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...

On the opening long kickoff return, it looked like one of our guys near the ball carrier just stopped running. Maybe it was the angle.

Saw the same thing, I think it was the kicker. I just watched that play again on the ESPN highlights and there were several things that really jumped out at me, but I will refrain unless anyone really wants to go there. It made me watch our opening drive to get to the kickoff, man we had some chances... SERENITY NOW!!!

The camera angle may not be fair.

-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. — Pacifico2

I'm going to quibble a bit that Illinois St played good defense. They didn't. We put up 533 yards and 31 points. Now, were 14 of those points scored in garbage time when the game was over? Sure. But the yards weren't. Our offense had 11 drives, had 1 3 and out and only punted 1 time (which were the same drive). Of the other 10 drives, we gained at least 47 yards on 8 of them. The other two we gained 21 yards turning it over on downs and had a 25 yard TD drive.

They made a couple big stops when it mattered when we turned it over on downs and held us to a couple FGs. And credit to them for that. But coming up big on a couple plays doesn't mean your defense was good. Can't believe NDSt couldn't move the ball on them a week ago.

The game easily could have been a 41-17 Davis win. We just ran out of bodies. The DL was running on fumes. It came down to ISU seniors OL against our Frosh/Soph DL.....

Next year is going to be fun....

And JC transfer DL. Julius Ray played quite a bit.and had two tackles

yeah I count about 6 plays in the first quarter that if they went our way, we’re up 35 at half. Most were on offense in the redzone. We had a dropped INT in which the next play they scored. These made it close. But oh well they’ll be ready next year.

Good points, all of them. You hit it on the head; they got stops when they needed them. We put up a ton of passing yards (402 of the 533 total yards), but they held our TB to 71 yards rushing and our QB scrambled for another 26. Our second TB went for 25 yards on 3 carries. However, both the starting TB and his backup each had 23 of their yards on one. So, I would consider a 42-17 lead with 3:35 to play in the game against one of the top offenses in the nation an outstanding defensive performance. I'm certain that you're not discounting the ISU Defensive effort. I just think scores are often misleading, and it felt like we got our ass whipped sitting there last Saturday.

I think our defense got whipped and our offense made a couple bad plays at the wrong time.

4th and 7 from the 13 fake FG came up a foot short
4th and 2 at the 3, went for it and lost a yard (thought this was a bad play call)
65 yard pass play that ends in a fumble
2nd and goal from the 2 and we throw a pick

At that point it's 35-17. Let's say instead of those outcomes, on those four drives they kick a FG, still go for it and don't convert, get a FG (he would have been down at the ISU 20) and get a TD. That's relatively conservative. That's 13 extra points and it's 35-30. Sometimes the score can be a bit deceiving. I didn't think we were 32 points better than ISU last year despite what the score ended up at.

ISU was the better team on Saturday, but I think we were fairly even overall.

Good data, and I agree, especially that they were the better team last Saturday. Unfortunately, that's all that matters.

Has anyone else noticed the number of interceptions thrown inside the 5 yard line this season in college and professional football? It has become a regular occurrence. Make FULLBACKS part of the game again!!!

For sure. Don't want it to sound like I thought we deserved to win or should have won the game based on how both teams played. On another day we could have. But on that day, the right team won.

The longer we sustain drives, the defense gets a rest, regroups, and those 'conservative' 13 points are motivational.

The fake FG was a gutsy call, and it looked like the hole he ran through was tiny.

We were the victims of several sustained drives while their defense regrouped... Hard to score when the offense is sitting on the bench.

Agreed, the fake FG was gutsy and didn't look like it had much of a chance. I applaud Plough for his willingness to take some of those chances. I hate FGs unless they're game winners, personal preference.