Also in a league (Great West) without an autobid.

These are all good points. Biggs had some, "how in the heck?" type wins - there were a lot of them.

they all go back to the tailgate areas for more drinking. That was a key in 2018 - we got the second half KO and scored to get some momentum.

They shot off fireworks with two minutes before the end of the halftime - kind of a last call!

Coach Plough post-game interview. And nobody mentioned he rocked a great navy CA jacket.

https://youtu.be/bk4pbjjQDhc?feature=shared

good god, it feels like I was just there at that game. Already 20 years ago. It seems you get a game like that every 20 or so years. The Miracle Game, Ken O’Brien, Stanford. Last night was a tremendous win but is it one that will be talked about for the next 20-50 years? Maybe, maybe not. We thumped them at home in 2018 too. Is this the year we get one of those signature games that people remember for 20+ years? Maybe, we are statistically about due.

The next game is a bigger game than yesterday’s., because its for the league title.
I would say it is bigger than a than a first or second round playoff game. Part of that is Davis has such a loss streak going with this team, similar to Eastern Washington.

I’d call this the biggest win of the Plough era and 2nd or 3rd biggest of the post Biggs era (after Tulsa and maybe 2018 Montana)

Stanford win is on a different level though imo

Also, Plough and staff have me totally believing now. It’s like the different eras of Aggie football (Biggs/D1 transition, Sochor legacy, Hawkins rebirth) all kinda got packaged into this next-generation juggernaut.

Relatedly, playcalling creativity seems to have returned to the Hawkins-era Shredville offense (trickery, wildcat, sweeps, etc). Over on Egriz they were pretty jealous of UCD’s system

Maybe for the season, but beating Montana at their packed house on Espn2 is bigger for the program. The Stanford win was an incredible upset, but the result enabled the administration to continue along the path of underfunding football. The game last night was huge for branding, marketing and recruiting and something that Plough can leverage into funding and players.

The return to Shredville offense is nice to see. Last year's offensive scheme was ROUGH and the first couple games of this season felt pretty bland, but now that the system is getting more established we are seeing some fun things. If anything, I think Plough does suffer sometimes from trying to be too fancy too often.

Was it Fisher or Dobbins that had their helmet ripped off? I hope they're OK.

I try to go to the weekly lunch with coach. I appreciate his openness to answer the tough questions, and his football knowledge is incredible. He is very detail oriented. Listening to him strategize opponents and solve problems is impressive. For example the red zone issues we had early in the season.

any chance you can ask about if they are prepared for visiting fans on Sat? I know its a difficult question to ask and not what the coaches want to hear.

I thought it was Gbatu...??

Sure. I will say that things discussed i never repeat on social media. You never know who is reading the info and what impact it could have so i keep it tight.

I’m not sure if his helmet came off, but i think it was this play:
SG] HASTINGS, Miles pass up the middle complete for 8 yards to DOBBINS, Stacy caught at the UM45 and advanced to the UM45 (GRADNEY, Trevin), 1ST DOWN. PENALTY UM Face mask on GRADNEY, Trevin enforced 15 yards from the end of the play at the UM45 to the UM30 and results in automatic 1ST DOWN.

Was it Fisher or Dobbins that had their helmet ripped off? I hope they're OK.]

Dobbins, and he was fine.

His helmet got completely ripped off.

Love this photo...

Regarding the game Montana plays between plays. Play clock is running, Aggie offense is ready to go, defense is taking forever to substitute. On one occasion we snap the ball and Montana gets called for too many men on the field. But on another the ref is preventing the snap and we call a timeout as time expires. Had we not called the timeout, would the delay of game have been on the defense?

I think it would be against us. If you sub on offense, defense has to have chance to sub. Offense has to sub early enough in clock to allow it. I think a combo of the noise (communicating need to sub out) and DELIBERATE pace of guys jogging in and off, led to that situation. I thought they stood on the ball once when we subbed during a timeout - they shouldn’t get time to respond to that

That’s exactly right. It’s a good rule but is being exploited. This one along with defenders going down like they’ve been shot by a sniper in tempo situations needs some revisiting.

I could have ‘sprinted’ on the field faster, and I’m 64 with two fake hips!

This rule needs to be examined since Montana found a way to exploit it and I'm sure other teams are doing the same. The Aggies had to call their last TO because the ref was holding up play while the play clock was expiring because the Montana defensive player was moving like a snail to the sideline. I think teams should be able to make a defensive substitution after the offense substitutes but the offense should not have to call a TO because the ref is holding up play while a defensive player is deliberately, walking very slowly to the sideline.

Hell, I'm 78 Mike, and I would have left him in the dust!

Was great to see the Aggies win in Wa-Griz. My thoughts from being there (my wife and I happened to be in a group of otherwise 5 random Aggie fans to include @Idaho Aggie who was a very engaging guy.)

- for the most part, Griz fans were very polite, and enjoyed visiting with a couple of them in the adjacent seats. Of course the few lubed-up obnoxious ones. ESPN probably avoided showing shots of it after halftime, but there were a lot of empty seats on the west side that remained empty (and increased in number) throughout the second half. Overall the atmosphere was kind of magical with the setting (M lit up on Mount Sentinel, crowd energy, etc.). Would have been better if they had a better band. “America the Beautiful” was horribly out of tune. Maybe they need to go to the portal.

-The Aggies were the more disciplined, poised, and better coached team. Big points in the game were TD drives immediately after the 2 Griz TDs. After the second TD response you could just feel that the Aggies were in control. The Griz fans were not expecting this for what was supposed to be a “magical nationally televised night game” at WA-Griz

Line of scrimmage was dominated by the Ags, and defense overall played marvelously. The good teams separate themselves with defensive play.

Special team play was good (my main concern going into the game). Only one kickoff resulted in poor field condition - Griz were ready for that pooch punt and Bergen-I think- just ran up and took it and ran. Banks-Altecruse did a good job neutralizing Bergen with only one semi-shanked punt and one great short-hop fielding of a low snap and his subsequent best punt of the night. Ridley was banging those field goals.

Was very happy for Jackson Cloyd who had a great game - good to have him back after early season injury. It appears Fisher is being worked into the rotation now. He looked good - patient for the hole to open, then acceleration - maybe he has been taking lessons from Lan. Simpson is a real plus. Not only catching the ball but also with blocking, and he brings an attitude (you’re not going to intimidate me) that was especially helpful in a hostile environment. Good to have him back. Ags have quite a tight end group. Another good game for Miles. A couple of near picks, but he did a good job in that environment communicating, and had some nice last split-second throws after moving up in the pocket.

A great night to be an Aggie.

Great post, NCagalum. Thanks for taking the time to write up such a good report.

When we checked into our hotel we realized the Aggies were staying there too, along with lots of family members. Said hello to some of the Larison clan, who I met the last time the Ags played at Idaho. Quite a few Montana fans were there too.

My plan when we found our seats was to stash my stuff and go find @NCagalum. Then when my buddy told me our seat numbers I realized we were sitting right next to him and his wife! Great to meet another person from the board at an Aggie away game (met @BaseballatDobbins a couple of years ago in the Kibbie Dome). It was great to watch the Ags win with an old friend and new ones. The atmosphere was incredible. It's a cauldron in there and the fans are absolutely part of the game. After a dumb penalty against us I said to NC that you have to keep your head when you're playing in a hostile environment (a word many of you used here as well) and one of the women in front of us seemed offended by the word. I explained I meant it as a compliment. Crowds should absolutely try to affect games this way.

Didn't meet a single jerk Montana fan. From Friday evening through this morning at the Missoula Costco they were all friendly and classy. Last night and this morning people at the hotel said "You guys played great." Met a guy from Montana State this morning who told me he really wanted to see us this season.

This is a great place to see a game. I'm going to try to come back when Idaho plays here. Missoula is a cool town and the stadium...well, I wish we could make noise like this at our place. I'm coming back to see my mom first weekend of December, and have warned my family that if we have a home playoff game, I'm going to be there.

Great game experience report! It sounds like everyone had a great time!