House divided - my wife went to San Diego State.

Looking forward to a more motivated UC Davis football team!

8-)

I'd love to see a competitive ball game beginning to end. I'll settle for no major injuries and a quality stream from Facebook.

Go Ags!

Going to the alumni tailgate but (reluctantly) rooting for SDSU starting at kickoff, though my primary hope is for a competitive game with no injuries. SDSU needs to keep NY6 hopes alive with a win and UCD needs to prove that it can hang with a respectable program. A win by 1 or 2 TDs for State will mostly satisfy everybody I think.

As I said in a different thread I don't think it'll turn into a massacre and the Ags may even have a slim shot. There shouldn't be any doubt that Coach Long will try to pound the ball up the middle a lot, including on third and long sometimes, so there will be opportunities to get stops. I've seen arguments both ways that the SDSU defense should be fine or worse compared to last year, so I don't know exactly how that would go but do hope that the new-look Aggie offense can make a few big plays.

What happened in the FCS game last year was that New Hampshire stacked the box effectively and eventually State started resorting to long bombs with the expectation that our WRs could beat the DBs in 1v1s. It worked, but it's not what this offense is built for and airing it out like that with a QB who doesn't usually throw that much could turn sour very fast with some good defensive plays and a little luck for the Aggies.

I also really want to see what Hawk does with Spencer. Wildcat? Multi-QB sets? Lining up as a WR? If he's as versatile as I've been hearing that opens up a ton of interesting possibilities.

Also I wonder if there will be a replay on FB. Really want to see what that coverage will be like.

And what will the Aggie D bring?

We will have the element of surprise on both sides of the ball. Parenteau and Leota may shine. Leota is a load.

i think we'll come out with alot of fire; there just seems to be a more agressive, competitive spirit out there than i have seen in the past. offense will come out winging things, and maybe we can get a couple of early scores and put a lilttle jolt into them.

i think Meier at QB is the real deal. he just has the look of a good quarterback. talking to some folks this week who have been watching practices, they say he never seems to make a bad decision and he puts the ball where it needs to be.

i think the Aztecs wear us down with the running game; hopefully, we don't give up any big scoring plays, so we can stick with them.

I would like to see us hang with the Aztecs in this one. If our new air raid offense is as potent as some of the players indicate it will be then I think we could see us put up some points. We will see if the defense can hang with the big boys and I think that will be a huge contributing factor in the outcome of this game. How is SDSU doing health-wise?

By the way, did anyone catch the new uniforms? I already knew about the helmets but I just saw new uniforms on twitter. 2 tone blue jerseys with the new 1 font "UC Davis" and CA patches on the shoulders. Look at Jaylin White's twitter profile pic.

https://twitter.com/JaayChristopher

I also hope that it will take SDSU a little bit of time to adjust to what we throw at them both offensively and defensively. They should have very little to no information on what's coming. Hopefully we can catch em off guard.

Re: health, someone on reddit mentioned SDSU has injuries on the DL.

Additionally I read in the paper that who sat out for how long due to pox affected who got the starting position for WR (I think it was). Also the starting TE is coming off a foot surgery and one of the backup RBs is questionable.

So the short of it is that SDSU is not playing with the ideal list of starters and backups, and some of the ones who are there might see limited reps.

Edit: Also, I really dig the new uniforms. I wonder if we'll be seeing new away jerseys on Saturday too?

I love the classic UC Davis jerseys, they're historic and sometimes less is more, but I gotta admit that the one displayed in the twitter picture I posted are clean. Put those bad boys on with one of the new chrome gold helmets and we have a killer new look. With how many new variations on uniforms we have, I wouldn't be surprised if we busted out some new away jerseys. I mean, at the very least even if they are the normal whites they should have the updated 1 font UC Davis.

Maybe they grabbed some film on Speckman and Plough; we can even shift gears at halftime and see how well they adjust on a dime. My sources say Gould was respected, but that he had lost the locker room at best after year 3. How many times did we come out FLAT in the 1st quarter????

We need all 3 phases to click. Can our D rattle their inexperienced offensive line? Our announcers may have to review some vintage tapes to describe what they will see coms Saturday. Go Aggies!!

Agreed, there was nothing wrong with the classic solid blue-gold but if it was a foretold conclusion that we would follow the trend of stylish new uniform patterns then this is about the best possible outcome.

Plough himself in interviews (I'm not going to go back and find them) has said that what's being implemented here at Davis is new. Whether that just means new for us or something unique altogether is another story. I'm positive that with Speckman on the staff we are going to have some aspects of the fly in our offense. It won't be the focus of our offense as most indicators are that we're going to be a pass first team, but on running downs the fly definitely adds another dimension if interspersed with other running plays.

Some predictions from one of the SDSU fan forums:

31-0 SDSU
38-6 SDSU
46-17 SDSU
34-10 SDSU

Now, I expect to lose but I hope our new offense will perform better than that.

How many times did we come out FLAT in the 1st quarter????

Heck, how many games did we come out flat at the beginning of the season, season after season. We might get beat on raw talent, but finally, i dont think we are going to get out coached, especially going into the second half.

How many times did we refuse to run the 2 minute drill at the end of the half and instead just ran it up the gut for a yard to run the clock... even when we had timeouts. There was no killer instinct at all with Gould at the helm. Hawk is fiery as hell, I doubt this team is going to be apathetic.

I have no idea what to expect. I just want to us come and execute and play with passion and determination from start to finish no matter what the score is. It's been a long time since we pulled a major upset because we simply played harder and smarter and, if that happens on Saturday, it will be a watershed moment for this program.

It looked like the ones who actually did analysis on that prediction thread are calling for the higher Aggie scores. Implies they're sleeping on the Aggies a little.

Mark me down as 38-17. Won't be close after four quarters; won't be a huge blowout either. 14-7 at the half before the Aggie D gets worn out.

I think we're the first team I've ever seen refuse to run a 2 minute drill when behind... week after week. As if by will, the clock would reverse.

I think we might see a hook and ladder Wing T option at any moment. .. I like it. And heck, there could be a lityle ball control mixed in too, setting up the surprise. I say we go after the young corners and young O line.

I just want to watch us prevent big plays. In our past openers, we tend to let the big plays open the game up. Being a well disciplined team, even if overpowered, would be a great sign. Even better, it gives a chance to steal a win. Give up a couple of 50 yard plays and it's basically over IMO.

Here's a UC Davis Scouting Report from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Link

From the article:
- Whatever depth chart they received doesn't have specific starters for 9 of 11 positions on offense.
- Mentions Doss clearly being our best offensive weapon.
- Says Carriger listed as starting LT and Baljeu FB (which is interesting since in our position preview articles Baljeu has switched to TE).
- Mentions Dale and Spencer at QB (Makes no mention of Maier who is most likely going to be the starter at this point).
- Says Blair is listed as the starting kicker and punter (I highly doubt Whelan isn't the starting punter).
- Coach Long stated that they are developing a game plan based on what our coaches have done in past programs, don't actually know what Hawkins will be throwing at them.
- Mentions our poor run defense from last season (We're going to have a new defense though. Whether it will be any good is another question, but it seems kind of weird to base it on last season when they specifically mention that they don't know what they will see on either side of the ball).
- Mentions Baumgart as our most successful edge rusher (he has switched positions to LB).
- Mentions that we have a veteran secondary but they are small and could struggle against the size of their receivers.

Overall this report got some things right, but there were definitely inaccuracies that seem like they just based things off of last years depth chart. I mean position changes are clearly listed in our roster and have been being posted in the position roundup articles on the athletics site. Also not mentioning Maier at all seems weird. Just not a lot of research before writing I suppose.

They've also mentioned that they will have to stop Josh Kelly.

Coach Long says Perry tough to tackle... I'm sure they will key on Doss.

We went from being an easy opener to a potential nightmare. If we execute, their coaches gameday adjustments could be really tested.

I'm sure their coaches are a little bit more informed than their reporters, but that is pretty shockingly bad reporting for a major newspaper. Not listing players who are probably going to be key, calling guys in the wrong position, referencing stats from last season despite that it's irrelevant due to new players (quite a few JC transfers), coaches, and schemes. Just bad journalism.

I hope they do key in on Doss. Have Doss run go routes all day long to pull a corner and safety and then abuse the middle where we can have receivers matched up against slower linebackers.

I'm sure both sides are being homers in their expectations of this game. I don't think they will blow us out and we probably won't put up as many points as I would like.

I noticed last week DL Will Allen who was injured in a weightroom accident 2 years ago, was not on the roaster. Seems the wrist surgery he had last year was unsuccessful, and he needs a second bone transplant. It appears this will end his football career, and we will lose a promising young man that the staff was very high on.

Terrible to hear about Allen; a promising career and possibly lifelong mobility ruined by a moment of bad luck. Hopefully his future operations go well and he can still continue his education.

Aztec graduate transfer #3 QB Laviano has left the team, will try to land a lacrosse scholarship. Aztecs 2 deep at QB, then basically freshmen.

Best wishes to Will Allen, we had high hopes for him athletically ... hope he thrives academically.

We are definitely going to rely on the element of surprise and old fashioned trickeration. Hopefully that coupled with SDSU likely underestimating our guys keeps us close beyond halftime.

I went ahead and watched that whole press conference. What stood out:

- Long sees parallels between this year and the one where SDSU lost to an FCS team
- New players don't have experience but he really likes their attitude
- New punter has been largely inconsistent in practice until Monday (a curious thing to announce)
- Concerned about how much of a mystery UCD is; they've been watching film from the staff's previous schools
- Thinks that SDSU is actually better this year in terms of athleticism, but hasn't reached potential yet
- Relying more on passing game and deeper WR corps than previously until OL gets experience; particularly wants to keep opponents from stacking the box

anyone else making the trip to San Diego for this one? Wife and I are heading down Friday. We'll make the CAA pre-game tailgate and game. Hoping for plenty of things to cheer for, besides the post-game fireworks.

Won't be making the trip - but I will be at the Portland State game.

Looking forward to seeing how we match up in this one, and what our offense presents with this FBS challenge. Gotta get used to all the new names!