From a coaches perspective it was no doubt bad football, but as a fan, it was great. Teams showed athleticism, followed bad plays with great ones, game was competitive until the last moment, enthusiastic fans.

Wrighster is officially in the portal. He posted the notification that the school has notified the NCAA on Jan 4rh

About all the NCAA has left is the authority to define eligibility rules for players on NCAA teams. Due to court cases they can’t count years played in either pro or junior college against the five year rule, but they can define what a year of participation in NCAA play is. Connors’ case challenges that remaining authority.

The team actually has a Spring 2026 Spring roster posted. Doesn't list Pinnick or Rasor. but does list Wrighster.

We had some highly rated DBs who missed most or all the season due to injury . Cravin, Totten, and Albert Richardson
Ty Richardson still has eligibility.
By the way did you see Ty's brother's catch for USC in the Alamo bowl?

Fisher has two years left.

The tv broadcast team mentioned that a player redshirted because he wanted to work out in the new Madden facility. Seemed odd.

I think few coaches would not let someone back if the player was valuable. I don’t picture Plough as someone who wouldn’t.
Rhode Island had a player who was a bounceback, not just from the portal but he had enrolled at a FBS school before changing his mind.

I doubt a school can void a scholarship mid term, and certainly not before the player enters the portal. I think the scholarships are contracts. If a player enters the pirtal they don’t need to hold a next year scholarship, but I don’t think they can void current term scholarship. Scholarships are either for a full year, or recently for a half year, i think the half year ones are intended as an option for super seniors.

Rasor is likely transferring because he feels its unlikely that he’ll start. That is consistent with some of the knowledgeable posters on this board who indicate Cleeland is ahead of him. Rasor is looking for a place to play.

Scott Gordon focuses on the losses in the QB room compared to last year. Harper, Pinnick, Rasor, Wrighster. But we still have three three star QBs returning and one coming in from high school. None of the guys going into the portal other than Pinnick have significant playing experience, so retaining them wouldn’t add to the experience in the room. Rasor was injured last year, so he is essentially a redshirt sophomore for the upcoming season. He has offers from Incarnate Word, Southern Utah, Mercyhurst

Mercer reinstated football in 2013, ranked and making the FCS playoffs the last two years.

The green grass was pretty close before team success became even more a function of money due to the revenue sharing and free transfer rules. Expanded scholarships, revenue sharing NIL, and the free movement if players have moved the goal posts as relates to what an FBS program costs.. Now its a significant investment to have an outside shot at earning a shot at the Famous Potato Bowl.

They need to train and play 2 qbs a year. Can’t start every year from scratch as far as playing experience. They should add a qb coach who has played the position. The offensive coordinator can stay as offensive coordinator
They will miss Pinnick more than Vargas. Whether someone is an NFL prospect is not the way to judge a college football player’s impact. Some of the most dominant college football players don’t have significant pro careers. Pinnick was potentially 400 yards of total offense, he was the #1 focus for opponents.

[ We don’t have an older guy on the squad, assuming Rasor is leaving, He was the only upperclassman, in terms of academic year. He probably is only a redshirt sophomore in terms of eligibility.

There will be a lot of non contributors moving from FBS to wherever they can due to the roster size limit, Teams are going to be cutting walk-ons and just have scholarship players on the roster. There can be some wheat among the chaff, like Eli Simonson. Challenge is evaluating someone who hasn’t played.

Pinnick isn’t growing. But how tall is he? Historically and recently the roster has been reasonably accurate with players measurements. A couple of our three star highschool recruits for 2025 shrunk by several inches in coming here. Pinnick is listed at 6’0”, has anyone stood near him or watched him play basketball?

. Another reason we can't read tOo much into no news about someone entering the portal, is that the portal isn't public. So unless the athlete puts the news in social media they can be in the portal unannounced. There are no investigative reporters covering UC Davis.

Shamburger wasn't on last years spring or fall roster. He didn't play against South Dakota in the 2024 playoffs

Except conversations exist outside those authorized by the portal. I assume some players want to know where they are going before burning their bridges.