yes more 2 tight end. And oftentimes in support of the run game I believe - at least with Thorpe and O’Keefe.

https://www.standard.net/sports/weber-state/2021/sep/21/weber-state-football-quarterbacks-barron-injury-cooley-transfer/?fbclid=IwAR1fu3xBvKTtECWCIs5HUctf4l5-Lu-q6dUNX8lLs1KYz_g60bc6NN_ejWM

“ While he was still listed as the starter last week, this week’s depth chart did not list freshman Barron, the usual starter, at all after his knee injury two weeks ago at Dixie State.

Junior Randall Johnson is listed as the starter, with sophomore Kylan Weisser as the backup — though, the way it sounds, it may not be that cut and dry. Junior receiver Ty MacPherson said the two are rotating reps with starters and backups.“

“ Devon Cooley, the junior receiver who led Weber State with 733 yards on 59 receptions in 2019, posted on social media Tuesday that he is leaving the team and entering the transfer portal.”

“ TURNING TO UC DAVIS

Hill said Monday’s practice was a bit of a downer after the rough home loss to JMU, but that Tuesday’s was a “fabulous practice” and that it helps to move on when opening Big Sky play against a good team.

“We have all the respect in the world for UC Davis, always have. Coach (Dan) Hawkins does a fabulous job with the offense and the defense down there,” Hill said. “They’re very well-coached, they’re tough, they’ve always had our full focus and attention anytime we play these guys. They’re a really good football team.”

But will they still respect them Sunday morning?
Johnson is the guy who threw the successful Hail Mary against NAU this spring. So he has an arm, height, seems mobile but makes poor decisions at least in the JMU game.
Weisser seems cool. I think we will see more of him unless they start Johnson and stick with him because he’s hot.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-09-23/no-10-uc-davis-visits-no-15-weber-state-week-4s-fcs-game-week

“ For this week's FCS game of the week, head back to Ogden, Utah where No. 10 UC Davis faces No. 15. Weber State in the Week 4's Big Sky matchup.”

“ A win for Weber State will prove that the four-time reigning Big Sky champions still belong in the conversation with the nation's best. For UC Davis, a win adds validation to its jump to a top 10 ranking this season. In the Big Sky conference that has five out of the top 15 teams in the FCS, a conference-opening win can go a long way towards securing the Big Sky's automatic playoff bid. ”

Sam Herder at HERO Sports and Brian McLaughlin at Athlon are both predicting a Davis win. I'm still not convinced due to our general lack of success in Ogden, but it's a new season!

Was their some political reason why Weber does not travel to Davis?

Everyone took down the 2020 schedule but I think they were supposed to come here. The Spring season was a one off that didn’t reflect prior home or away, and they picked up 2021 as it was already scheduled.

Ok, thanks. I had a recollection that it had to do with CA covid policy but wasn’t sure. It would be nice to get them at home.

I wish I had a copy of the canceled schedule to be sure,
It makes sense that they couldn’t use home and away history for the spring schedule because they only had a subset of teams. That could lead to a team having an unbalanced schedule as far as home games were concerned.
By the way their coach would like Davis to be one of his guaranteed games. It’s easy travel due to proximity to the airport. He didn’t add that they usually win, but that might have been an unstated factor.

Is this what you're looking for? This shows Weber State at UCD 4/10/21.
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2020/11/4/big-sky-conference-announces-football-schedule.aspx

No, what was the fall 2020 schedule that got canceled?Season ticket holders might know.
But that’s interesting too, since it showed they were supposed to come here in the spring initially. Then other teams dropped out

the fall 2020 schedule is the one we are playing this season, except for out of conference. The spring thing made it 2 in a row. We were home in 2019

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-week-4-predictions-shsu-uca-davis-weber-bzbz/

“ No. 12 UC Davis at No. 14 Weber State

Weber State is in danger of falling to 1-3 overall and 1-2 against FCS opponents with ranked Montana State and Eastern Washington still to come in October. With starting quarterback Bronson Barron sidelined, Weber’s offense has looked pedestrian, which is putting a big strain on a defense filled with talent. Last week’s game against James Madison saw a 37-10 fourth-quarter deficit. Weber has become one of the more respected programs in the FCS, going deep into the playoffs from 2017-2019. But the Wildcats are slipping fast in the rankings.

UC Davis rolls into town looking to do the opposite and crack into the Top 10 nationally. The Aggies are 3-0 with an FBS win versus Tulsa. The defense has been stout, and the offense has scored 113 points in the last two games against San Diego and Dixie State. Quarterback Hunter Rodrigues is the real deal (61-of-91 for 759 yards, six TDs, and one interception). And Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. is one of the better running backs in the FCS, averaging nearly 100 rushing yards a game this season.

UC Davis is looking loaded this year. And winning at Weber State will turn more people into believers, because I think the Wildcats are still a playoff team, even with a potential 1-3 start.

Prediction: UC Davis 28-17”

I’m not sure I’d refer to our defense last week as ‘stout’. That’s my concern / can we stop them early

Our defense has been “stout” the sense of getting turnovers. They were stout in the March game in the sense of not giving up a lot of points and holding Weber to 3.3 yards per rush,
.
The defense has added Duncan and Suani who took spring off. Suani seems more disruptive at his lower weight, and it’s good to have depth against their big line. The earlier game was the second under a new coordinator, and I think we’ve improved. Lots of reasons to be optimistic if we look past the series history.

Can we take Pint to this game at Weber? He would work for both sides with equal pay. It would be the ultimate “Good JuJu” to have this sentient being (dog) apply his spirit to the game. He will not play favorites, but just have the game a fair one. Spoiler Alert: I think the Aggies should travel with the dog food.

good points, as usual! The March defensive effort was one of the best o can remember vs a top BSC team. Let’s see that, along with the current version of the offense!

Weather says 81 degrees at kickoff. I’ll pack a windbreaker for the second half, but looks very comfortable

"The earlier game was the second under a new coordinator, and I think we’ve improved."

I don't know much about football strategies, but I have enjoyed your recent previous posts. Hence, in what ways do you think that we've improved?

We also added Harlston ? (6'3" DB), but Buchanan has to sit a half.

As for the evidence that we improved, this is from the Weber game notes:
The Aggies are also third in the Big Sky in scoring defense, rushing defense and third down conversions.
Nationally, the Aggies lead the nation in interceptions with eight this season. UC Davis is also fourth in the country in turnover margin and rank fourth in the nation in red zone defense,
Its noteworthy that Tulsa couldn’t move the ball through the air against us without interceptions and forced fumbles, but they threw for over 400 yards against Ohio State.

I think the biggest reason we’re improved over 2019 is we got an infusion of size on the defensive line, with three 300+ lb linemen new to the team this spring, all of whom play to some degree. Luka Nixon also emerged as a force, and he’s a lot bigger than he was a couple of years ago, as is Bryce Rogers. As mentioned previously NG Suani, who started games for us in 2019 is quicker now, and he has more effect on collapsing the pocket now. He wasn’t on Spring team.
We have playmakers in the secondary, veteran guys that have had all league recognition or mention being pushed by some underclassmen. We play a lot of nickel and we have quality DBs.
The team as a whole seems very fit.
The coaches seem to make good decisions on blitzing vs coverage and mix things up well. I think it’s only natural that the defensive team would get better after a few games under a new coordinator, as he learns who can do what, and as they learn what he wants.

Game day! Let's get that W! GO AGS!

Big game! Let’s go Aggies!!

I'd like to see us come out of the gate fast and put up some points early.

I'll be tracking the game from the Stanford UCLA game. I couldn't pass up free VIP tickets from a friend who is a donor. Go Ags!

All seems reasonable, but today's the big test. Go Ags.

I think what concerned me with Dixie was their 3rd down conversions (9-17), many on 3rd and long. That was too reminiscent of 2019. Got to get those stops today!

I'm still not sure if Dixie State saw an exploit in our pass defense or if it was just in the nature of them switching quarterbacks, but strange that in their first 2 games they threw the ball around 30 times per game... they threw the ball over 60 times against us. I'm sure the DBs were getting tired with that kind of volume.

That was disturbing. But I think you might have pointed out the explanation:
I think we prepped for the other QB, so were zone dominant with a REALLY deep safety (25 yards). The new QB didn’t run much, didn’t go down field BUT was accurate 10-15 yards (especially, it seemed like on 3rd and long!). We didn’t seem to adapt much from that especially with the big lead. Bend and let them break? Just concerned at the last of pressure without a blitz and the openness of their WRs (who were talented).
That ties in with the idea that Dixie in prior games couldn’t score, so make the emphasis not giving up the quick score. Make them sustain drives.

Good choice, Hope you root for UCLA