A disappointing loss for sure and I am not fond of "moral victories." Still, if I could have predicted that the Ags had a chance to win with 2 minutes left on the road at the number 2 FC Steam in the nation, I would have called myself one hack of an optimist. I hope this showing bodes well for the rest of the season.

Better team won, but boy, just a play or two and the Ags pull off the big win.

Agree. Our defense gave us a chance even though they got pushed around hard at the LOS. The Jacks RB's rarely met any resistance at the LOS and so our LB's and DB's were making the majority of the tackles. I'm not surprised by this given how big and good the Jacks' OL is.

Gilliam gave our offense a chance almost single handily with his ability to keep going after contact. He didn't get a lot of running room. The Jacks have a swarming defense that's impressive.

Hastings was hit and miss. He missed too many open receivers where the pass didn't really even give them a chance to make a play on the ball. I get nervous when he rolls out because he seems to get tunnel vision and forces the ball into coverage and throws behind the receiver to often. I don't think he is seeing the field well. Of course, Cal and SDSU had tough defenses but the plays were there a few times and the passes were not on target. Hopefully, he'll get better with each game.

We have to be able to make some big plays against top tier competition and we simply have not done enough of that in our first two game. Too many "close but no cigar" plays.

Special teams are a concern at this point. Gomez recovering the onside kick was nice though.

Yes the kicking game is absolutely a concern at this point in time. 2 games in and already 2 missed field goals, 1 missed extra point, and 1 blocked extra point. Not good at all.

Got fight to stay in the game, even though overmatched.
Interesting to see if a close loss to #2 keeps Davis in the T-25

Wow, I predicted a 4 pt loss and came within 2 !

We're not going to win with Hastings. He is not comfortable in the pocket, he's inconsistent and he makes poor decisions. Time to give someone else a try at San Diego so they have some practice prior to league play. I expect San Diego will be an easy win so not a real test for Hastings who could look good in that game, but better to use it to give someone else some experience.

Very disappointing loss. Our defense kept us in that game.

An 0-2 start is disappointing but those loses have come against FBS Cal and #2 FCS SDSU both on the road. However, we more than held our own against these two tough opponents. We missed a few opportunities in both of those games that could have changed the outcome. I know the team is probably frustrated and disappointed just like Aggie fans but I expect they're going to be very hungry and motivated to begin putting up some W's starting with San Diego next Saturday.

The Bright Side - Iowa last week couldn't score a touchdown on this team. (An odd 7-3 defensive battle.) Iowa was a top 25 team for four straight years.

Valiant effort. The Conner brothers are a great addition. Hastings seems to hesitate on some of the short dump off passes, hitting them late or oddly. Those should be easier. TT has become a nice addition at WR, and it sure would be great to get Babbs in the flow vs San Diego.

Youth movement: starters included Cotton (true Freshman), Connors (RFrosh), and Sophomores Bains, Bearden, Granford and Davis.

After San Diego, a dominant Weber comes to town.

Deseret News: "It was Weber State’s — a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program — first victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program since 1993 and the Wildcats’ first win against Utah State since 1978.

"It was a generational win for Weber State — the signature win of the Jay Hill era — and a brutal loss for Utah State, which hadn’t lost to an FCS opponent since 2000."

I've said too often that I am a Hawkeye by genetics and place of birth....Iowa's football team is terrible this year. Third year starting QB still overthrows recievers, throws more interceptions than TD's, the list goes on. Iowa State ran a 99 yeard precision drive downfield yesterday for the go ahead score. Five third down conversions. Iowa missed a FG at the end that would have tied the game, though to be fair it was raining. That's not to discredit the Jacks' performance of a week ago, but this is not the Iowa of the past few years. Highly unlikely that Iowa extends its consecutive streak of bowl appearances. The annual Iowa-Nebraska game could decide who is last in the Big "Ten" West. Nebraska's current coach may be a distant memory by then.

Argus Leader: "It was not the kind of win SDSU fans were hoping for against a team the Jackrabbits routed 56-24 last November in the first round of the FCS playoffs. This one figured to be closer, especially with all the injuries that have already befallen the Jacks, and it was with that in mind that coach John Stiegelmeier wasn’t in an apologetic mood after the 2-point win. The Jacks played without starters Tucker Kraft (tight end), Bo Donald (right tackle), Cale Reeder and Chase Norblade (safety), Isaiah Stalbird (linebacker) and Reece Winkelman (defensive tackle)."

https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/south-dakota-state-university/2022/09/10/south-dakota-state-football-sdsu-vs-uc-davis-score-schedule/8027789001/

Throws more interceptions than TDS?
Let’s see. 3 TDs 1 interception.
Total lack of a run game and he passed for 273 yards. If we had some semblance of a balanced offense he would have looked better with those stats.

We failed 2 times in our kicking game yesterday that were huge:

1. Missed PAT after the our late TD. Make it and we probably end up going to OT.
2. 41 yard FG hit the upright. We make it and we might have won the game considering the final score.

Blue, and the jacks had a PAT hit the upright and bounce in. That’s another swing play that ended up changing the complexion of the game.

Matthew Loves Ball Highlights:

After watching the game on Tuesday, I have the folllowimgs thoughts/observations:
The O-line did a very good job of protecting Hastings. Run blocking was not so great - but this was a very stingy run defense the Ags were going against.

Gilliam continues to be the best overall and most consistent weapon the Aggies have. His pass catching and runs after catch were quite impressive. Even when there was no where to go on rushes, he consistently made defenders miss. There were several jock straps left on the field from his spin moves.

Kicking game still needs to step up. Not sure if blocked extra point was kicked too low or if defender punched through. The missed field goal wasn’t egregious IMO as it was 43 yards and it hit the upright (with plenty of distance to spare). I did notice that there were a couple of snaps/holds that weren’t very clean. Lola like they have switched to Reich for punting. Punting was ok - really miss those sky scrapers of Whelan.

Rex Conners is a player. Super good at ball hawking and quick/powerful downhill tackling. Looks like he is playing some sort of river position which seems perfect for his skills.

Hastings was ok. He seems to be playing just good enough to keep others on the bench. I noted about 11-12 inaccurate throws, 3 dropped passes, and 2 opportunities for a passing TD that were off target. Larison was open for a TD and he threw behind him instead of throwing him more open. There was another TD opportunity with Davis. Other than the 68 yard TD to Larison (more than half of that a run) the longest reception was 25 to Castles (Gilliam a 25 reception but mostly run). Still not stretching the field and very inconsistent long ball accuracy. This facet needs to get better. There was also a pick on a penalty that negates it. Still need development in vision and looking off defenders.

Overall a good team effort and good defense. But if you don’t get the win it still goes on the L column. Getting “over the hump” still somewhat of a plague.

“ Still not stretching the field and very inconsistent long ball accuracy”
Amen. We’ve missed a good long ball for a long time. That really handicaps us.

To be fair, Cal a Pac 12 team, and SDSU # 2 in the nation in FCS. So San Diego hopefully provides more reasonable competition.

Puzzling that we've seen little from Lance Babbs. I don't know why, but I'd try to get him some dump-off passes, touches, to get him in rhythm ... motivation / confidence. He was a proven impact player. Try him deep.

FWIW, Rex Connors had 7 tackles vs Cal, #2 on the team. So SDSU wasn't a fluke.

Re Still not stretching the field
It seems to me we are playing a lot of possession type receivers, often with two tight ends and have a very short passing game. It’s crowded in the depth we’re trying to pass into, and we don’t have enough of a run game to keep defenders near the line of scrimmage. Even receivers who are big play threats like Tompkins aren’t real speed guys. No replacement yet for Harrell. I think Babb might be our fastest (not sure about that), but he hasn’t caught a pass this year. Davis has had success but he’s only got decent speed.

Seems clear we don't have a playmaking/gunslinger mentality...we aren't pushing the ball down the field, because a) we don't have the personnel to make those plays consistently or b) not aggressive enough on the playcalling and/or audibles. The offensive mindset, feels a little conservative, and in a basically must win game on the road to have a chance at credibility nation-wide, they kept it close to the vest. Granted SDSU does a ton of great things defensively, but you gotta go for it and take shots throughout the game to keep things honest. Got some busted coverages and some plays were available though.

What was up with that roughing the passer call? Isn't it a double lateral...isn't that a run with the option to throw? Was he falling at his knees or some bs?

11:45, how is this not holding? he tackled him!

I am beginning to think that the limited playing time of Babb has more to do with not being in good favor with coaches than anything else. He is a real play maker and has good speed. Sitting out last year might have hurt him not so much with lost experience but with coaches maybe thinking he wasn’t committed to the team. I have no evidence of this, just a thought. Anyway, in my opinion he should have more playing time. I think he could do what CJ Hutton does and could be more of a deep threat in addition.

The calls really didn't go the Aggies way...you might say there was a significant "home field advantage."

Absolutely. There were some big time holding plays that resulted in big gains by the jacks, that were completely ignored by the refs. I just can’t believe they didn’t see them.