Gonna tell you what....
That was the most pathetic student section I have ever witnessed. The team was fired up to finally play a game with students in town and stuffed in the east stands. They showed up but were silent. All they did was shake those dumb bells. I felt like I was at a school for the deaf game.
This absolute letdown in student support sucked the life out of the team AND the fans. It was painfully obvious the team was let down- zero passion, zero urgency. Never been so unhappy at a football game.
That being said, on to the next. This team plays better on the road.
Tehran Thomas had 6.2 yards per carry, but sure seemed to walk off Sochor Field slowly.
The Griz completely locked down our run game.
When I walked through the student section they were collecting tshirts, on their phones, or in massive lines for food. Fairly warm. Teams deadlocked at 0-0. The team should motivate themselves, no? ... Surprised we haven't figured out concession lines for a stadium only at 80% of capacity?
I actually thought the students did a decent job. They showed out and had to actually sit on the other side of the band because there were so many. Seemed like the west side of the stadium was more empty than usual. During the first few minutes of the game it was apparent to me that the team was not ready to play. From the first snap we were man handled and Montana controlled the line of scrimmage. On here we constantly complain about the students and today I don't think they deserve any blame. They showed up. Sure they could be louder but that's something they learn with time. If we want them to stay and come back we need to perform on the field and we didn't today.
The students might have been louder if they had something to cheer about. This was a total beatdown by the Griz. We were never really in the game. Honestly, I think we were outplayed and out-coached today. To play this poorly with a good crowd and lots of students is extremely disappointing to say the least.
Unfortunately, you can say goodbye to most of the students for the next home game after what they saw today. We may have been ranked #4 or 5 going into this game but we didn't even play like a team that should be in the top 20. We will drop like a stone in the rankings and deservedly so after getting dominated like this.
It's going to be really tough. We have some glaring weaknesses at the moment:
1) We have not be able to rush the ball consistently and effectively
2) We have not been able to protect Maier and give him time
3) We have not been able to establish a good pass rush
4) We have not been able establish a deep pass threat
I had bigger hopes for our line play given 7 O lineman at 295 pounds plus, and 5 Seniors on the D line. Size and depth. We only had 60 yards rushing on 30 carries. Or maybe its game plan, we battled the Bison, where turnovers killed us.
Have we abandoned the Jet sweep? I'm not sure having a WR throw a 40 yard bomb - across the field - is a wise play.
We don't have the tape. Our DBs hung w Cal, but their QB is mediocre at best. USD had their way with us. Montana exploited something and scored 3 TDs in 6 minutes, and their QB ran at will. Back breaking. We no longer have Doss as an escape valve, and no Mason Moe. A few bombs to speedster Harrell might make their DBs cheat less. Good to see Babb and Mouisset contribute.
Nine penalties. They ran, we didn't. (260 vs 60.) Babb had 5 receptions, and true freshmen Orlando Ornelas had 6 catches. RF DB Venable 6 tackles, true Frosh Mouisset 2 big tackles. They brought pressure, hits on JM, 3 sacks, we got 0.
Playoffs a long shot. Hawk called it a "learning experience". Do we need to shake things up?
Had kids in town and choir duty so only (thankfully) listened to 1st quarter. Could even “feel” on the radio call that Ags we’re confused/not ready to play. My take away is that it is very difficult to win league championships or be at top consistently. College football is very fickle and those teams that are consistent or have good defenses (e.g., Weber state) will always be on the mix. My guess is that their heads were still on Fargo and Montana simply wanted it way more.
Offense has not been able to stretch field much all year. Running game not nearly as good as last year. To have a shot a playoffs, they can afford at most 1 more loss and that might be iffy. Last year was special and I think maybe too many assumed that would almost automatically happen this year.
"“They outplayed us, out-executed us, out-coached us and out-energied us,” said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins, creating new words as he tried to describe what had just transpired. “Today was tough on a lot of counts, but that’s sports. Those guys are good and they came in here with a force of will, with a good plan and they made plays. You can’t deny what they did. You’ve got to tip your hat to them and admire what they did...."
"Added Sneed: “Seeing them on film, they played great against North Dakota State, but they fell apart in some areas today and we were able to take advantage of that.”
Since we had almost the entire offensive unit back from last year except for Doss and one lineman, that the offense would be at least as good as last year’s. That potential hasn’t been realized. We’ve taken a step back with mostly the same personnel.
Coach Hauck, in pregame press conference in Montana, responded to a question about his teams innovative plays by saying that they also still had “meat and potatoes” football. The Aggies didn’t in this game.
Hawk was creative in describing why we got beat: "out-played, out-executed, out-energied, out-desired and out-everthinged." Saying that this would be "a good lesson" for the team is about the only thing he could find to say that wasn't completely negative.
Time to put this game behind us, regroup and see if they can begin to turn things around at North Dakota.
Well, that was a bad day. We got taken out behind the barn and got an old fashioned butt kicking. Offense was flat, but give Montana credit. Their D is way better than advertised. And the penalties. Im not accustom to Aggie teams loosing control like that.
And to top it off, we got side swiped by a methed up jerk on 113, hit and run. But i caught up with him and got him on dash cam. Be safe out there.
Oh No! Sorry to hear that alum. Some people just don't think driving is that serious a business. I got rear ended on 880 about a year and a half ago. The lady casually backed up and went screaming ahead to the nearest exit! Caught up with her and gave a picture of her license plate to the CHP. Her license was suspended indefinitely, and she faced charges for attempting to flee the scene.
I'd say the only positive thing about yesterday was hearing the Band-Uh! again, they barely let them play though...and they stuck that "other" band down in front of them...the same band that played "Hey Baby" during the game. Really pissed me off, everything is so out of sorts right now...feels weird.
An odd day. The horrendous lines for food on the student side pushed us to the west side. Band there, not in uni's, seasaw 0-0 battle, Montana takes over. Band was loud, solid, lively after the game, outside.
How can you not get jacked for Montana and Big Sky play? Unimaginable with Coach Foster. I guess no team captains stepped forward to correct things. Did they exploit our DBs or LBs?
60 yards rushing has to be a bottom 5 program low. Tehran Thomas is a warrior, but after the game looked really beat up. Is he playing hurt? Philosophical musings can't replace a Bob Foster, Bob Slater, Ryan Parenteau.
Getting to the top is one battle. Staying there is another. Maybe they've figured out our quirks and strategies.
First look at final score and one thinks defensive didn’t get it done. But looking at offense:
First 8 Aggie drives:
2- 3 and outs -1 first down negated by penalty
1-4 play drive ended by fumble, also offensive PI
2 -5 play drives
1-6 play drives ended by fumble
1-7 play drive ended by int.
1-14 play drive TD but assisted by roughing punter. also an off. PI
4.33 yards per play (1.9 yd/rush) vs 6.85 Montana.
Also field position not good.
So pretty clearly lack of offense, turnovers, and 9 penalties sealed the deal. I also noted 3 penalties at NDSU for blocks in back- at least 2 on fair catches. There is a lot to work on. As another noted - mostly the same offense as last year but not performing as last year. I think folks got overconfident about offense after last year - last year was special - got to enjoy those seasons without speculating/assuming automatic equal or better performance the subsequent season.
A few more observations from a biased perspective.
UC Davis fans are not very energetic - don't really do much to inspire the team (3 yr. observation) - cheer/quiet at the wrong times.
Officiating was suspect at best, just review the tape. The obvious (not called) Pass Interference against Kris Vaughn, and the Personal Foul (blindside block) on Carson Crawford for blocking a defender that was in the vicinity of the (live) ball carrier were huge. Both costing Davis crucial first downs. There was also an incident where a Montana player clearly taunted a UC Davis player directly in front of the ref w/o so much as a warning. Now I'm old-school and could care less about an opponent mouthing-off, however, as I understand today's kinder / gentler game, taunting is a strict no-no (15 yd Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty?). Not so different from last year, I guess! There were numerous "non-calls" that affected play as well (stuff happens). And let us not forget the multiple "timely injuries" sustained by Montana's players, effectively resulting in both Davis momentum killers and uncharged Montana time-outs (or is it times-out?). Not an officiating issue, but I chose to mention it anyway.
With that said, I hope every player is ok! (real)
Now none of these things alone cost US Davis the game - they were dismantled. Viewed through the broader context of this contest, their impact cannot be summarily dismissed. It doesn't take much...
It's now time for the players and coaches to step up their game! Onward to Grand Forks, ND!