A Montana loss is better for us I guess but, man, the way they are going about doing things over at Sac and the constant hyperbole from Dr Wood really puts me off so I'm a Montana fan for this game.

It's hard to believe that Dr. Wood would talk that much smack about Montana coming to Sac next week:

"We're looking forward to playing the Montana Pandas, oh, I'm sorry, Grizzlies I mean...but. let's be real, they haven't played nobody (sic) this season...I feel sorry for their fans to have to come here and play before the biggest crowd we've ever had and experience a loss like that on the road..."

Talk about bulletin board material! I will say this though, he has not and will not temper the hyperbole come win or lose. Like he has said over and over again, "We're FBS or Bust" and, even if he ends up with egg on his face, he's not going to change his tune and it is most certainly creating a buzz among Hornet fans...

My wife and I have been in Paris for nearly 3 weeks now and we're staying in an area that I would say is mostly a middle and working class neighborhood. The ethnic diversity here is impressive also and that is reflected in the wide array of small, culturally diverse restaurants and shops everywhere. We can "eat our way around the world" within walking distance from our apartment. It's a busy, bustling, beautiful city and we have never felt unsafe for one minute here and we're right here mixed in with the locals and not at some exclusive hotel or neighborhood.

We attended the Paris No Kings protest rally yesterday along with about 700-1000 other Americans and Parisians and it was well organized with excellent speakers and singers. It was actually quite emotional when everyone sang the American National Anthem together in solidarity with many Parisians.

There is a far right movement in France just like there is in many countries around the world currently but, from our experience here so far, I can tell you that the vast majority of the French people are shocked by what they see happening in America and are worried about how it may affect them and the world if it continues to grow unchecked.

Regardless, we have felt safe and welcomed here and would encourage anyone who would wants to experience this magnificent city to go ahead and do so. We love it here.

The Ags are now 12-4 overall and 8-0 in the Big West Conference sitting alone in 1st place. They demolished CSUN (11-8 & 4-4) in straight sets 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-16).

If anyone finds a complete game video of the UNC @ Sac game, please post it here. I'd like to watch it here in Paris. Merci!

Wonderful interview with Sam Gbatu. He's an impressive young man...great example of an Aggie athlete...

Youngstown State has been a middle of the pack FCS team in recent years so paying $350,000 to have another "JV" team come to Sac does not seem to be a very good deal from a financial and SOS perspective. They chose to put themselves in this predicament by going all in with their "FBS or bust" campaign and all their premature, fantasy FBS promises.

Pinnick Adds To Weekly Accolades; Named FCS Nation Radio National Offensive Player Of The Week

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2025/10/14/football-pinnick-adds-to-weekly-accolades-named-fcs-nation-radio-national-offensive-player-of-the-week.aspx

FCS Coaches Poll for Week 7:

STATS Perform FCS Poll for Week 7:

This is an interesting chart from the AGS weekly poll that includes the SOS as well as the best win so far according to the Massey Ratings (click on the image to enlarge it):

No matter how much you love something, if you don't feel supported its hard to stay committed.
(that was deep :roll: )

The school / alums need to do their part if they really want something great — SochorField

100% true. It sounds like Plough is pulling 18-19 hour days sometimes during the season. He and his staff are working their butts off and they've made tremendous progress in just a little over a year. Plough says he can win a national championship but he has to have the resources to do it and that means leveling the playing field with schools like the Montanas and the Dakotas.

Plough and his staff are doing their part but, if the fans and the donors don't do their part, then I could see him looking for an opportunity to build something great elsewhere. The donors, fans and students need to step it up!

Big Sky head coaches total compensation contracts including incentive bonuses:

1. Brennan Marion - Sac State: up to $1,099,304
2. Brent Vigen - Montana State: up to $897,500
3. Bobby Hauck - Montana: up to $663,000
4. Paul Wulff - Cal Poly: up to $621,004
5. Thomas Ford - Idaho: $428,500
6. Brian Wright - Northern Arizona: $415,000
7. Tim Plough - UCD: $370,400
8. Cody Hawkins - Idaho State: $338,000
9. Aaron Best - Eastern Washington: $332,357
10. Mickey Mental - Weber State: $325,000
11. Ed Lamb - Northern Colorado: $300,616
12. Bruce Barnham - Portland State: $225,000

Guaranteed compensation:

1. Brennan Marion: $734,504
2. Brent Vigen: $550,00
3. Bobby Hauck: $411,000
4. Paul Wulff: $350,004
5. Thomas Ford: $350,000
6. Tim Plough: $325,400
7. Brian Wright: $280,000
8. Aaron Best: $277,357
9. Cody Hawkins: $230,000
10 Tie. Mickey Mental: $215,000
10 Tie. Bruce Barnham: $215,000
12. Ed Lamb: $203,116

More details here: https://406mtsports.com/college/big-sky-conference/university-of-montana/how-do-football-coaching-salaries-compare-across-the-big-sky-conference-in-2025/article_0723fd85-4943-4f09-98aa-054881397854.html#:~:text=UC%20Davis%20coach%20Tim%20Plough,his%20debut%20season%20in%202024.

It has been said that everyone has a price and, according to the numbers I've been able to find, Plough could basically make around 3 times as much as he makes here compared to what Bray's contract was at OSU. That certainly a significant amount of money and, who knows, they could even offer more.

However, we all know that Plough's love of Aggie football runs deep. He has often spoken eloquently about the "Aggie way" of creating a supportive football program that is much, much more than simply winning and, in doing so, being able to bring in elite athletes who value education, tradition and personal growth as much as championship quality football and choose to stay here for 4 years and graduate with prestigious degree.

We've seen players like Lan Larison turn down thousands of dollars to stay rather than transfer to "bigger" programs because of their love of Aggie football and their commitment to their teammates and coaches. The Aggie football environment meant more than a whole lot of money. If Plough gets offered big money at a bigger school and turns it down to stay here, he will be leading by example and doing the very thing he hopes his best players will do when they are offered huge sums of money to go elsewhere.

Trent Bray and Oregon State agreed to a five-year contract when he signed on to be head coach in November of 2023. He held a base salary of $1.2 million, while in totallity his salary was at about $2 million per year.

ESPN reports that his buyout, because it is two years into his contract, is upwards of $4 million.

https://eu.statesmanjournal.com/story/sports/college/oregon-state/2025/10/12/trent-bray-fired-oregon-state-beavers-football-coach/86660574007/

...nor does his hype...

We were at Notre Dame a week ago. Did your dad get a photo with his Aggie hat? If he did, you could post it here and then send it to Rocko as well. I'm sure they'd use it on social media in some way...Aggie fans in Paris!

Plough is an Aggie through and through. He believes he has had the success he has had because of Sochor and other Aggie greats that have coached him and mentored him. He believes in the values of Aggie Pride and he has stated that he took this job because he believes he can win a national championship here. He is also, above everything else, a family man with 3 young sons and Davis is an ideal community to raise a family.

Money is always an incentive in a job when there is a lack of it and, even if other programs can offer much more, he still makes enough to have a very good life for his family here in Davis. Money isn't the primary factor for staying in a job when there is enough of it; it's all the other things matter more and Davis has all the other things that matter the most to him. I don't see him leaving even if another program offers him several times what UCD can afford.

So it sounds like there was a pretty good student turnout and that's great to see. I don't know what it will take to get the Davis community at large to show up big numbers on a regular basis though. We have a championship quality program and they deserve more support from the Davis community.

What a coincidence! I wish I had brought some Aggie swag. I could have taken a a great Aggie promo photo at the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe or some other famous landmark here.

I'd love to see a Harvard vs the Aggies game. It would be great to actually get a home and home with them at some point in the future. Two great academic schools with great athletic programs as well...both schools have "true student athletes" who have to get it done in the classroom and on the playing field.