD Union article regarding the USD defensive play against Poly: “Except for that issue with the iceberg, the trip on the Titanic was a nice boat ride.” The guy can write a very good and entertaining sports story. Rare talent these days.