They better play like the second half and not first of PSU game if they want to win.

If the offense gets going in the 1st quarter then we should handily take care of business. If the offense played like they did in the 2nd half over the course of the entire game against PSU we would have blown them out. Pioneer League is bad, we have no excuses to not blow them out.

I agree to a point. I just remember the 2018 game when the Aggies made the playoffs, they had to stop a Torrero at the 1/2 yard line to win.

we should handily take care of business — CA Forever

we have no excuses to not blow them out. — CA Forever

I hope the team and the fans never take another team for granted ever again after today especially when the betting line has us as 24.5 point favorites! :lol:

Wasn't acceptable then, wouldn't be acceptable now.

I'm not saying that you take San Diego for granted, but I am saying that the talent disparity between the Pioneer League and the Big Sky is significant enough that if we play up to our potential we should blow them out. I mean, several Pioneer teams already lost to D2 opponents already this season.

We should have blown PSU out. I told my wife to get an AED for the rest of the season.

Improvements Im looking for in the SD game
-Cleeland being settled in. Not throwing balls high. If he looks how he did in the second half the offense should be able to move the ball well. Need to connect on those deep passes.
- Better pass protection. Pass protection was abysmal. The line did a terrible job picking up blitzes/ d line stunts.
- Better gap discipline on defense. They were fine on inside runs but struggled on outside runs.
- have the same level of pressure on the QB like the second half.
- Special teams - improve kick coverage/ lane discipline. No more penalties on kick/ punt returns.

I expect all phases of the game to look improved next week as most of the game Davis was beating themselves.

We keep saying he was throwing balls high, but he also had at least four balls tipped at the LOS. He needs to make better dexisions and be more accurate. Find Gbatu more!

Yes, the batted passes were surprising/frustrating. You expect to see more of those with smaller QBs standing in the pocket, but Cleeland is not a small guy. I think he found Gbatu plenty once the offense actually started humming as he still finished with 8 receptions for 100+ yards.

There were several of those deep passes that were so close to being there. I mean the receivers were getting open downfield, ball just beyond the finger tips. The passing game looked good in the 2nd half for the most part outside of the batted pass that got intercepted. The offense just can't find itself going 33% completions in a half if they are planning on throwing the ball 40 times per game.

Alright, here's the rundown on the USD...

The Toreros open their season against the Aggies after a 2025 campaign that had them finish 8-4 and 3rd overall in the Pioneer League. Last season they scored 28.4 points per game and averaged 360.7 yards of offense per game while allowing 24.3 points per game and 348.9 yards per game respectively. The Toreros were very narrowly selected to finish 1st overall in the Pioneer League coaches poll going into the 2026 season. The Aggies hold a strong grasp on the series with Toreros with a 9-1 record.

San Diego returns significant chunks of their offensive production from last season. Starting off with the QB position, the Toreros return starting QB Dom Nankil who completed 157/246 passing attempts (63.8%) for 1945 yards with 13 TDs to 3 interceptions. He's a mobile QB as well. He gained 231 rushing yards last season (net 113 after taking away sack yardage) and had 2 rushing TDs. He's not the biggest guy to ever play the position, standing at 6'0, but only 175 pounds. The defense should try to bully him into making mistakes.

Keeping the ball on the ground, the Toreros did lose their 2nd leading rusher in RB Matt Colombo who ran for over 700 yards and 10 TDs last season, however, they do return their most productive RB in Adam Criter who gained 955 yards on 180 attempts (5.1 yards per rush) with 12 TDs. What may impact some of the success of their run (and pass) game is that at least based on their game notes from their last game of the season in 2025, they are going to have 3 new starters on the offensive line.

In terms of their receiving game, the Toreros had 2 productive receivers last season and return 1 of them. They no longer have WR Josh Heverly who had 614 receiving yards on 47 receptions (13.06 yards per reception) with 6 TDs, however, do return WR Cole Monach who had 822 yards on 55 reception (14.95 yards per reception) with 6 TDs.

The key for the Aggie defense is disruption at the line of scrimmage. We need to take advantage of the fact that they are going to have several new guys on the line. Do that and their offense stalls.

Defense is going to be a larger question mark for the Toreros. They lost significant portions of their defensive production from last season as they only return like 4 or 5 guys from their starting defense per their last game of the season game notes in 2025.

The Toreros only return 3 of their top 10 players in terms of tackle production from last season including their top 4 tacklers. Probably their most notable loss from last season was young gun LB Nate Fischer who racked up 97 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 1 forced fumble. He transferred to Florida Atlantic, not a powerhouse FBS school by any means but a big jump up from the Pioneer League. They lost 2 out 3 of their top players in terms of sack production, but do return DL Sean Scheck who had 5 sacks on the season. The Toreros most dangerous returning defensive player is DB Ruben Lopez who had 53 tackles on the season last year, but led the team by a healthy margin in interceptions with 5 (next closest players had 1).

As a whole the defense just has a lot of question marks. It's going to be a majority of new starter so tough to say how things will gel. The key for the Aggie offense will simply be getting things humming early. Take advantage of their inexperience in terms of starting reps. Don't test Lopez too aggressively in the pass game because he's definitely a ball hawk, but at the end of the day I think Gbatu can handle him.

Finally the Toreros return their do it all special teamer in Emiliano Salazar. He went 15/18 on FG attempts last season with a long of 47. He only attempted 1 50+ yarder. He also took a majority of their punts with a 44.76 yards per punt average. He performed all of their kickoffs with 27/65 going for touchbacks.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, this is an extremely winnable game for the Aggies. I would be extremely disappointed in another close game a la Portland State. Get the offense going early, disrupt their offensive line, and play mistake free and this should be a big win.

GO AGS!

Natural grass at USD?

My take aways from the game is simple. The season will depend on our offensive line. They have to get better.

1. We might have just found a star in TE Khutsuvili.
2. We have to get Bhatu involved more.
3. I'm not sold on Cleeland as ths starter. He overcame a bad first half and that says alot about his character, but if we had been playing a better team it would have been more like 35-0 going into the half. Smart move by Coach not to put Jackson in the game, because had he done so and Jackson ripped off a win, we would all be having a different conversation right now. Let's see how the QB play looks after Montana. My bet is Jackson will eventually win the job.
4. Defensive scheme has to improve. Those small pocket slants were wide open all game.
5. This team has talent and this win was a great way to start the season.

at least per Wikipedia, yes Torero Stadium has natural grass.

natural grass and another funky stadium.

I don’t know how they make any money from their games. Tickets are $15….but AgAlum and I bought the ‘family four pack’ for $8.50 each! That’s less than a beer!

USD always worries me. They usually have playmakers and we sometimes struggle down there. Positive is the night start which isn’t the norm for USD.

I think you’re right about seeing how Cleeland looks during the Montana game. I’m excited for that game, I’ll be there.

Man I wish I was there. I'm so bummed I'm missing my Aggie season!! You guys do well over there. Scream super loud for me. I'll do my best from Spain at I think 4 am over here!

I wanted to make this game, but I may be in labor with a future Aggie in the next few weeks! I saw Davis is playing UCLA in 2027. My husband, baby, and I will try to make that one :smile:

Congrats!!! That's awesome. I'll be at the UCLA and Harvard games for sure. If we make the championship, I'll def be there. Sangria for everyone! Vamos!

Good points. Not a good sign that both sides of the ball apparently came out not locked in in some regard. How did the O line not play well in the first half, then suddenly gel? Great to see Porter Connors and newcomer safety John Hayden (Idaho transfer) stud out.

Porter Connors would lead the nation in tackles if he wrapped up after contact.

Posted this in the other thread but I actually think your initial spring assessment was correct and Clee is the guy. Remember he came from a run first system at Portland Jesuit. First half was ugly but they were backed up and the defense and special teams were no help. There will be some growing pains and he doesn’t have the wheels to be the third down escape artist that Pinnick was but the tools are impressive. As a thrower he looks like a stronger more athletic Denham. Big time arm talent.

@ San Diego is another dangerous game for Davis.
However, on paper, we should smoke them by at least 2 or 3 scores.
Can't help but see the Montana State @ Utah Tech score - Bobcats completely obliterated them, and they are likely favorites going into Nevada, they're not trading blows with a mid tier Big Sky team. When you have the horses, you simply truck the teams you should.

Coaches poll still has us at #6.

I think the batted balls were largely due to poor pass protection, after stunts or bull rushes collapsed the pocket. Defenders were in Cleelands face pretty quick on some. One was by a player who dropped back a few yards and was more of a pass breakup.
Cleeland is not a tall guy.

The former Wake Forest coach doing commentary on the Poly, Idaho game made a comment about Idaho’s play calling being more scheme oriented than playmaker oriented. I think Davis sometimes falls into that, not getting the ball to playmakers enough. Plough once said he must be the dummest coach in America when it comes to using Fisher, and there is still some truth to that.