All Playoff games this Saturday are on ESPN+, except for the game in SE Missouri State @ Montana game...that's on ESPN 2, of course. Go Redhawks.

Took one look at that from the stands - had no desire whatsoever to venture down there. It was obvious Sac State was unprepared to handle the number of people who showed for the game - venue was crowded, which should've been expected based on ticket sales leading up the game, not enough space, not enough food trucks and/or other places to eat for the number of people there, and luckily, I went to the restroom early and got to watch the game without having to go back, wonder what the lines were like to use the facilities.

It's a little bit of a stretch to call Cal strong FBS

A lot of middle aged and older alum were at the game, they were wearing shirts from a time that had a lot of bad blood, and didn't have PC culture holding them back making nasty shirts. it actually kind of had me smiling waiting to get in, all that old school back and forth was sort of present...memories.

I would note to that Hornet fan that UC Davis has more playoff wins than Sac does in the past 4 years.

Seems pretty clear that the Montana AD has no objectivity whatsoever.

The bumbling Raiders manage to sweep the Broncos this season in Denver on a walk-off busted coverage TD in overtime.

Whoops.

I'm of the opinion that UC Davis, as they're doing it, is right there. They haven't crossed over as a "program", but reminding myself we started the year with a 2nd year QB, and Hastings had only a handful of starts when he started the season. Cody Hawkins was a first time OC at the FCS level, and there was a big learning curve at the beginning of the year. We were all harping on the offense, but they improved, thankfully with a string of teams that were beatable come mid-season, but none-the-less they put together a winning season despite some real setbacks in the off-season and during the season.

Defensively, Davis was fantastic - Montana State buzzsawed them in Bozeman, but looking at the Montana beatdown yesterday, you have to tip your hat to a very potent bunch of Bobcats.

I think the program as a whole, is much deeper than it has been...maybe the one thing missing is that transcendent offensive player that can open up the gameplan. We were WR by committee this year, Hutton certainly came on, but there was no standout, no go to playmaker...that role fell to Gilliam, who was phenomenal, but without a one-two or one-two-three punch, it can be easier for good teams to key and defend.

Davis is right there, but next season they need to win some of these bigger games if they want to contend for something beyond November. We said the same thing last year when Davis faded into the playoffs losing to those ranked teams.

We have some promising young players who took huge strides this year, encouraged by guys like Budgett, Larison, Rex Connors (a RFr.), Hastings, Venable, Kraft, Tompkins, Hutton, Buchanan, Poerio, Eaton, Sarale, Ford, Toki, Davis, Thorpe, Castles, Kennedy and Perez coming back.

Biggest holes to fill are Left Tackle, Center, Place Kicker and Cornerback... my opinion. Center, less so, because when Pettek went down I don't think Davis lost much of a beat offensively, the backup did well.

Amoah and Pettek graduate too.

Good luck in the playoffs Idaho, we'll be rooting for you

Aggies 2023 schedule:

2023
Sat., Sept. 2 at Texas A&M-Commerce - E.H. Field at Memorial Stadium, Commerce, TX, 5 pm PT
Sat., Sept. 9 at Oregon State - Reser Stadium - Corvallis, OR, TBD
Sat., Sept. 16 - vs. Southern Utah - UC Davis Health Stadium - Davis, CA, TBD
Sat., Sept. 23 vs. Eastern Washington - UC Davis Health Stadium - Davis, CA, TBD
Sat., Sept. 30 at Cal Poly - Alex G. Spanos Stadium - San Luis Obispo, CA, TBD
Sat., Oct. 7 vs. Montana - UC Davis Health Stadium - Davis, CA, TBD
Sat., Oct. 14 at Weber State - Stewart Stadium - Ogden, UT, TBD
Sat., Oct. 21 - OPEN DATE
Sat., Oct. 28 at Northern Arizona - Walkup Skydome - Flagstaff, AZ, TBD
Sat., Nov. 4 vs. Portland State - UC Davis Health Stadium - Davis, CA, TBD
Sat., Nov. 11 at Idaho State - Holt Arena - Pocatello, ID, TBD
Sat., Nov. 18 vs. Sacramento State - UC Davis Health Stadium - Davis, CA, TBD

Those close loses to Weber and Sac, just needed one of those. Still think the guys fought their butts off and certainly turned it around in a hurry, but man, got to find a way to be 3-0 or 2-1 going into Big Sky play. Starting with a hole doesn't help.

Hope the Griz get rolled.

If it was a money grab, set up a rematch in Sacramento vs. UC Davis, that would be another 23,000 fans.

Not only is Montana in, they get a home game against a middling team.

auto-bid for beating NC A&T and winning their conference.

NDSU at No. 3 is a legacy selection...they closed strong, but seems reputation is over-ranking them, no way Davis is getting in. History, past performance and revenue projection all matter.

#1 South Dakota State
#2 Sac State
#3 North Dakota State
#4 Montana State