I am all-in on our QB. It looked like a communications SNAFU on the first pick (the Smash concept) and the DB made a nice play on a ball that was close on the second pick.

I am really down on our Special Teams play this year. That's one of those areas that separates good teams from great, at least in the areas of coverage and having kicks blocked. I may never get over the blocked punt vs. ISU :lol: Great teams don't beat themselves and Teams are an area that get you beat.

Things are 100% trending in the right direction. I fully support Plough and have been impressed by their recruiting efforts. I feel like they need help in some of the infrastructure areas: they need a dedicated fundraiser for football, they need to expand and improve player nutrition, we need an organized NIL effort of some sort, the facilities are nice but can always be upgraded, they need more community/campus engagement personnel, same with social media presence, etc. But all in all, things are looking up.

Regarding the wine-related mascots, how about something like the Wine-o's, or maybe steal Vintage HS mascot, THE CRUSHERS. UC Davis Crushers has a nice ring to it. Better than the "Mouthfeel" or "Fruit-Forwards"

We have six Associate ADs and a bunch of Staff, you want more?

Hire a FB fundraiser, women will demand likewise. Another $200K in salary.

Wow, I had no idea we had that many associate ADs! Typical state school... I'll rephrase it then: let's re-evaluate the current roles and assignments of the existing administrative and support personnel and see where we might be more efficient or currently deficient. Do we need a GM, how is the recruiting side operated, do they need help? I can tell you now that nutrition is a platform of Plough's and it must be addressed and upgraded. He's raised money on that side and feels like we can continue to grow there.

I hear you on the equity piece and fundraising. Age-old dilemma. However, those "other sports" are all moving to the MWC ahead of football. I'm sure there is financial benefit to that. Perhaps a football fundraising position (salary probably <200k) could be leveraged as an offset to the cost of the move for the last sport to join and elevate?

Good points, thanks for enlightening me on the six Associate ADs and massive support staff.

No, I was suggesting $100K for each of two new positions you're suggesting.

Now you want a football GM?! Please, slow down!! Can't the people in place do their jobs?

And he’s throwing to the smallest collection of outside receivers in the country. Sam is tough as nails but there is nobody with any sort of catch radius on this team. Gale would have been a significant asset. Strange roster construction there.

“In theory it’s good exposure…” I’ll stop you there. In practice it is incredible exposure. This is the window espn lost when four of the PAC 12 schools wound up in the Fox conference. Instead of Pac10/12 after dark you have the Ags on the screen in just about every bar in the country. Packed house, giant beer cup snake, kids playing their arses off, defense with its best showing of the year given the circumstance, the good uniforms, and a phenom at qb. That our response here is a collective yawn that proper respect wasn’t paid to the miracle game really highlights the struggle to move this program forward. There’s a really good chance that a lot of the young guys who contributed this year aren’t going to be back. Experiences like Saturday night should be celebrated.

A lot of my photos weren't uploading in the moment because the network seemed to be overloaded, but here's a highlight reel of some of the festivities I posted on reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/UCDavis/comments/1oyqcan/scenes_from_uc_davis_montana_state_last_night/

Great photo's!

haha "Fruit Forwards" classic.

Copy on the two salaries. I am in full support of the "people in place" and the job they're doing. In fact, I think our recruiting classes since Plough has taken over have been and are outstanding (we're just young and will need their help sooner than later). What I'm suggesting is bolstering the operation where it needs to be bolstered. I am asking hypothetical questions, not making suggestions or speaking on the job anyone is currently doing. For example: Do we need to improve nutrition offerings? Do we need a GM or additional help in recruiting or in the recruiting budget? Would a football fundraiser be a means to generate the money that we will need to break into the Top 4 conversation consistently? This is about helping the people who are already in place and not an indictment on the job they're doing. If Plough continually talks about making the same investment that the Top 4 make, what does that look like? How are those programs structured, where are they raising their money, where do they spend it, what do we need to address in recruiting (the staff will likely say OL/DL), etc. Just looking to put this coach and his staff in the best position possible. Go Ags!

My main point was from an overall FCS exposure standpoint. it really only works for state of Montana hosted games. The NAU game was an embarrassment (listed attendance 5,000 but really only maybe 2,000) and Sac State game wasn’t a whole lot better with poor attedance and poor camera work.