This just smells like a trap game to me. Coming off an emotional win at eastern, a bye, and midterms.

I hear ya, agalum but I hoping, that since the team is 7-1 and ranked #5, they will realize that there is a real opportunity to do something special before the murderers' row of games they face after UNC. This team has a chance to become the highest ranked team in Aggie history and they have a chance to be a high seed in the playoffs. I think that's got to be motivating enough to keep them from getting over confident and coming out flat against UNC.

Can you have a trap game coming off a bye?

I tend to agree with BlueGoldAg. The real trap game was one we all sniffed out against Portland State and that should have instilled a strong awareness among the coaches and players that they can't take UNC lightly. Maybe this is a subject for a new discussion, but it seems to me that Coach Plough is doing an incredible job as a first time Head Coach. Considering he inherited most of a 7-4 team from Dan Hawkins, he should be getting some accolades in the post-season if the Ags can get to 10-2.

UNC is not a good football team. It took a monumental effort from Weber to lose to them. As they say, "any given Saturday", but I have a hard time seeing the Ags losing especially at home.

He and his staff are doing a very good job. Hawkins left him Coombs, MH, LL and a strong defense. The first 3/4 of the schedule was also favorable.

End of season, and the playoffs, are two new tests. If we close out strong, it sounds like we have a potential for another Bye, and then a home game. Those are crucial if you really hope to go deep into the playoffs.

Next year could be a rebuild, at least on offense. There we will see Plough's ability to groom new QBs, and / or land another JM from the jucos. Hopefully the next game goes well, and we can go deep into the roster.

For what it's worth, Massey has UNC ranked similarly to Cal Poly and is giving us a 97% chance of winning.

I think the bye itself is the trap game because you are in essence playing yourself. It is as much a chance to get healthy and catch up on classes as it is to lose focus and intensity. On that free Saturday night are the guys going to hit the books, hit the gym, or hit the Tri-Delta house? Going back to the Biggs era teams sometimes come out of the bye flat.

Let's just hope they treat Northern Colorado the same way they treated Cal Poly and put this thing away quickly.

45+ points needed for poll BS against a team like UNC....

I give them more credit than that. This is a veteran team with many 5th and 6th year seniors.

Tim Plough interviewed by Colter Nuanez of skyline sports.

I really enjoyed that interview with Tim Plough. Plough is an Aggie to the core and it was great to hear him talk about why he feels that Davis football is special and why players want to play here and stay here. I particularly impressed with how explained why he thinks our academic standards are actually an asset to recruiting. I think he's going to take this program to the next level of success.

Lan Larison interview @9:42 of the video

Good grief....18 game losing streak for UNC (broke it last week). That's a lot of losing.

Even in those rough Gould years the Ags won at least a couple games a year.

Last time UNC came to Davis was October 2021. If i recall, they were beat up and started in basically a single-wing formation. We won 32-3 in a very fast game. We ran the ball 53 times, they ran it 31.....and....mostly ran the ball the entire 4th quarter! That was the beginning of the short Ed McCaffrey era!

Their head coach, Ed Lamb, took SUU to two league championships. Yeah, on paper this looks like a mismatch. But this is the big sky and right now we’re circled on everyones calendar.

The QB-less version of the single wing.......I seem to remember they didn't have a QB in that one. I think the guy taking snaps was a high school running QB (?). That was a weird game.....UNC was just trying to get back on the bus.

Any word on guys getting healthy for Saturday?

UNC is averaging 13 points a game, while giving up nearly 33. Their last two games (upset over Weber, relatively close loss to Montana) are 2 of their best. Hopefully the Aggie offense of the Poly game or even quarters of EWU show up early and put the pressure on a struggling offense.

Game Notes are up

https://ucdavisaggies.com/documents/2024/10/28/24FBGameNotesUNC.pdf

Fair analysis.

FloFootball: "Just How Good Is UC Davis Football?
UC Davis has quietly crept up into the number four spot in this week's FCS poll by being solid, sitting at 7-1 on the season with their only loss being to Cal. Some weeks they look dangerous, other weeks they barely scrape by. It just leaves the question of how good they truly are. This week they play bottom ranked Northern Colorado before a huge Top 25 showdown against Montana followed by another huge game against a top team in the conference, Montana State. For a team that has struggled to consistently dominate, UC Davis's identity will really be formed in these last few weeks of season. If they can get going this week and take care of Northern Colorado and come out firing on all cylinders the next few weeks, this team is one to watch these upcoming weeks."

https://www.flofootball.com/articles/12949765-5-things-to-know-about-the-fcs-football-schedule-in-week-10

FCS Football: Highest-Graded Defensive Players (Post-Week 9)

Linebacker:
1. Noah Martin (Samford; 92.5)
2. Gideon Lampron (Dayton; 91.1)
3. Eli Ennis (Nicholls; 90.7)
4. Jesse Powell II (Elon; 90.2)
5. Eric Rankin (VMI; 89.2)
6. Jaden Mosley (Samford; 87.0)
7. Gary Bryant (South Dakota; 86.5)
8. Will Leota (Sacramento State; 86.4)
9. David Meyer (UC Davis; 86.3)
10. Danny Uluilakepa (Montana State; 85.2)

Cornerback:
1. Gavin Shipman (Harvard; 87.1)
2. Jeremy Jonozzo (Dayton; 85.6)
3. Boogie Trotter (Tennessee State; 84.1)
4. Mike Reid (South Dakota; 83.2)
5. Caleb Francis (Presbyterian; 82.8)
6. Robert Carter (Robert Morris; 82.6)
7. Quincy Briggs (Georgetown; 82.4)
8. Tyris Harvey (Robert Morris; 82.3)
9. Semaj Verner (UC Davis; 82.1)
10. Sammy Anderson Jr. (Austin Peay; 81.6)

https://www.si.com/college/fcs/mvfc/fcs-football-highest-graded-defensive-players-week-9-pro-football-focus

Big Boogie Trotter fan. Great name.

UNC quarterback seems to lack some accuracy, but he made some big throws too. Not the tallest guy, a lot of tipped balls. They moved the ball a bit on Montana, just, all those turnovers...can't recover. Defense seems to have some athletes. Wasn't overly impressed with Montana's offensive effort, but they took care of the football.

Here are early weather projections:

"A couple of morning showers; otherwise, cool with partial sunshine"

New "Aggie Pride" helmets for this weekend