Welcome to AST!

Speaking of juice, Pacifico's got me mega-pumped up that the points are coming

Thank you! As the kids like to say, "blessed and honored"

AggieFinn: this will be by far the worst defense we've faced so far, run it up! QB needs a game where he can go off

I agree, we need a massive boost for confidence in all position groups right now...but really want to see #12 extend on his second half in St. George, which was very, very solid.

their football payroll is $31M according to their coach.

I thought it was interesting that Plough had something positive to say about nearly every team in the conference except Sac when he was talking about how he felt the other Big Sky teams were doing so far this year. This year's Causeway is going to be an intense affair...

I like what he's doing with student outreach and getting the players involved. The Friday night rally is essential.

is that the welcome rally? I thought it was after school starts? Or is it the Friday before?

He won't mention Sac by name once, mark my words. Probably not even during game week!

I would look for Plough to do things to get #12 off to a fast start against Southern Utah. Easy throws, some things to get him onto the perimeter where he can take off, etc. Also, let's get #20 a few more carries. There was nothing they were going to do to run the ball on UW, but if USD can go for nearly 300 on the ground against SUU, the Ags should have some success. That will also make life easier for #12.

You can do a lot with $31m. The Husky RB is as good as any RB I've seen in college football this season, and their o-line plays and looks like a Big10 o-line. Glad that one is behind us, hopefully women's lacrosse and gymnastics, the cross country teams, and the indoor track program et al. appreciate what the football team did for them and get out to the game Saturday night! Go Ags!

He won't mention Sac by name once, mark my words. Probably not even during game week! — Pacifico

Why?

Not saying it would be easier, but it would be nicer if 700 people could donate $1000!

What are the rules on donations - do football specific donations only go to the Football Program or do they have to be spread across all sports per California State Law?

No expert on State or Title IX law, but my understanding is that there has to be equal opportunities to raise funds, scholarship proportionality, etc. (that's why there are so many more women's sports; they're additional for women and must be roughly equal to the number of football roster spots), but budget money doesn't have to be equally distributed.

There are campaigns and events to raise money for every sport. One is happening right now, so if you want to support football (or another sport), here's the link:

https://giveto.ucdavis.edu/schools/UniversityofCaliforniaDavis/champion-aggies-challenge-2025/pages/football

I'm sure Plough would be stoked if 700 people donated $1000!

they stay with football if you designate it. Not sure how the seat fees are allocated.

My guess is that seat fees go to Athletics/operations budget since they run the stadium

I suspect all the seat fees (football and basketball) will go to a general fund that the department will use for revenue sharing. Just a guess but there had to be a reason to make seat fees more significant.

Back to the Thunderbirds: Looking at their numbers/film, RB #28 is a dude. UTEP transfer, Payton Watchlist for 2025, etc. He had 28 carries in the win over Idaho State (180 yds/2 TD) and 25 carries vs NAU (171 yds/4 TD). I'm going to go out on a limb to say that his 8 carries (for whatever reason) was why they lost in San Diego. Two things are happening when your tailback is touching the ball 25+ times: you believe in your running game and your offense is rolling. Stop the run, stop SUU

After watch Davis against Washington, I'd be planning to pound the rock relentlessly...challenge for the defense vs. SUU.

https://www.youtube.com/live/5Zhpjm80X1I?si=Bo2F65BtoTm6HyKQ

Barron born October 1999 - which puts his 26th birthday in about three weeks.

I will interpret Coach Fitzgerald's coachspeak from the interview and save you 38 minutes:

"UC Davis opted to not finish the Mercer game for some reason, spent all that money for not, and I don't respect that. I'll use that to inspire my team. The QB and RB are not nearly as good as what they had last year. The QB is short and mobile, which might be an issue. The OL is OK but not very big or physical. Their receivers don't scare me. Neither does their tempo. The defense is good though."

He has to be concerned by his defense and knows they haven't stopped the run yet. They've allowed nearly 200 yards per game rushing so it is an issue. If you watch the highlights from NAU, they're undersized in the front 7 and just clog the middle. Run the ball on the edges with tempo and move our QB around and let him run too. Run the ball + stop the run = win most games, especially this one.

The coach speaks about the Aggies beginning at the 23:24 mark of the video and he's actually quite complimentary and respectful of the Aggies and our coaching staff.

A little smack talk from him on the Mercer game.....inferring we bailed out. Sounds like he didn't hear Plough's reasoning (or ignored it).
Had high praises for the program which is standard in the week leading up to a game.

He ain't wrong though: we 'aint a scary team. Yet.
We looked a little pedestrian in games 1-5 last season as well.

I agree with SochorField about not being scary. Yet. You saw flashes in the first half of Mercer and the second half at Dixie College. Good week to put one together.

This was entertaining. Plough is a good dude. Always a good interview. He's come such a long way in his coaching career.

“ Plough is a good dude.”
He really is. If you can ever break away and join us for the coach’s lunch, you would enjoy his down to earth nature and open honesty about the team, opponents, and the challenges. Dr. Mike made the trip last week. It was the biggest group we’ve ever had.