I guess the whole deal is with college folks is that they shouldn't be paid to play... but seriously as much as the sport is generating a lot of cash they need to get paid. I know that sounds wrong, but some of these guys will end up being NFL anywho, getting a couple nice cars is nothing than a 40mil contract with 10-15mil guaranteed and paid outright.

The recruiting process all ties into this.

 

Why should they get paid? Aren't they getting paid by receiving a free college tuition and free room and board? That's not all the benefits they get through the school either...

 

It should be a good game. We played Boise State not this past season, but the season before. We lost 36-16, which isn't bad considering that we lost to a #4 ranked school in Div I-A (FBS) ball. We are a Div I-AA (FCS) school. Let's just say that game was a big wake-up call for Boise. They averaged about 45-50 points a game, and we held them to 36. We also shut down their running game. Held them to only half their rushing average.

My favorite quote was Coach Pete's comment about converting in the red zone. This was in reference to the first half's turn-over on downs on the goal-line. It went something like this:

"We were in the redzone and we couldn't get into the endzone. We were within the 5 yard line, and we couldn't get into the endzone. We were inside the goal line, and we couldn't get into the endzone."

I remember listening to the after game press conference, and they were so disappointed in their performance despite the win.

 

On paper, you guys should have it in the bag. DI-A schools are allowed to have more scholarships offered out to student athletes, and usually have more money to hire support staff and pay for facilities. We aren't dumb. We know what we are going up against, and know the most likely outcome.

With that said... we have a great football program. Our school was a Division II powerhouse that transitioned all Athletics to Division I. We are the real deal Division I school, with 23 NCAA sports. Our football program is a proud and a distinguished program and has been around for 70 or 80 years. Not a program to be underestimated... and if you want proof... Palo Alto, September 17th, 2005.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nnY_...eature=related

 

Davis does have a good program especially for what they are. ASU is projected to have a preseason AP ranking of 22. They have the number one defense in the Pac-12 and really only had one bad loss against Cal. The only real comparison I can go off of last year is that ASU beat portland state 54-9 and Davis lost to portland state 41-33 or something like that.

Kellen Moore and the Boise squad is good thats for sure, but I think they'd get run over by an SEC, Big Ten or Pac-12 team. I am sure Boise was disappointed with their performance with that game. I can't wait to see the TCU/Boise game even though they lost Dalton. I know it won't happen but think it'd be interesting if they moved Davis to the WAC.

 

Will being stripped of a title make the world a better place? If USC gets to keep their title, will that be the end of wars? Don't think so. I understand the frustration especially if your a fan or alumni but when it comes down to it, it means nothing.

 

Yeah. This past season, Davis had a really young team. Our quarterback joined the ministry, so we didn't really have a lot of depth on our roster. College ball is so unpredictable. Though, I feel that the gap between the SEC and other conferences is closing.

UC Davis is moving from the Great West to the Big Sky conference next year. I don't think we would move to WAC ever. Conference is going to implode on itself.

You shouldn't use the common opponent argument. The year we played Boise St., we were crushed 51-0 by Fresno St. Fresno St. was crushed by Boise St. by three touchdowns. And we dealt Boise St. one of their poorest performance that year. Held them to 100 rushing yards and third down completions of 4 and 14 or something. It was all bad for them.

Did you also know that Oregon's Athletic Director and former Football Head Coach, Mike Belotti is also a UC Davis Alumni!

 

Yeah that's true, the common opponent argument is flawed for sure. ASU was able to hold Oregon and Stanford to the lowest scores for the season. And not to mention beat #9 ranked UofA at the time. I think thats the thing with a lot of schools like Davis is depth issues which then becomes reliant on recruiting and so on. I forgot you guys are being moved to the Big Sky. Is SLO moving to Big Sky too? Haha I will be up in Davis tomorrow. Maybe I will see you around.

 

Cal Poly SLO is moving to Big Sky also. Depth is hard to get... Yes... a lot of it is based on recruiting... though... being a DI-AA school... you really get outgunned by places like Cal, UCLA, Stanford, etc. If you got offered a scholarship to Stanford, would you even consider a scholarship to Davis?

That's not to say that we don't get great players. Someone told me we had this guy coming into Davis. He got scholarship offers to all Pac-10 (or Pac-12) schools, but he choose Davis because he wanted to study to become a doctor.

With bigger programs, you also have some money to throw around to help student-athletes. Tutors can be hired if grades are slipping. There can be more individual focus for players. Not to mention that a DI-A school gets more scholarships than DI-AA school. Fielding more experienced players with more experience.