30-8 was embarrassing at home even though it was Montana State. That furious comeback was critical because you know they will be primed for the playoffs.
I think they beat Sac but rivalry games are always scary. If they lose to Sac, what is the absolute worst case scenario for playoffs??? I am a doomer because it helps me see the bright side if that makes sense.
Plough messed up by not going for 2 when we made it 30-14. We had to at least get 1 2-point and by waiting until the end, it’s a 50-50 shot. If you go for it early and get it, you can just kick the XP the next two. If you don’t get it, you’re down 16 and you need 2 2-pt conversions. So going for it early increases your chances of tying the game if you do happen to score 3 TDs.
I don't hate the decision to kick on the previous score, making it 30-22. The thinking is, it doesn't matter if you make it because you have to get the inside anyway. Whereas if they don't get the points on the previous TD, then it does not matter at all.
The 2 turnovers were killers. This team is really good. Top 4 seeding. Defense against the run should not not ignored. We will go deep in the playoffs.
he’s talking about the second TD to make it 14-30. I see the math but at the same time i get it because we were anemic up to that point and Plough just wanted some momentum. Getting a TD but losing the 2 point conversion would have blunted the momentum.
What a game, slog 2nd and 3rd quarters, then the last 7 minutes. The 2-point conversion... shouldn't hurt us too much, but shows us what the top-5 caliber teams are like.
I understand CMT's point completely. But my feeling is at that point Plough took the PAT because although he'll never admit it, maybe final score 30-15 is better than 30-14. There were only 6 minutes left in the game and things weren't looking great at that moment. A low risk PAT makes only one conversion required as well.
Aggies are a very good football team, for sure.
The first 3 quarters show the gap between the FCS year-in-year-out elite, and UC Davis. We are right there, ready to jump into that elite group of programs. We've been right there for a few seasons now as depth has improved, IMO.
As regards to what the worst case would be if Davis loses to Sac. There is no telling because there is no definition on how the committee rates teams. A couple of weeks ago, when writers first started doing these playoff projections the assumption was that Davis would lose to both Montanas and beat Sac, and at 9-3 be seeded outside of the top eight. Sac on paper would be a weak opponent and a loss wouldn’t look good.
Well, we damn near had a Miracle Game #2 for the history books. Really proud of the Ags not rolling over and then throwing a big scare into the Cats with that dramatic comeback. Great Aggie crowd that actually got into the game and finally made some noise. Big turnout of MSU fans. The game had a playoff atmosphere.
We shot ourselves in the foot with the TO's and the punt return breakdown in the first half and Miles was under relentless pressure and yet he still stayed poised. It looked like we were going to get trounced early in the 3rd but the Ags simply would not quit. Take away those TO's which gave the Cats great field position and we're right there with them or possibly even ahead.
This game showed me that we can hang with the elite teams and that we are deserving of a high seed in the playoffs.
Re: the 2-point. It's simple math. And I honestly don't think there's a difference between losing 30-14 and 30-15. And once he passed on the 2-point to make it 30-15, you're correct that there isn't really a point in going for it to make it 30-23 vs 30-22.
Let's say for simplicity sake that we have a 50% chance of completing a 2-point and a 100% chance of making an extra point. Your scenarios where you tie the game are:
2P Make + XP Make + XP Make = 0.5 * 1.0 * 1.0 = 50% chance of tying.
2P Miss + 2P Make + 2P Make = 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 = 12.5% chance of tying
So by going for it on the first one, you have roughly a 62.5% chance of tying the game if you manage to get 3 TDs.
XP Make + XP Make + 2P Make = 1.0 * 1.0 * 0.5 = 50% chance of tying.
Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe they go for it and miss, then miss one of the following 2 and lose anyway. But it's all about what increases your chances of winning the most.
Additionally, if we're talking about what increases the chances of winning the game, rather than just tying it, by kicking the XP and just trying for 2 at the end, if they get it, they only go to OT. If you get the 2-point to make it 30-16, get a TD + XP to make it 30-23 and get a TD to make it 30-29, Plough would have then have had the option to say hey, let's go for the win right here. And the stats will tell you (multiple NFL teams have done this and North Dakota actually just did it today) that when you're down 14 late in the 4th quarter, you actually increase your chances of winning the game if on the first TD, you go for 2 to try to make it a 6 point game. The thought being that if you get the 2-point and get another TD, you kick the XP and win the game outright. If you don't get the 2-point, you can still get the next one and go to OT.
EDIT: And to be clear, that's not an extra 12.5% chance of tying the game. That's an extra 12.5% chance of tying the game IF we score 3 TDs. So Plough not going for it on the 1st TD (to make it 30-15) didn't drop our overall chances of tying the game by 12.5%. The actual number is much lower than that since you have to account for all of the other scenarios (like only scoring 1 TD or only scoring 2 TDs).