He sounds like he comes from a school-first type of family, and that he probably could have played football at a higher level if he wanted. I'm sure he's looking forward to playing at a higher level at Davis.

I'm looking forward to seeing him out there.

Is Montana State a good / fun place to watch a game?

247 Sports says Richardson had offers from Cal Poly and Georgetown in 2023. I forgot the amazing thing is he graduated in a year and a half. He graduated at Tufts in time to participate Spring practice at Davis after graduating from Menlo School in 2023. Not your average high school i guess.

Great place to see a game. Caveats would be potentially dicey weather in November this year and ticket availability unless you have a connection to the UCD allotment. I had to go the third party re-sale route - was not at all happy with vivid seats as they didn’t release them till about hours or so prior to game after purchasing airfare, rental car, air b&b. Had someone on the Bobcat board offer me 2 free tickets but didn’t use them as our purchased tickets came through.

Great atmosphere and Bozeman is nice. Land of Magic steakhouse northwest of Bozeman is great. Very good computer museum (American Computer and Robotics museum) and Jam is a good breakfast place. We stayed in Manhattan (l guess the littlest apple) on 90 NW of Bozeman. Hot springs in the area too.

Thanks for the tips I'm 60% going - the 40% holding me back is the November game time...I do not want to see myself get snowed in with all the other fans (and my niece). Need to get back to the Bay Area and tie off projects in November!

We are literally about 5 Weeks away from 2025 kickoff.

Get your plane tickets now if you're going! Won't be there myself, too much family business to attend to in the coming weeks.

Who has the best flight/drive option to Montgomery?

We live in the Raleigh area and after checking flights to Montgomery and to Atlanta figured we could rent a car in Atlanta using the cost differential between flying to Montgomery and Atlanta. Southwest had the best fare from RDU to ATL but Delta has their hub in Atlanta so probably has the most options from the west coast. ATL is southwest of the city so should avoid the worst traffic.

Good breakdown.

I suppose depends on your priorities. Atlanta probably has the most nonstop flights from the west coast. Northwest Florida Beaches, Destin/Ft Walton, and Pensacola airports are little bit longer drive from Montgomery but it’s all rural highways without much traffic. They are the sorts of airport with like 5 gates, no line for anything, and the rental car parked front row at the terminal. Might be a thing if you were looking to make it a long weekend at the beach or oyster bar.

Between Atlanta and Montgomery, there is a Buc-ee’s near Aurburn. Worth the stop if you’ve never experienced one. Keep in mind the split between Eastern and Central time is the GA/AL border. It kind of comes up by surprise driving so remember for getting back to the airport. Outside of the city, restaurants in Alabama can have smoking sections, like the old potted plant dividing smoking from not situation. It’s jarring stepping back 30+ years. Rural Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are mostly tiny counties where the main municipal funding is the lone sheriff running traffic on the highway, so mind the speed.

this was a fascinating write up.

Standouts Fill 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team

4 Aggies named to the All-American teams:

Rex Connors DB - 1st Team Defense
Winston Williams TE - 2nd Team Offense
Hunter Ridley PK - 2nd Team Special Teams
Porter Connors LB - 3rd Team Defense

https://theanalyst.com/articles/2025-stats-perform-fcs-preseason-all-america-team

Im curious when we are going to get that athletic facility plan back from ELS architecture that was mentioned as coming this summer in the last IGNITE update?

I was thinking about the same thing today. Rocko said that there would be a comprehensive athletics facilities plan finished by this summer. I hope we see it pretty soon and that it has a concrete timeline for facility projects and improvements. Some big surprises would be nice as well!

Probably should expect it by opening day September 20 vs Southern Utah at UCDHS. It would be a great way to roll out the renderings when the fans first show up, probably with an early preview to donors, staff, student-athletes, students and media.

How did ICA take over Hickey and the Pavilion 24 / 7?

Well thought out.

From Hero Sports. Also on Big Sky Conference site.
Sac State is mysteriously unpopular.

Big Sky Football Preseason Poll
Media
1. Montana State (30 1st-place votes)
2. Montana (6)
3. UC Davis (4)
4. Idaho (1)
5. Northern Arizona
6. Sacramento State (1)
7. Idaho State
8. Eastern Washington
9. Weber State
10. Portland State
11. Cal Poly
12. Northern Colorado

Coaches
1. Montana State (7 1st-place votes)
2. UC Davis (1)
3. Montana (2)
4. Northern Arizona (1)
5. Idaho
6. Sacramento State (1)
7. Idaho State
8. Weber State
9. Eastern Washington
10. Portland State
11. Cal Poly
12. Northern Colorado

Media may be underestimating the guys taking over for Lan and Miles. Coaches appear to have a different understanding. NAU is a sleeper.

Every team at the top aside from N Ariz. lost their QB and most productive running back
Difference is Davis didn’t play the backups much so they are an unproven factor. We are projecting from a small sample.
Because almost every team lost a good chunk of their roster to graduation or FBS poaching, I would put Sac higher. The big negative on Sac is the wholesale changes, but most besides NAU have that issue.

I would probably have Sac at 4. The roster size/speed improvement is too great to ignore.

Sac ending up in 4th through 6th place will be a major disappointment for them. Does nothing to show they are ready for FBS, they routinely finished 1st under Taylor and that didn’t lead to conference invites. They have limited opportunities to impress this season, they have to make a statement in the playoffs, and they might not make it in finishing 4th, in what looks to be a down year for the BigSky.
I think they will be a contender, have a good record with their weak schedule, make the playoffs. If they don’t it’s a disaster.

I the issue that hasn’t been brought up with Sac is their defense. The supposedly had a lot of injuries last year, but in watching a few of their games, their tackling was absolutely atrocious. Marion is an offensive guy, and good defensive teams seem to always be at the top. Look at the tacking NDSU exhibited in the championship game - stellar. NAU is still a bit of an unknown to me - they did not have a difficult schedule last year and they laid an egg is the playoffs. 0 points and only 237 yards total offense.

Montana is overrated as per usual, but the fact is that they have 8 home games and probably the easiest schedule of any other big sky team.

Sac has 40 transfers. Only a few of last year’s team will play this year, and they have new defensive coaches. The question for Sac, which applies to most other contenders in the division, is how well they can get their new players integrated into a unit. Idaho, Montana and Davis all have that challenge on defense, so Sac isn’t alone. Their schedule is tough only compared to Montana’s; their first opponent, SDSU lost 20+ transfers to FBS.

Somebody cut this up on Rutchena:

Roster has been updated again with some new names.

Fall Camp starts today. Hoping that some folks make it out to some of the practices and let us know what things are looking like!
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2025/7/22/football-set-to-open-2025-fall-camp.aspx

I see 6’6” 340lb lineman JC transfejr Henry Fanua is on the roster, he was missing before, even after named on signing day announcement, so he is on scholarship.

yeah I was worried when he wasn't on the roster earlier. Can't teach that kind of size and he picked the Ags over numerous other offers.

Have to like the depth of the offensive line. I think some of our returning starters are going to be challenged for their role by both returning young guys and transfers. Larison said the line wasn’t as dominant in 2024 as in 2023, so there is room for improvement.

A guy to look out for is freshman WR Tyler Hennessy. With a thin receiving core, I think he makes an impact at some point this season.