6'3" vs 6'7".

Do we have enough depth at LB and DL?

JM and CP both take (took) the job seriously, students of the game, smart. (Pinnick plays the piano.)

CP appears to have a better arm, mobility, and possibly accuracy. It's early, big boy matches coming. Montana State, Sac appears to have speed, and the playoffs, a different beast. During the JM we were riding high, I convinced a local friend to come to his first game in years, and I believe Montana came to town for a day game. We came out FLAT. It was so disappointing.

Plough seems to have a little edge, which I like. We've got the new athletic center and B school, no limits.

Psyk is a game changer. Wow. As good as Mike Wise?

Football can't get 500 alums to kick in $1,000?

The life of a nomad coach (wife, family) isn't ideal. A friend moved every 2-3 years - Oregon, Florida, NorCal, Panama (wife's family), NorCal, Minnesota. His wife finally said, "Pick a place we can stay put."

I think Coach Plough is a great fit. If he were to jump to School X, and things went south, he's too young to retire, so he probably becomes an OC elsewhere, and awaits another shot as a HC. So that's three more moves, maybe more.

Folks will now have lots of tape on Pinnick, Psyk, and the whole gang.

Added a few more stats for Defense. Jacob Psyk is a terror and Marquis Bell stepping up.

NCAA FCS Statistics

Total Offense... #25 - 421 ypg
Total Defense #101 - 432 ypg
Turnover Margin #17 (t) ---- [up 17 spots]
Turnovers Lost.. #12 (t)

3rd down Conversion % - #17 (t) --- [big jump up]
3rd down Conversion % - Defense - #119

First down Offense - #69 ---- [up 14 spots]
First down Defense - #91

Red zone Offense - #17 (t) ---- [up 18 spots]
Sacks Allowed - #115 (t)

Team Passing Efficiency - #7 -- [up 7 spots].. 174.88

OFFENSE

Completion Percentage
Caden Pinnick #8 ------ [up 27 spots]

Passing Efficiency
Caden Pinnick #5 ----- [up 8 spots]

Yards Per Pass Attempt
Caden Pinnick #7 ----- [up 10 spots]

Receiving TDs
Zach Jones #66
Samuel Gbatu #7 ---- [up 14 spots]

Rushing Yds per Carry
Jordan Fisher #6 ----- [up 3 spots]

[Carter Vargas 7.3 YPC = #5 in FCS, but he is 7 carries below the minimum threshold - 10 carries per game.]

Rushing Yds per Game
Jordan Fisher #24 ----- [big jump]

Rushing Yards
Jordan Fisher #26 ----- [up 10 spots]

DEFENSE

Sacks
Jacob Psyk #7 ------ [up 6 spots]

Forced Fumbles
Jacob Psyk #2 (t)
Khalani Riddick #11 (t)

Passes Defended
Marquis Bell #28

Tackles for Loss
Jacob Psyk #5 (t)

Hero Sports: FCS Top 25: Sam Herder’s Ballot For The Week Of 10-13-2025

FCS Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Montana
4. Montana State
5. Tarleton State
6. North Dakota
7. UC Davis
8. Southern Illinois
9. Tennessee Tech
10. Lehigh
11. Illinois State
12. Monmouth
13. Harvard
14. Abilene Christian
15. Mercer ...

"North Dakota and UC Davis slide up a spot after impressive wins. UND beat Youngstown State 35-17 to improve to 4-2 overall and 4-1 vs. the FCS. YSU was ranked in the coaches poll. UC Davis beat media poll No. 14 Northern Arizona 45-24 to improve to 5-1 overall and 5-0 vs. the FCS."

https://herosports.com/fcs-top-25-sam-herder-ballot-10-13-2025-bzbz/

Emerging coach floated to replace Trent Bray at Oregon State

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/news/emerging-coach-floated-to-replace-trent-bray-at-oregon-state-tim-plough-uc-davis

Aren't there no contact periods?

BTW, Lan Larison was in the house yesterday... I wish Coach Sochor could see the beginning of Coach Plough's run.

Last year he was competing w Hawks guys. He has inserted and trained a Frosh QB, a new WR crew, and a slew of portal additions. Impressive so far, but he has a thin defense.

I could see Plough staying til his kids are through high school. Cal may lose out if (when) a Super Conference is created.

CP said one of the reasons he chose Davis was his relationship w Coach Plough.

Skimmed five articles with head coaching suggestions for OSU. None included Plough, most included Marion. Marion could bring a dozen or more from the Hornets and is a proven portal recruiter.

Penn State just fired their coach.

Plough has a great gig, currently in a prime spot, great community, continuing a legacy that Hawkins brought back (but left for his son).

Who would follow Plough? I know that would dig at him for eternity.

At Oregon State there'd by huge pressure, an adopted community, and a big focus on $$$.

Did Coach Plough land Pinnick?

With a possibly stellar year two, maybe Plough gets a UC Davis contract extension. Not obscene, but even adding two years seems reasonable.

I think he's set good here for a few years, or more. Coach Sochor and Aggie football mean so much. Oregon State would uproot his family and is super high risk.

Cal would be different.

Being this thin, and many Aggies having played both ways in high school, what reserve players we can transition to defense?

OL Frosh McLoughlin and Denning (72 tackles, 5 sacks) played D line in HS.

WR Frosh Bradley (136 tackles) plated DB in HS.

This is the perfect time to adjust w bye week. We've got young OL, TEs, and WRs who could add depth to the defense.

We can't assume we'll get magically healthier. We've got big games coming up, and odds are good, the playoffs.

If I were Plough, I would consult w my assistants, put together a list of 8-10 top candidates, call them in and explain the predicament. Or ask for volunteers. At minimum, this would allow defensive players to avoid contact midweek, and provide critical reserves. Do we have a young TE who can play LB?

Can we get any defensive players healthy in 2 weeks?

Being this thin, and many Aggies having played both ways in high school, are there any third string players we can transition to defense?

Bob Dunning: "Nobody’s talking about post-season awards in October*, but if Aggie freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick keeps putting up gaudy numbers he will no doubt be a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the top FCS freshman in the country."

* except for Dunning and Marsh

FTR, Pinnick is on the baseball roster and played the piano in his youth (including small recitals).

Scary QB Eric Barriere graduated.

The stats don't count, and the game doesn't count. "No Contest".

A redshirt year would be great for them, us, and NFL / CFL hopes.

Psyk 100% committed here, wow.