You make some good points. However, I'll be honest, I'm not sure the current business model even works anymore. There powers that be, who are hell bent on creating a top tier league consisting of only 50 or so football teams that can bought and run through a VC. The idea of course is to create a league where JMU and Tulane are not eligible to even play in this playoff because they are not in the right league.

1. Traditional TV is dead. Let's face it the way people watch football today is radically different then how it was watched even 10 years ago. Streaming is the new cable, which begs the question, if nobody is watching on traditional outlets, where is the ad money going to come from? Prime, Apple, HBO, Paramount, etc. will all be bidding against each other which means the overall cost will drop. I think when the new TV deal comes up, there is going to be a huge shakeup in college football.

2. Bowl Games are dead. Bowl games served a purpose years ago, but the concept is dead. You can see many schools pulling out altogether. The days of waking up on Jan 1 and watching the Rose Bowl game later is gone. The Rose Bowl now is just another bowl with teams that would never be allowed to play in this game.

So what does this mean? I think it means the VC's are going to create a 50 team "Super" league and it will only consist of: USC, Alabama, Ohio St, Miami,....you get the picture. When that happens there is going to be a whole lot of teams like Stanford, Cal, SMU, Vandy, Oregon St's of the world who are going to need a place to play. This is where new conferences come about. UC Davis is smart to just sit back and see how this plays out for now. Just MO

“We do not have to live like this”. Is this a question or a statement? I assume it refers to the issue of gun violence etc. Anyway, The answer is a resounding no. But bare in mind that even giving account for these atrocities in Australia and Canada Europe, and elsewhere, we, America, the MAGA capital of the world, still have the highest rate of gun violence in the world by a significant margin and we are doing nothing about it. Except for a very few states, including California, New York Massachusetts, etc included. And yet these states are being derided and ridiculed by the Republican Party, and right wing media as too woke and “liberal” purely for political reasons by MAGA gun rights proponents. Yet they do nothing about this: question/statement: “we do not have to live like this”.
Lastly, although I welcome any criticism of this post, I think we should delete this thread because it has strayed too far from the original comment regarding an Aggie going to Europe on vacation. Which I think he survived! I posted this simply for balance on the topic.
Happy holidays to all.

I'm not saying we were not going to compete in the Big Sky Conference. Maybe not necessarily a "rebuilding year" in the traditional sense of starting from scratch, but rather a season of navigating transitions, building chemistry with new talent (including transfers). We lost our best quarterback ever by the numbers and our best running back ever, along with some key starters on defense. No disrespect intended. These are just facts.

Maybe off topic from the transfer portal but if you’re thinking across Hutchison Dr from the stadium, next to all the greenhouses, you are probably seeing the Resnick Center for Agricultural Innovation under construction. Part of the $50m gift from the POM juice fortune for the building and a perpetual research fund. Current research includes using pomegranate peels to enhance honeybee disease resistance and using walnut shells to clean winery wastewater.

the whole 'Athletic area' of Davis has so much potential. The football stadium is a nice facility that stands out. The proposed upgrades to the basketball arena will make that a really special spot. Add, the updates to baseball/soccer and softball, and its really neat to have an on-campus sports area. If we can get a Grad replacement in the updated shopping area that would be a cool spot for Aggie fans.

We just have to find more Aggie fans from the region!

There were a couple D1 coaches from SoCal who were sitting in front of me during the game. They drove up to game after doing recruiting in the area. They also said this was the first time they had ever been to Davis. They were expecting Davis to be more like SACST or CalPoly, but they were shocked at how big and nice our campus was. I really think we are really turning a corner with perception. If we can keep up the momentum I think a championship is in our future. I really do.

Dangit. Tough game to watch. Defense gave up some bombs but there were also a bunch of missed opportunities in the redzone. Could've traded more scores. Special teams needs so much work and got exposed. That said, Illinois State is def better than the one the Aggies played last year. They beat NDSU!

Still a great year for the Ags. The competition only gets tougher the higher you go and the longer you stay in it. And I'm happy they got this far while still not putting together what coach would call "perfect game."

It was hella cold. My friends and I brought our kids. I wore my 9-month old in a carrier. It was a funny sight trying to use the bathroom with a baby on your chest and a beer in one hand.

I'll be back and will be happy to support the team next year.

Good game, Aggies! That was still a great year for you, especially with the circumstances, and I hope you get back here and beyond next year. Certainly seems like you're on the rise. Nice chatting with you guys this week - I like your fanbase a lot. Thanks for being so welcoming.

Happy gameday, Aggies! Good luck to you (but I hope we win)

Just saw the video on social media of plough announcing that dorms will be open until 8 pm on Saturday so that students can attend and then head home fore break afterwards. Huge for attendance although hopefully not to late for kids to adjust their plans.

I just hope they're serving $1 beers and hot dogs again on 12/20 in Stephenville! — Pacifico2

I hope there's no game in Stephenville and the semifinal is taking place in Davis instead.

yes the biggest weakness for Caden is getting rid of the ball quick. When he does the offense flows, when he holds it, everything bogs down. He has been getting better as the season has gone on, but he has to value the ball more. He can't throw careless balls for ints like last game. He has to be smart. If he does that and goes through his progressions quick....Davis can't be stopped imo. I love the TE's on this team.

Haven’t heard anything as a student. Great news, but if they want a good student showing they need to let people know asap before travel accomodations are made based on the original saturday at noon deadline.

I'm in. Let's go AST members and get our great fan site funded quickly. Last year we raised the funds really fast and our membership has grown nicely this year so let's get this done. Donate whatever you can...any amount will help and, even a small donation, will get you good karma from the Aggie Universe! :up:

tickets borderline better than last week already...

You are correct about the cell service - it's impossible to post anything inside.

Appreciate your service too - got in a relatively polite verbal argument at the game with a lady next to me who was bashing the Salute to Heroes montage during the game as something "we're only do because we're on ESPN tonight."

Brought my Uncle, who is US Army retired to the Sac State game, and I thought it was Salute to Heroes night, but there was really no ceremony or acknowledgment all game during Causeway, so was glad to see it on Saturday vs. Rhody.

When I got back from the game (Seriously, we need too address the bad cell signal at the stadium because its awful), most my buddies I served with around the world were texting me, "hey bro I'm watching your Davis team on ESPN, I didn't know you guys look like Notre Dame"....LOL..

Pinnick named sports illustrated FCS freshman all American QB

I sit in 120 and yell the entire game.

What an awesome post-game chat with these Aggie greats! Really good, Brock. I hope you have another one after we take down Illinois State!

On TV the crowd sounded loud and very involved in the game despite some empty seats. It seemed like a much better atmosphere than last year's playoff game

Interesting to see that undefeated, playoff favorites North Dakoda St only had 10,400 in their 19,000 seat dome. And Mercer had only 3000 fans. So yes it would great to have Montana-esque support at our games, I don't think we are doing that bad in the grand scheme of things.

I will add that I live out of state and only make it to 1 game a year, so I don't feel I have the right to complain. All you who make it out most/all home games- complain away. lol.

I was super proud of the students. They were loud and it looked like they were having a lot of fun. The “you can’t do that” chant cracked me up.

you should recruit some students to come and post here too. Good procrastination tool for finals.

GO AGS! BEAT RHODY!

The dumpster fire in Sacramento has distracted me from the task at hand. I've spoken with friends who have players there who have already been offered spots in Boulder. Let it burn...

If UC Davis Healthcare Stadium doesn't have 8-10k people there tomorrow night, changes need to be made. I'm not talking about firing people, but the marketing and outreach strategies will really need to be revisited. We heard excuses early in the week ranging from it being too cold, too late, too far, and the Saturday night before finals. That is the mindset of people who don't really care. I've been cold at football games, I've kept my children out too late to the point of crankiness and runny noses, I've driven countless hours to watch games, and I graduated from college while playing football and drinking beer and staying out too late and not studying. It's all a bunch of B.S. Figure it out in the meetings, figure out how to actually market football from successful programs (via actual social media content and barnstorming appearances) and stop with the "that's just the way we are" mentality. Get your asses and the asses of your friends to the game!

What you're going to see is an entertaining offensive football game with two elite quarterbacks dueling going against an elite pass rusher on both teams. Who will have the better protection plan for Pena and Psyk? The key to the game is Aggie pressure (especially from the Defensive Line) against URI's undersized Offensive Line. I'm confident Plough will dial-up 31-35 points against this D; can Rhody keep up? Can Davis avoid the turnover bug and win the Special Teams? I feel strongly about the later, we're better there.

Come early. Party. Take it all in. Enjoy the game. Stay late. Drive home safely. There's my game plan for a great freaking weekend in Davis, California, hope to see you there. GO AGS!!!

Great to see the big Sony cameras and box lenses in place to cover the game, camera operators out testing the field of view, huge production truck hooking up to the electronic infrastructure. I’ve never seen this much great equipment at an Aggie game.

I wonder how well they’ll cover a football disappearing into the descending fog….

This is what I feel like a stadium for us to the MW (with the new press box on the unseen side) would have to look like:

All I know is I'm bringing the fire pit and master grill. Tail gate is going to be a lot of fun!

Competing well in the MWC for all sports except football and growing the football program to the level of the Montana's and the Dakota's sound good to me.

$2M for what 3 years max? Cal goes through coaches like used tissue paper on a bad cold day. After 3 years he gets fired and then what? Start over? Instead, he stays at UC Davis where his kids can attend elementary school and grow. He could stay here for 10 years....make more money, more success, and raise his kids a small community. There is nothing Cal has that is better than UC Davis. Nothing.