After sloppily reviewing the opening drives for both teams, I have reached the following conclusions on UNC and Idaho:
1. Idaho is not as good as they were last year. They do not look like they did in '24, especially in the Front 7 defensively.
2. While improved, Northern Colorado is not Southern Utah-good on offense and they look more like NAU as far as the dink-and-dunk stuff. They are very comfortable with what they are though, and they are better than they have been.

Just my initial impressions...

Lamb is a very good football coach and proven program builder. This game is one to be cautious of. However, UNC is prepping for travel to and a game against Sac State. The Aggies start UNC prep today with four extra days of practice and the weekend off. And we're better. Advantage: Plough boys...

Gundy would be a great fit if he'll play the NIL game. Corvallis not drastically different than Stillwater aside from the climate. Perfect spot for a good 'ol boy; Erikson was just that, but also a bit of a savant to boot. All comes down to NIL and roster management these days.

All refs suck and miss calls... nature of the business. Looks like they missed that one too.

Listening to the Aggie Pride Podcast the other day, they talked about the old, big Horseshoe Trophy that used to be associated with the game. I know Cal Poly's football program is housed (for now) in that crappy old building across the street from the visitor's stands near where the teams dress. Here's a though; has anyone ever thought to dig through that old building and the storage there for that trophy? It could be buried under boxes and random junk somewhere in that building.

About what was expected. NAU was not explosive, and they resorted to trench warfare to limit Aggie possessions and run the clock. Defense played a solid game but struggled when NAU had their burst in the 3Q, Finished well.

The kickoff coverage unit is an issue. It all starts with the Placekicker. He may tackle well, but why aren't we hitting the ball higher and deeper like every other kicker in the country does? Is he putting the ball where the Special Teams Coordinator is telling him to? That matters a bunch. What about the coverage personnel? The ball kept exiting out the right side of our coverage scheme/returner's left. Something was amiss and I'm not sure if it was the inconsistency of the kicks or the guys covering on that side. Either way, teams score at a much higher rate starting at their 40 yard line and closer than they do inside their own 30. Little things like this are the difference between good and great.

Offensively, CP is really playing good football. He's distributing the football, he actually made some great decisions in not throwing balls and in throwing some away, and he seemed more comfortable in the pocket to me. #1 fumbled again and that needs to be addressed. I liked that they didn't bury him on the bench like last time; fix it in practice. Again, a little thing that separates good and great. It was great to see #7 emerge, his catch on that Corner route was huge. Sam and Fish are special.

Nobody ever talks about our OL so I will. Those guys are playing well. We are facing loaded boxes and all sorts of exotic fronts, stunts, and blitzes, and while we did allow several sacks, those aren't always on the O-Line, especially with a mobile QB. Keep up the good work big fellas

If program support is a big deal to Plough, why would he leave his self proclaimed "dream job" to take a job on a much less level playing field than the Big Sky and FCS? Oregon State can't win in today's college football and nobody wants them. That job is a dead end. 3x the pay for 3-4 years of aggravation before you're fired. Bray (former OSU HC) was an alum and a rising star as a D-coordinator and he got fired after 1.5 seasons. I highly doubt that Plough would uproot his family, have the kids change schools and the wife resettle, and leave his dream job to go coach against the same teams he'll be facing in 3-5 years anyway. I agree that he should leverage this situation to better his situation and the situation of his coaching staff and the program, but it would not be smart to take the Oregon State job. No one can ever accomplish what Erickson and Riley did there ever again. They don't have the money or the bandwidth to compete and win consistently.

Recruiting rankings at places like Sac are fool's gold. They look good around signing day or after the portal closes, but get to the start of school and into October/November and the star ratings don't matter. Those guys that took the money, or drank the hype Kool Aid will quit and look to transfer or flunk out believing the portal is something more than a place where kids are dumped by college programs because all scholarships are one year contracts. The portal typically OPENS with 10-15k names in it that carried over from the previous season(s).

The beauty of Aggie Football lies in the development of players. Look at the Sam LB/Edge positions for example. Those groups are loaded-up with long bodies with great growth POTENTIAL, not ready-made starters. Elite programs don't rely on Freshmen to start the season. We're not there yet given all the FR that are starting, rotating, and who will be sprinkled-in at the end of the season on Special Teams, but we're trending in the right direction. Davis will stick to the traditional model mostly; recruit great kids who are there to develop and are bought in to redshirt. Pull guys out of the portal as needed (good character, academically proven), and maybe play a freshman or first-year transfer in some spots. Previous teams and staffs have built upon this foundation and the current staff is doing a great job of continuing that tradition.

Thanks, I hadn't checked that future schedule page in a minute. Glad the UCs are helping out. If they don't get things fixed in Westwood, it will be like an Davis home game in Pasadena. I went to the UCLA-Cal game a couple years back and I've seen bigger, more enthusiastic crowds at local HS games. The old Rose Bowl looks good though, will be great for the Aggies to play there!

Two Pioneer Football League games in 2026? I understand playing USD for recruiting and alumni outreach purposes, but the Stetson Hatters are crappy. Thus far, they've split with a couple NAIA schools, got destroyed by an Ivy and Chattanooga (the Harvard of southeastern Tennessee), and won their PFL opener against a bad team. There is no way we return that trip (I hope) at a later date.

Weren't the gutty little Bruins on the 2026 at one point, only to be replaced by SMU?

D2 and Pioneer schools get some guarantee money for those trips, whether its an actual check or help with travel expenses (food, lodging). It is nothing like taking Power 4 money where you might get a double whammy of guarantee and TV money, but it is something.

I forgot to include the bye so that helps

No idea what the extent of the injury is, but a safe guess based on seeing a guy in a boot would be that he'll be out 6+/- weeks. That puts him back for MSU as the absolute best case, first round of playoffs if it's not complicated. Praying for a speedy recovery

Back to the game. Breaking it down from YouTube, vs. NAU we'll see a lot of 5-down looks with a loaded box and sim pressures on passing downs (a lot like Cal Poly's D from 2024). They're going to play man with some variations behind it, but it looks like they lose the QB and if you're playing man coverage, that can lead to big gainers. Against MSU, the Safety #8 spied the QB in short yardage situations due to their Q Run game; don't be surprised to see him tracking CP at times, especially on passing downs in Man. Well-coached defensive unit.

The Offense is very multiple. They look similar to Weber and Poly speed-wise to me, maybe a notch below that. NAU runs the QB enough to make him viable, but their RBs are not what we saw from Southern Utah or Weber St. in the base run game. Those guys will catch a lot of balls. The OL is solid, TEs are OK. WRs look like bigger guys that run solid routes but don't appear to be that fast. As mentioned, the QB will check it down to the RB frequently and take the underneath throws on some of the deep concepts. Dink and dunk, move the sticks.

Their Special Teams gave up a long punt return vs. MSU.

Aggies 42-45ish
Lumberjacks 31 at best

Happy Homecoming!

Stats are easily skewed, trust what you see on the field. The Offense available to Plough is expanding because the QB is taking care of the football and distributing the touches very well. There's a new weapon emerging each week. CP just needs to be smart with his body and the Offense is going to keep rolling.

I think what you're seeing is a Defensive emphasis on stopping the run. SUU has an elite RB (as he has proven since we saw him), Weber ran the ball 43x, and Wulff at Cal Poly is an old O-Line guy and they tried to run it 37x. Our Rushing YPG allowed is decreasing, as is the Yards Per Carry stat (Washington skewed everything up statistically). When you commit to making teams one dimensional (ex. stop the run), you're going to give some things up, like balls up the seams (Cal Poly) and create some favorable matchups offensively in coverage (Weber State). With our pass rush and DBs, it makes sense to load up against the run and put it on those guys to make plays against the pass.

1000 at $1000 annually is a great concept. If UCD would hire someone wholly committed to soliciting for that sort of giving program, I think it's realistic given the sheer size of the alumni base and our metro areas. You could probably do at least half of it at Homecoming and Parent Weekends with the right person in charge.

Regarding the microphone, perhaps we can make it 1001 at $1000 with that gift specifically earmarked to rectify the mic issues, Call that person The Mic Backer...

For a guy like Buchanan, what matters for his long game is the film he's putting out right now. If he can play well and play a lot, it will ensure future opportunities. Just have to get enough film in the first 3-4 seasons to get to that second contract. Wish him all the best!

Exactly. Would take a legit FCS upset or FBS win for the 2nd place team to be considered, coupled with a 9-1 record with their only loss to an undefeated champion. Only way any of them makes it unless they have someone on the committee

Agreed on the middle of the field issues. We gave up some explosives in the same area with Rex in there, so teams see something they're attacking. We did give up two TD up the seam vs. SLO so whatever it is (scheme or personnel) it needs to be fixed. Every defensive call has a weakness. Getting thin at Corner, hopefully they can get back

Rex's injury occurred as his forward progress had been initially stopped. He sort of twisted and ended up with his back to most of their defense, which was jumping on and pushing the pile back. He was driving backwards to push and the whole thing caved in on him. Guessing the injury occurred from his leg drive and the weight of the pile collapsing on it. Truly unfortunate but it does no good to second guess and blame the coaching staff. It's done and they have to live with the consequences, we're just fans and injuries are part of the game. The best coaches and playcallers on the planet make mistakes and have plays they want back every week. Yes, losing an all-American hurts conference and national championship hopes and you won't replace his on-field leadership; but I would argue the sheer number of other injuries are equally as concerning. Next man up at a lot of positions. Go Ags!

Teams like Cal Poly, Idaho State, and UNC are all vastly improved. Good coaching staffs have really made those teams competitive. What takes the time is learning how to win. They're used to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Now they have to keep chopping away and find ways to win those games. Against everyone else except the Aggies

No.

Gutty win at SLO. Wulff has them trending upward, their team speed has greatly improved since last year. QB played out of his mind. Decent atmosphere, beautiful night, nice crowd. I told a buddy with close ties at SLO that they are vastly improved and better than Weber, especially since both are playing with backup QBs. The starter will be back for SLO at some point and makes them instantly better. The trickery and situational play calls were outstanding for the most part by Wulff and staff.

I thought Sievers played well, I noticed him making more plays than the other LB but that might have been schematics. He's going to be the Will down the stretch. Afato is pretty much backing up both ILBs at this juncture, I don't think they can afford to risk him at Fullback for a few snaps a game given how shallow the depth is at the LB position. He is exactly what you want in a FB though; add another 25-30 lbs and he'd be a real monster there. Or else find a shorter, undersized D-tackle to fill the role. TEs are too tall to do it effectively in the box and we're thin there as well.

The throw on the first Aggie TD was as impressive as I've ever seen. CP really stepped up on Saturday night, hopefully that is a preview of things to come. Pretty solid offensive performance overall. My only gripe is the way we start games. We need to find ways to avoid early 3-and-outs and be better in the first quarter but man do we finish!