I believe there was an apparently malcontent band leader who moved on to DHS and helped bring the band down.

+1

How bad was the team - flu bug?

Surprised CP took a shove at an opponent late in the game.

We were watching Caden walking the side lines in the third quarter, head down. He looked defeated at that point. Pysk’s absence was apparent. The chatter in the stands was that the flu bug hit the team hard this week. I have no idea how accurate that is. Overall good season for the Ags.
We had several folks in our section planning to make the trip to Nashville. Maybe next year- it would have been fun.

pretty bad from what I’m told, several key guys struggling through it

the first guy moved to Davis HS, the next one to Oregon State. Both were problems. The next one was good, but he took the fall for what the OSU guy left. Don’t know the current director, but he’s been there 5 years and I have my thoughts as to the lack of growth and improvement.

yeah. I saw that too. I was in section 123 and he was sitting alone on the bench for a while. Hopefully he perks up and stays with hopes of being even better next year!

We were in section 123 as well. Pinnick was sitting alone. But when he got up, Plough was talking to him. Coach Plough is a great mentor. Just watched Plough’s emotional presser on KCRA. He loves this team. I hope Pinnick sees this and comes back for another season.
The Redbirds were the better team today. Illinois State knew the goal line play where Pinnick threw the interception. It was similar to last weekends Aggies touchdown against Rhode Island. Great season Aggies!

This press conference tells you everything you need to know about how special this football program is and how lucky we are to have Tim Plough as or head coach. I'm so very proud of this team.

Cute tshirts.

Me too.

He’s a special person. The type that you’d be proud to have a child or grandkid play for.

Incredible hurdle by Zack Jones:

Serious hops! Both number 3s had a great game today. It's funny when Jones and Richardson get confused for each other by the announcer at the stadium you can always see one of them reacting in a funny way to it.

Dangit. Tough game to watch. Defense gave up some bombs but there were also a bunch of missed opportunities in the redzone. Could've traded more scores. Special teams needs so much work and got exposed. That said, Illinois State is def better than the one the Aggies played last year. They beat NDSU!

Still a great year for the Ags. The competition only gets tougher the higher you go and the longer you stay in it. And I'm happy they got this far while still not putting together what coach would call "perfect game."

It was hella cold. My friends and I brought our kids. I wore my 9-month old in a carrier. It was a funny sight trying to use the bathroom with a baby on your chest and a beer in one hand.

I'll be back and will be happy to support the team next year.

hopefully you didn’t use the bathroom behind 123 - no lights! Urinal use by ear!!

I was thinking on the drive home that I don’t recall us ever substituting defensive groups during the game. Same approach whether it was 1st and 10, 3rd and 1 or 3rd and 15 - Coombs had I choice except keep the remaining healthy guys out there and play a pretty vanilla scheme. Losing Pysk, along with Sam’s limitations, was too much. That being said, take away that damned kickoff and convert in the red zone, and that puts a bit more pressure on QB.

Great season. Great group of players and coaches.

My profile pic is from the 2010 game at Cal. I've been bringing my son to games for over 15 years. Last night he got to reconnect with Gunrock. So many good memories! Enjoy the journey as a dad!

Great year, great effort in what could have been a rebuilding year after losing LL and MH. Injuries too much, too deep on defense. What can be done to limit those, less contact drills, more rest?

The Redbirds RB and WR were tough, and they had a senior QB who would make you pay.

I’m curious what ISU did on offense in the 3rd quarter to make our LBs vanish into thin air. They were out there, but nowhere near #5 as he ran right up the middle for 8 yards per carry it seemed. That was frustrating to watch. Could have been as simple as fatigue? It looked to me like a big team wore some sick guys down over the course of the game.

Getting deep into the playoffs has a lot to do with depth, conditioning, and a lot of luck (especially health-wise).

With all that, strange feeling that at no point in the game to me did I feel like the Ags were going to lose….then all of the sudden the season was over. Heartbreak!

Fun season to watch. Unstoppable offense at times and really good defense. So many talented, interesting and entertaining players. Just a really likeable program with so much potential. Looking forward to next year already!

I didn't expect a shootout to turn into a drought.

Interesting, a friend thought the fake field goal was an emotional turning point.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Those three possessions where we got no points, a fake field goal stopped on fourth down, and the interception on the goal line. That’s the game, right?” Aggies coach Tim Plough said. “If those three plays are touchdowns, then we got 53 points, and we win the game, right? So, those three plays are the difference for sure.”

[quote]Will Pinnick return?

Aggies redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick, a former standout from Del Oro High, threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns in the loss Saturday. He finished the season with 3,206 yards and 32 touchdowns through the air, plus 437 yards and another three scores using his legs.[/quote]

Pinnick has reportedly received multiple offers to play elsewhere next year, and he and Plough have already had discussions about his future in Davis. The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and closes two weeks later. If by then Pinnick has not accepted an offer, he will remain an Aggie.

Plough said he plans to talk to Pinnick soon, with the playoffs now over.

“I support Caden with whatever he wants to do, but if I was advising him, I think the best thing he can do is to continue to mature and learn the position from one of the best, I think, quarterback development schools in the country,” Plough said. “We plan on him coming back.”

To Plough’s point on quarterback development: Plough, on Cal’s coaching staff in 2023, served as something of a tutor to the Golden Bears’ then-third string QB Fernando Mendoza. Though Plough was Cal’s tight ends coach, Mendoza knew of his quarterback expertise and started to meet with Plough as a mentor.

Mendoza transferred after the 2024 season to Indiana. On Saturday, he won the Heisman Trophy, the honor given to the best college football player in the nation.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article313687259.html#storylink=cpy

it was a big turnabout especially when they hit us on a 93-yard TD. Huge swing

The beautiful long bomb and then fumble also hurt.

Lots of credit to the red birds. They started the playoffs unranked and have been traveling every week. They’re a well coached and greased machine. I won’t be surprised to see them in Nashville.
Darn, the way this bracket sorted out was a real opportunity for us.

FCS game reviews, they really skim over our game - which starts at 16:00.

https://youtu.be/7XOIQ5N8rR0?si=mLi76a7DWnARPz_N

My intention was to come on here and bitch and moan (especially) about special teams play, stopping the run, and how the Redbirds scored four TD to our one between the 2nd and 3rd quarters. However, after throwing my board in the water yesterday and sitting on the beach, then sleeping on it for two nights, I am announcing my retirement from posting about the 2025 season. I will end this run with a few more mellow contemplations:

-Special teams play... Two of the four losses saw critical mistakes. Possibly the absolute worst play of the season was when the entire Aggie punt return team turned their back to the Illinois State punter and ran with the coverage team. The punter saw what happened, that no one was home, and took off because not one player stayed to check to ensure that the ball was kicked. I almost puked when I saw him change his footwork while he was reading our guys.

-The old adages that "Defense Wins Championships" and "You Must Run to Win" still hold true. Illinois State did both of those things very effectively, and won. We didn't. That's the ballgame.

-Kudos to the fans: students, parents, alumni, community, especially for the final three games. Plough has built something pretty special and the momentum is tangible. The games I went to were a great time! And we won most of them. And we hosted two playoff games.

-This team far exceeded their circumstances. There were so many reasons why they could have had a down year, yet they earned a #8 national seed and won a playoff game. With a first-year, freshman QB. With devastating, season-ending injuries to all-Americans and all-Big Sky performers. With guys being sick. With more injuries. The program was tested and still nearly pushed through to the semifinals.

-And finally, to wrap up my kinder, gentler post on 2025 Aggie football, Corey the Rocket Dog redeemed herself and put in possibly her best performance of the season. Given the rumors about other dogs being able to fill her role through the dog pound portal, she renewed my faith in her retrieving abilities and brought her A-game in the quarterfinals. Maybe we expand her role in 2026 with supporting our special teams by running down the field to cover kickoffs and sitting at the line of scrimmage until the ball is punted...

That's all folks. No more from me about this game or any of the 2025 games, I am now forward focused from here on out. I trust Plough and Co. to fix what needs to be fixed, to address the roster needs, and to come out loaded for bear in 2026.

Well put. It's one thing for special teams to be "meh" but it's another thing to hold your breath whenever STs take the field...