Week 3: UC Davis @ Stanford I was able to watch the game on the PAC12 Network from northern Wisconsin. Here are some of my thoughts:
1) Really solid effort by the defense all around. I was hoping we would be able to keep them under 50 and we held them to 30. I was surprised how much pressure we were able to get on the QB at times and how well we contained their ground game for the most part. They only had a couple of really big gainers. We got those two early picks but could only get 3 points out of them...those were costly missed opportunities against a team like Stanford.
2) The offense wasn't firing on all cylinders but they played pretty well when you consider the defense they were up against. We dropped too many passes that hit our receivers in the hands though. Maier didn't seem to be a his sharpest but he was having to release the ball quickly. I thought our O-line did a really nice job considering the size and speed of Stanford's defense. Keelan Doss was spectacular against some very, very good Stanford DB's.
3) I thought our offense played better when they went up tempo in the second half. I understand the thinking behind slowing the game down and trying to limit the time Stanford's offense had the ball, but I think our offense is at its best playing fast like we did in the first two games.
4) Our punting was not good and that needs to improve. Those short fields we game Stanford really put pressure on our defense.
5) I thought we looked like we deserved to be on the field with the Cardinal. Games like this are typically a blowout for FBS teams. We held our own and made some excellent plays especially on defense. Stanford was the better team for sure but it wasn't a cake walk for them by any means. I think this game showed us just how good this team has the potential to be. If we continue to improve, we can compete for the Big Sky title and make it into the playoffs.
6) Overall, this was a proud effort by the Ags. The program is most definitely on the rise!