I'm ready for a 52-point reality check courtesy of the high flyin' Ags.

Why? Cuz I'm hella stoked and biased. In reality it might be very close :lol:

This is the one of the strongest and well-rounded Aggie teams in years.

Graduated a four year starting QB and Lan Larison at the same time. There was a chance that we'd be calling this a rebuild year. Instead, we have a mobile QB and a 1-2 (and even 3) punch with the RBs. The WRs and TEs are in sync with their QB. The Aggie Offense met some resistance in the beginning of the game but quickly adapted and had their way all night. Remember last year when literally the whole offense was Lan?

The defense is stout. They bend but don't break. And they do enough to keep the Aggies in the game. Helps to still have the senior Connors brothers still, as well as a few key transfers. Was it risky trying to build Rex's NFL highlight reel? Yes. I hope he heals up quick.

And for special teams, it's amazing the strategic opportunities that open up when you have the best kicker in FCS on your team. You can almost count on at least getting 3 when you're in the redzone. It isn't like that for every team. Kick return coverage needs some work.

I see the one critique about Plough's strategic decision-making as a coach and I just can't agree. He's brought his fun and exciting playstyle back to Davis--the same one we saw when Plough joined as O.C. and was calling plays for Maier & Co. The same playstyle that was glaringly absent from the Aggies after he left for Boise.

Plough and his team have recruited so many great student-athletes and acquired so many great transfers from other programs, both FCS and FBS, that you really have to understand that he's made Davis a destination, hopefully not a stepping stone, but a place to play all four years. Hawk brought Aggie Pride back and Plough is making it make sense in this more challenging era of NIL and the transfer portal.

I was sitting in the parking lot of the IHOP in Richmond listening to this game in my Nissan Sentra. My friends were wondering what was taking me so long to go inside the restaurant. The good ol' days.

I know neither team was trying to start the season like this... But what a stupid start to the season.

Can't they all lose?

I agree about the indirect benefits of a move to FBS and upgrade of stadium. Many have suggested waiting for more success in FCS before making a move. My thing about waiting for an FCS championship before a move up or facility upgrade is... More teams *don't* win the FCS championship, or even make the playoffs regularly, than do. And they still maintain their programs. And many of the good programs have or are considering a move to FBS. Not that I think this is who we should be following, but never winning an FCS championship never stopped Coastal Carolina, which has only had a football program since 2003, from moving to FBS. And I think we're in a better position for success than them. Heck, we never won a D2 championship before we moved to D1.

Once in the FBS, most teams (and there are SO many) *don't* make the FBS playoffs. But their programs exist anyway. And they still get to enjoy national coverage with smaller but still televised bowl games. The world gets to be reminded that they exist. Their programs, and thus their schools, remain nationally relevant. Cal, who finished 6-6 this year, is playing UNLV this year in a televised bowl game on ESPN. Our quarterfinal, after our best season ever, is on freakin' ESPN+, which apparently many of our members don't subscribe to (in spite of it being easy to sign up for--it's bundled with Disney+!!). It's an existential thing for the program as well as a prestige thing for the whole athletic department and university as a whole.

haha, that was me... I wrote that. It was based on all the information shared in this thread (eastbayaggie's reply on page 2). But yes, it sounds like the rule really means that they would have to delay an announcement for a whole other season AT LEAST... which would give only a very small window of time to find people to open up their pocketbooks to make a stadium expansion + move happen. And remember how long it took to build the current Aggie Stadium? It would've been bigger but by the time they were done with all the back and forth, the price of steel went up and up so they had to cut down the overall size. By the way, this is all speculation. Maybe they'll stay in the Big Sky forever!

this is exactly my experience every time I sit in the alumni section. God bless season ticket holders, they put their money where their mouth is when it comes to supporting the program, but you can tell who's a long timer because making noise seems to be looked down upon. I TRULY think a bigger stadium // expanding seating would help in terms of giving more opportunity (seating) for the groups who know that to help our team, we doooooo have to make noise and create a hostile environment. I appreciate the Aggie Pack trying their best but yes, even they're still a ways away from the Pack that I remember from '03-'07... And these weren't even teams that were as successful!

I have yet to meet any of you folks at a game but imma make an effort the next time!

I don't post a lot but I do read a lot. So here's $50 your way.

MBB, Baseball, etc; I'd rather travel to see the Ags play San Jose State, Nevada, UNLV, Hawaii, and New Mexico than any of the Big West UC / CSU schools (all Southern California and without name recognition outside of California).

We used to have a Fanatics.com(?) board back in the day (early to mid 2000s). Chris Kelly was the main Davis sports writer at the time and regulared the board!

that's the Aggie Pack I remember!!!!

I wish for an expansion of the stadium so that the alumni section can be drowned out by people who want to actually make noise and provide some semblance of home field advantage.

I 100% agree with coach.. and not only cuz I'm the same exact age as him. It's frustrating to bring a group of enthusiastic folks to a game, who know how to make noise at a home game, only to be looked at like we're crazy for being as enthusiastic as we are

It's so hard being 40 years old and under in the Alumni section... Cheers to you all who tried to make home field advantage mean something. I think think we need to have Aggie Sports Talk stickers/badges so we can identify each other//the loud ones.

Just got 5 tickets for our group in Section 120, Row P

Made it to the game with a couple other guys and our four young daughters (5 and under!). The girls did well for the most part but were delirious by the end and wouldn't have made it to overtime (I woulda tried). Now that I have kids, I see why the berms in the endzones make our stadium special.

Nice crowd, lots of non-football things to see and do, and long lines at concessions but hey, everything was open and so it felt like a real operation. I'll say the Cats are proper football fans and know how to make noise--louder than the Aggie Pack and definitely louder than the alumni section. They even made sure to chant GO CATS GO very loudly during all of the Aggie Pack cheers and giveaways.

Hate to see them lose, don't like moral victories, but the Aggies showed they deserve their ranking.

Guys, just real quick--once again, great podcast. You sound prepared, speak clearly, ask good questions, get good guests. Let me/us know of any Patreon or tip jar to help keep this thing going. It's amazing to get to listen to this content when I would only ever get to read it on this forum (and this forum is so valuable too).

I'm anxious to hear what there is to talk about / what the tone will be like in a rebuilding year :-).

I'm gonna try to go to the game with a 5 and 2 year old in tow. Wife has work; driving from the Bay. Wish me luck.

Watching the game at the LAX Marriott bar with my $20
Stouts, hooting, hollering, having the time of my life.