Looking Forward to See Sac State

[mrbig864]

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see it as a test at all.

Based upon Taylor already leaving a much higher paid position than the one he’s got now and both his past and recent comments regarding outside interest, I just don’t see Taylor leaving for an FBS program that’s not in a P5 conference.

As for P5 programs aside from CAL, I don’t see any of them willing (or able to convince their boosters) to hire someone that only has 2 years success coaching an FCS program. It took much longer for North Dakota State’s 2 previous coaches to move up and they won 7 Nat’l titles between them.

However CAL has a special connection to Taylor thus just might be more motivated to hire the FCS coach. And could sell the hire to boosters much more easily than elsewhere.

DeBoer taking the UW job seems important as it had been rumored that Cal’s current HC Justin Wilcox might take that job thereby opening the Cal gig.

I’m of the strong the belief CAL that is the potential opening Hornets fan should be most concerned about. As long as Wilcox stays put, I think Taylor stays put (he may regardless).

With regard to the Fresno gig, it’s not P5 — and also based off his previous and recent comments — I think he believes he can transform SAC into Fresno, which means he’d eventually have the same job and not have to leave home for it.

Thunder, we agree on one point, that it’ll be tough to convince P5 boosters to take a flyer on a guy like Taylor straight from FCS. Where we disagree is that’s why I think the FSU job could be enticing to Taylor. A few years of HC success at a mid-major is better on the resume IMHO. Look at the path DeBoer took, small college HC, OC at Mid Major, then OC at Power 5, then HC at Mid Major for only 2 years before the jump to PAC 12.

I do agree Cal would be the best way for Taylor to jump straight to a P5.

Not saying he take the job at FSU if offered, simply saying I’d be surprised if Taylor isn’t on the initial short list for consideration.

And yes, Sac State drew the short straw for their opponent this week.

 

[ThunderRam]

Thunder, we agree on one point, that it’ll be tough to convince P5 boosters to take a flyer on a guy like Taylor straight from FCS. Where we disagree is that’s why I think the FSU job could be enticing to Taylor. A few years of HC success at a mid-major is better on the resume IMHO. Look at the path DeBoer took, small college HC, OC at Mid Major, then OC at Power 5, then HC at Mid Major for only 2 years before the jump to PAC 12.

I do agree Cal would be the best way for Taylor to jump straight to a P5.

Not saying he take the job at FSU if offered, simply saying I’d be surprised if Taylor isn’t on the initial short list for consideration.

And yes, Sac State drew the short straw for their opponent this week.

I don't think we really disagree much at all. Except for what we feel Coach Taylor's aspirations might be.

I don't believe he wants to take a mid-major job to then springboard to a P5.

Perhaps I'm way out in left field, but the feeling I get after reading everything he's said -- and also taking into account the pay cut he accepted to come back to SAC -- is that he believes he can transform the Hornets into the next Fresno or Boise and that is a bigger, more attractive challenge to him. And the only impediment to that path might be the CAL job being offered to him in the near future.

But you never know.

 

[mrbig864]

I don't think we really disagree much at all. Except for what we feel Coach Taylor's aspirations might be.

I don't believe he wants to take a mid-major job to then springboard to a P5.

Perhaps I'm way out in left field, but the feeling I get after reading everything he's said -- and also taking into account the pay cut he accepted to come back to SAC -- is that he believes he can transform the Hornets into the next Fresno or Boise and that is a bigger, more attractive challenge to him. And the only impediment to that path might be the CAL job being offered to him in the near future.

But you never know.

I get it. But you keep referring to the original ‘pay cut’ he took when he left a P5 OC job for a HC job. That was a $200-300k cut, and he was becoming a HC. If FSU comes a calling, he’d still be a HC, in a solid FBS division, and he’d be leaving an extra $1M annually on the table. Not saying he wouldn’t do it, but it’s quite a different scenario.

hoping for the best

 

[ThunderRam]

I get it. But you keep referring to the original ‘pay cut’ he took when he left a P5 OC job for a HC job. That was a $200-300k cut, and he was becoming a HC. If FSU comes a calling, he’d still be a HC, in a solid FBS division, and he’d be leaving an extra $1M annually on the table. Not saying he wouldn’t do it, but it’s quite a different scenario.

hoping for the best

I don’t dispute the pay difference. What I believe you’re not recognizing is that he could have gone a different direction than taking a 300K pay cut to get an FCS HC gig in the first place. Most in his position wouldn’t have done that.

They’d have stayed the course at their current OC/DC gig, maybe moving between P5 programs if needed then ended up with a mid-major HC job at the worst within a few years (assuming they‘d been successful at the previous gig). No significant pay cut needed to reach the HC goal.

But Taylor went the other route because money wasn’t a motivator; however coming home and building a program from scratch were. That action, along with his comments, are the reasons I don’t believe this is as clear cut as you think.

Taylor and his family clearly wanted to come home. Taylor clearly loves the situation and people he’s working with now. I’m not convinced a Fresno offer would motivate him to move 180 miles South to a program that (while FBS) doesn’t really have any more of a ceiling of potential than Sac State does.

 

[Bubba3000]

I’ll have to disagree regarding potential earnings between Sac State and Fresno State. Tedford earns 1.5 million a year at FSU and both Sacramento and Fresno climates are hotter than balls! 😝 He and his family and his staff can triple their salaries in Fresno with a similar cost of living.

 

[MC415]

His family wouldn’t even have to move to Fresno and I doubt he’s turning down generational wealth to keep his family taken care of for several generations to just do it for the love of the game for a fraction of the salary…..I don’t buy it

 

[ThunderRam]

I’ll have to disagree regarding potential earnings between Sac State and Fresno State. Tedford earns 1.5 million a year at FSU and both Sacramento and Fresno climates are hotter than balls! 😝 He and his family and his staff can triple their salaries in Fresno with a similar cost of living.

Who exactly are you disagreeing with? Nobody disputed the salary differences.

Furthermore you’re stoned if you believe Fresno has as good of weather as the SAC area. Just saying.

Funny, but the only people I ever hear whine about the 6-8 weeks of dry heat we get here are Northern’ers or Coast’ers where it’s always freaking cold.

I take it you’ve never lived on the East Coast or anywhere in the South? lol.

In terms of year around weather, nearly anywhere in NorCal is hard to beat. My family ended up here generations ago due to that exact reason. SD is better but changed a lot over the years and is too expensive.

 

[ThunderRam]

His family wouldn’t even have to move to Fresno and I doubt he’s turning down generational wealth to keep his family taken care of for several generations to just do it for the love of the game for a fraction of the salary…..I don’t buy it

lol @ commuting 180 miles. Yes, he’d move.
And 1.5 M per is NOT generational wealth. You’ve gotta be kidding with that comment.

As to whether he’d do it or not is something none of us know. All we have to speculate from is what he’s already done and what he has said on record. And judging from those things, he may not think or act like you would.

So to say you don’t buy it is more coming from your own POV and what you’d do rather than what he might do. Most wouldn’t have taken the pay cut he did to take the job he did. So there‘s that already.

Let’s just wait and see what does or doesn’t happen.

 

[Bubba3000]

lol @ commuting 180 miles. Yes, he’d move.
And 1.5 M per is NOT generational wealth. You’ve gotta be kidding with that comment.

As to whether he’d do it or not is something none of us know. All we have to speculate from is what he’s already done and what he has said on record. And judging from those things, he may not think or act like you would.

So to say you don’t buy it is more coming from your own POV and what you’d do rather than what he might do. Most wouldn’t have taken the pay cut he did to take the job he did. So there‘s that already.

Let’s just wait and see what does or doesn’t happen.

One could argue that $1.5 million for about four years followed by another 10 years at three or four times that salary at a power five would build some pretty decent generational wealth.

 

[Bubba3000]

Who exactly are you disagreeing with? Nobody disputed the salary differences.

Furthermore you’re stoned if you believe Fresno has as good of weather as the SAC area. Just saying.

Funny, but the only people I ever hear whine about the 6-8 weeks of dry heat we get here are Northern’ers or Coast’ers where it’s always freaking cold.

I take it you’ve never lived on the East Coast or anywhere in the South? lol.

In terms of year around weather, nearly anywhere in NorCal is hard to beat. My family ended up here generations ago due to that exact reason.

Having lived all but five years of my life in the Bay Area neither Sacramento or Fresno are appealing to me. The average temp in Fresno in July and August is only 3 degrees warmer than Sacramento. However, if I had to choose I would take Sacramento over Fresno all day long for many reasons.

 

[ThunderRam]

One could argue that $1.5 million for about four years followed by another 10 years at three or four times that salary at a power five would build some pretty decent generational wealth.

Ok, but now you’re moving the goal posts with the 2nd half of that sentence. 10 years at 3 - 4 times that salary drastically changes the equation.

But 1.5M per minus cost of living isn’t creating any generational wealth. Period.
My grandfather made that kind of money back in the 70’s and 80’s and our extended family wasn’t wealthy from it.

You’d need at least 2M in the bank today to retire and live the rest of your life with a modest income.
A few Million today isn’t what it used to be.

 

[Norcalnut]

lol @ commuting 180 miles. Yes, he’d move.
And 1.5 M per is NOT generational wealth. You’ve gotta be kidding with that comment.

As to whether he’d do it or not is something none of us know. All we have to speculate from is what he’s already done and what he has said on record. And judging from those things, he may not think or act like you would.

So to say you don’t buy it is more coming from your own POV and what you’d do rather than what he might do. Most wouldn’t have taken the pay cut he did to take the job he did. So there‘s that already.

Let’s just wait and see what does or doesn’t happen.

That’s ridiculous, if he gets offered by Fresno State I would be 95% sure he would take it. That other 5% would be extenuating circumstances not related to football. Giving up an HC opportunity at a FBS school to build a program at a school with no money or deep pocketed boosters and a ceiling he might have already reached is stupid. Name me a coach who has done that.

 

[ThunderRam]

Having lived all but five years of my life in the Bay Area neither Sacramento or Fresno are appealing to me. The average temp in Fresno in July and August is only 3 degrees warmer than Sacramento. However, if I had to choose I would take Sacramento over Fresno all day long for many reasons.

All growing up I had family from San Diego and the North and South Bay, notably Half Moon Bay, Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Napa.

They’d agree with you. Because when living and being accustomed to those areas 85 degrees is hot.

But all growing up I disliked (and still dislike) the Bay area weather. Too windy, foggy and cold for me. Same goes for most I know not from that area.

Like the famous quote goes, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.". I totally identify with that.

But folks that grew up in the Bay are different. And I get that too. Like I said, everyone I’ve known that complains about the weather in the valley or far off the coast are invariably from that area.

If I were to ever live on or near the coast, it would be in SoCal, not the North Coast. It’s just too cold and windy there, for me. I don’t care for Pacific Northwest for the same reasons. Too dreary and depressing. And windy and cold.

While I fully admit it sucks when it’s 108 here (I swear it never used to get that hot consistently when I was growing up), it’s only off and on for 6-8 weeks of the year and it’s dry. Very little to no humidity. And it typically cools down in the evenings (not like other places I’ve been).

The rest of the year, though, it’s awesome. Fall is super nice. Spring is super nice. Winter isn’t harsh at all. Or really even that cold in comparison to most places. As someone that grew up and loves being outside most the day — I greatly appreciate that.

Having said that, I get how those from Coastal or Northern locations wouldn’t be accustomed or like it.

And yes, Fresno isn’t as consistently nice as it is up here. But both can get hot, for sure.

 

[ThunderRam]

That’s ridiculous, if he gets offered by Fresno State I would be 95% sure he would take it. That other 5% would be extenuating circumstances not related to football. Giving up an HC opportunity at a FBS school to build a program at a school with no money or deep pocketed boosters and a ceiling he might have already reached is stupid. Name me a coach who has done that.

Again, you’re speaking from you’re own POV and what you’d do.

As for being 95% sure of what someone else you don’t know would do, that’s ridiculous.

As for naming a coach that has refused a high paying job you’d take — how can anybody possibly know about private conversations? If you truly believe it hasn’t happened before you’re naive.

Would you have taken a 300K pay cut to coach at Sac State like Taylor did? Would you have done it knowing you could get a job like Fresno down the road w/o having to take that pay cut by remaining an OC/DC at a P5 program??

Judging by your attitude, I’d lean toward you not doing that. But Taylor did. So stop with the nonsense. What you’d choose to do doesn’t factor in.

Not everyone is driven by their earnings. Taylor is on record saying he’s not heavily motivated by such things. Yet you are ignoring it. The Liar liar pants on fire defense doesn’t apply here until proven otherwise.

Again, I’m not saying I know what he’ll eventually do or not do. I’m just speculating from what he’s actually said and done thus far. Others are either ignoring or not recognizing those things. That’s the disconnect.

 

[Bubba3000]

All growing up I had family from San Diego and the North and South Bay, notably Half Moon Bay, Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Napa.

They’d agree with you. Because when living and being accustomed to those areas 85 degrees is hot.

But all growing up I disliked (and still dislike) the Bay area weather. Too windy, foggy and cold for me. Same goes for most I know not from that area.

Like the famous quote goes, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.". I totally identify with that.

But folks that grew up in the Bay are different. And I get that too. Like I said, everyone I’ve known that complains about the weather in the valley or far off the coast are invariably from that area.

If I were to ever live on or near the coast, it would be in SoCal, not the North Coast. It’s just too cold and windy there, for me. I don’t care for Pacific Northwest for the same reasons. Too dreary and depressing. And windy and cold.

While I fully admit it sucks when it’s 108 here (I swear it never used to get that hot consistently when I was growing up), it’s only off and on for 6-8 weeks of the year and it’s dry. Very little to no humidity. And it typically cools down in the evenings (not like other places I’ve been).

The rest of the year, though, it’s awesome. Fall is super nice. Spring is super nice. Winter isn’t harsh at all. Or really even that cold in comparison to most places. As someone that grew up and loves being outside most the day — I greatly appreciate that.

Having said that, I get how those from Coastal or Northern locations wouldn’t be accustomed or like it.

And yes, Fresno isn’t as consistently nice as it is up here. But both can get hot, for sure.

for beauty I love Ft Bragg, but it’s too cold. Too many people down south for me. If I had to live on the coast I’d take the central coast near Pismo. Having spent time in SLO and Pismo Beach, I love it there.

 

[Norcalnut]

Again, you’re speaking from you’re own POV and what you’d do.

As for being 95% sure of what someone else you don’t know would do, that’s ridiculous.

As for naming a coach that has refused a high paying job you’d take — how can anybody possibly know about private conversations? If you truly believe it hasn’t happened before you’re naive.

Would you have taken a 300K pay cut to coach at Sac State like Taylor did? Would you have done it knowing you could get a job like Fresno down the road w/o having to take that pay cut by remaining an OC/DC at a P5 program??

Judging by your attitude, I’d lean toward you not doing that. But Taylor did. So stop with the nonsense. What you’d choose to do doesn’t factor in.

Not everyone is driven by their earnings. Taylor is on record saying he’s not heavily motivated by such things. Yet you are ignoring it. The Liar liar pants on fire defense doesn’t apply here until proven otherwise.

Again, I’m not saying I know what he’ll eventually do or not do. I’m just speculating from what he’s actually said and done thus far. Others are either ignoring or not recognizing those things. That’s the disconnect.

If I’m a betting man I say he would take the job, historical precedents and human nature trumps that feel good crap coaches peddle right before they switch jobs, Riley and Kelly are perfect examples. Nobody, other than a few insiders, had any idea they would suddenly leave there jobs after just weeks before saying they weren’t going anywhere. Look in the mirror you might find the naive one your talking about.

 

[mrbig864]

… I’m not convinced a Fresno offer would motivate him to move 180 miles South to a program that (while FBS) doesn’t really have any more of a ceiling of potential than Sac State does.

Thunder, I generally understand your points, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. But this one, stating Sac State and Fresno have the same “ceiling“ for their programs is just plain silly.

Both Sac and Fresno are CSU’s, and that’s about where similarities end when it comes to their football programs. Your Green & Gold glasses are tinted a bit thick to think the Hornets will ever have the same ceiling as the Bulldogs. The leaps and bounds CSUS needs to make to simply become a FBS school is a giant one. And even if that immense wall was somehow climbed one day, FSU is the only game in town and that matters to the whole Valley. Sacramento has always been ‘blah’ about Hornet sports, and its not gonna ever be like it is in smaller Fresno. I don’t think Taylor has that many years of coaching remaining to see the day Sac State is ranked in the FBS Top 25 like the Bulldogs often are.

 

[mrbig864]

“With a vacancy in Fresno, look for the Bulldogs to move quickly to bring in their next coach with Early Signing Day approaching. The most popular choice is obviously the return of Jeff Tedford, now healthy and ready to go back on the sidelines. Other potential targets are former Fresno State OC and current CMU head coach Jim McElwain and current Sacramento State HC Troy Taylor.”

 

[Bubba3000]

Not that it really means anything but SDSU is -7 tomorrow night at Sac State. Since the game is in Sacramento odds makers must consider them 9 or 10 points better.

 

[mrbig864]

Not that it really means anything but SDSU is -7 tomorrow night at Sac State. Since the game is in Sacramento odds makers must consider them 9 or 10 points better.

SDSU is legit. They lost in the Title game this past spring, and were just .01 away from being a seeded team this fall. Lost on an answered Hail Mary or else they’d be hosting someone else this weekend. hell, they beat NDSU. The line I saw had the Hornets +8.5.

IMHO there aren’t 12 teams better than SDSU, a truly tough draw for Sac State.

 

[Bubba3000]

SDSU is legit. They lost in the Title game this past spring, and were just .01 away from being a seeded team this fall. Lost on an answered Hail Mary or else they’d be hosting someone else this weekend. hell, they beat NDSU. The line I saw had the Hornets +8.5.

IMHO there aren’t 12 teams better than SDSU, a truly tough draw for Sac State.

A good friend of mine that's a Cal Poly football alum and knows more about FCS football than anyone I know sent me this text

They are tough. The also use the NCAA Covid exemption and brought back most of last years seniors and a full freshman recruiting class meaning they had more than 63 scholarships.

 

[Bubba3000]

with 5 minutes remaining in Q2 the score is 17-0 SDSU this may be the makings of a gall dern boat race

 

[Bubba3000]

24-3 at half SDSU with over 160 yards rushing 300 total yards

 

[Bubba3000]

SDSU wins 24-19 not a boat race at all!

 

[mrbig864]

I was there.
Sac State got punched in the mouth out of the gate And never quite recovered. Their QB had two terrible and costly picks, both with Sac State deep in SDSU territory. Hornets actually outgained the J’Rabbits by over 100 yards.

SDSU was playing their 6th playoff game in the past 6 months, Hornets hadn’t played one in 2 years. That experience was the difference (and SDSUs massive OLine).

Too Bad

 

[Bubba3000]

I was there.
Sac State got punched in the mouth out of the gate And never quite recovered. Their QB had two terrible and costly picks, both with Sac State deep in SDSU territory. Hornets actually outgained the J’Rabbits by over 100 yards.

SDSU was playing their 6th playoff game in the past 6 months, Hornets hadn’t played one in 2 years. That experience was the difference (and SDSUs massive OLine).

Too Bad

Thanks for the details, I didn’t see game

 

[ThunderRam]

I was there.
Sac State got punched in the mouth out of the gate And never quite recovered. Their QB had two terrible and costly picks, both with Sac State deep in SDSU territory. Hornets actually outgained the J’Rabbits by over 100 yards.

SDSU was playing their 6th playoff game in the past 6 months, Hornets hadn’t played one in 2 years. That experience was the difference (and SDSUs massive OLine).

Too Bad

They recovered. Just not quite in time to complete the comeback. Had the game been 5 quarters long instead of 4, I would have liked their chances of winning the way the 2nd half went.

I thought the game was somewhat similar to the DLS-Folsom game we saw the night before. Folsom was down 14 early, but slowly chipped away and outplayed their opponent the rest of the way.

The Hornets went down 2 scores rather early, which eventually ballooned to 24-0 a few minutes before half, but they shut out SDST the rest of the way.

The Hornets defense rebounded much better than the offense — which took too long to get going.

Dunniway’s unforced INT’s were the ultimate difference maker IMO. The game easily could have been 17-10 or 17-6 at worst w/o those two avoidable mistakes (he wasn’t under pressure).

As it turned out, the Hornets were still a half yard away from giving the ball to their offense with a chance to drive for the win.

I thought the Hornets defense stepped up quite well all things considered. Andy Thompson called a fantastic game against a very good offense. SDST was the runner up last Spring and have been killing teams with their punishing rush attack. They annihilated UC Davis.

But the Hornets held them to 24 and didn’t allow their rush attack to go completely out of this world crazy. That was no easy feat considering the size disparity between the Jackrabbits o-line and the Hornets front 7.

Aside from the costly turnovers, I thought the Hornet offense let them down. They often moved the ball but stagnated around midfield. Part of that was SDST’s defense being disciplined and tackling well, but I thought offensive play calling played a role as did execution.

One of my gripes with Coach Taylor sometimes is that he doesn’t put the ball in the hands of his RB’s enough. Skattebo, Fulcher and Perkinson are all physical and difficult to tackle, especially Skat. They were capable of doing what the Jackrabbits 2 backs did to them. Break tackles and wear the defense down.

But Taylor relied too much on the passing game and QB runs (18 rush attempts). Meanwhile the Hornets trio of backs only had 8 carries combined. That’s not a good playoff recipe IMO.

All that said, it was still a very successful season and another important step forward for the program. They came back from a long 21 month layoff and won the conference. Then they competed much better than the previous postseason against a better, more physical and more accomplished team. SDST beat the dominant program in the FCS (NDST) this season and regularly competes for titles.

Hopefully Taylor, his staff and his players understand what they need to do to take that next step after standing toe to toe with one of the better FCS programs. Hopefully they don’t lose Andy Thompson. He and Taylor have the ability to accomplish something great if they stay together a bit longer.

 

[Bubba3000]

Thanks for the detailed recap!! When Cal Poly beat them at Dana Dykehouse in 2016 the Jacks were ranked something like #7 in the nation. Offensively the Mustangs played a near perfect game with few penalties. The Jacks had a pair of 315 pound(in a good way)defensive tackles that our linemen cut and double teamed all night long. The Mustang ground game could not be stopped that night.

 

[mrbig864]

They recovered. Just not quite in time to complete the comeback. Had the game been 5 quarters long instead of 4, I would have liked their chances of winning the way the 2nd half went.

I thought the game was somewhat similar to the DLS-Folsom game we saw the night before. Folsom was down 14 early, but slowly chipped away and outplayed their opponent the rest of the way.

The Hornets went down 2 scores rather early, which eventually ballooned to 24-0 a few minutes before half, but they shut out SDST the rest of the way.

The Hornets defense rebounded much better than the offense — which took too long to get going.

Dunniway’s unforced INT’s were the ultimate difference maker IMO. The game easily could have been 17-10 or 17-6 at worst w/o those two avoidable mistakes (he wasn’t under pressure).

As it turned out, the Hornets were still a half yard away from giving the ball to their offense with a chance to drive for the win.

I thought the Hornets defense stepped up quite well all things considered. Andy Thompson called a fantastic game against a very good offense. SDST was the runner up last Spring and have been killing teams with their punishing rush attack. They annihilated UC Davis.

But the Hornets held them to 24 and didn’t allow their rush attack to go completely out of this world crazy. That was no easy feat considering the size disparity between the Jackrabbits o-line and the Hornets front 7.

Aside from the costly turnovers, I thought the Hornet offense let them down. They often moved the ball but stagnated around midfield. Part of that was SDST’s defense being disciplined and tackling well, but I thought offensive play calling played a role as did execution.

One of my gripes with Coach Taylor sometimes is that he doesn’t put the ball in the hands of his RB’s enough. Skattebo, Fulcher and Perkinson are all physical and difficult to tackle, especially Skat. They were capable of doing what the Jackrabbits 2 backs did to them. Break tackles and wear the defense down.

But Taylor relied too much on the passing game and QB runs (18 rush attempts). Meanwhile the Hornets trio of backs only had 8 carries combined. That’s not a good playoff recipe IMO.

All that said, it was still a very successful season and another important step forward for the program. They came back from a long 21 month layoff and won the conference. Then they competed much better than the previous postseason against a better, more physical and more accomplished team. SDST beat the dominant program in the FCS (NDST) this season and regularly competes for titles.

Hopefully Taylor, his staff and his players understand what they need to do to take that next step after standing toe to toe with one of the better FCS programs. Hopefully they don’t lose Andy Thompson. He and Taylor have the ability to accomplish something great if they stay together a bit longer.I agree with much of what you said.

I agree the Interceptions were the difference. I also noted at the time that I thought Taylor gave up on the run too quickly (a la Sean McVay and the Rams). It’s funny, many SDSU fans commented that they thought their coach gave up on the run too quickly in the 2nd half when Sac State started slowing it down.

One thing that was noticeable in person was the shear size advantage SDSU had on the Offensive front.
Their line was massive, including their two (2) Tight Ends. As I noted in one of my posts, I felt the J’Rabbits experience was the difference, and the reason they were able to jump out so quickly on Sac State. If those two teams played again tomorrow, I’d take the Hornets. I feel they are the more complete team, with ability to win in different ways.
SDSUs run game is VERY VERY GOOD, but I don’t feel the same about their passing game.

The only blemish on these past 2 seasons is Sac States ability to get a Top 4 seed, and not be able to take advantage of it.

 

[ThunderRam]

I agree the Interceptions were the difference. I also noted at the time that I thought Taylor gave up on the run too quickly (a la Sean McVay and the Rams). It’s funny, many SDSU fans commented that they thought their coach gave up on the run too quickly in the 2nd half when Sac State started slowing it down.

One thing that was noticeable in person was the shear size advantage SDSU had on the Offensive front.
Their line was massive, including their two (2) Tight Ends. As I noted in one of my posts, I felt the J’Rabbits experience was the difference, and the reason they were able to jump out so quickly on Sac State. If those two teams played again tomorrow, I’d take the Hornets. I feel they are the more complete team, with ability to win in different ways.
SDSUs run game is VERY VERY GOOD, but I don’t feel the same about their passing game.

The only blemish on these past 2 seasons is Sac States ability to get a Top 4 seed, and not be able to take advantage of it.

Agree with everything you said here.

Size advantage was definitely noticeable. But eventually the Hornets figured out how to take advantage of their speed and quickness advantage on that side of the ball. Hence the 2nd half shut out.

I also feel the Hornets were and are the more well-rounded and complete team. Their offense is especially challenging to defend because they can do almost everything quite well. They aren’t one-dimensional.

That said, much credit goes to the Jackrabbits defense as they did a phenomenal job disrupting rhythm and remaining both physical and discipline. They were fundamentally sound. They covered and tackled really well. They stalled enough drives to win the game.

As you said, experience likely played a factor in them getting out to the early lead which was key. Once the Hornets took a few punches and adjusted to the pace and physicality they became the better team.

They just didn’t have enough time to overcome the big deficit, especially given the key turnovers in their opponents territory.

I saw a similar thing happen to the Cincinnati Bengals against the Chargers yesterday. They got down 24 early then had a chance to tie and followed that failed attempt up with a back breaking fumble that was returned for a score.

Anytime you dig a deep hole like that you have no margin for error and have to play perfectly to overcome it.

 

[mrbig864]

FSU hires Tedford, who seemed to be their top choice from the outset as their former coach.

Source in Sac St Athletic Dept inferred that Taylor WAS contacted by Fresno to gauge his interest, and there was concern by some at Sac St that he would be open to it. No feedback on what he actually said to the Bulldogs. Glad Bulldogs got their guy and we still have ours

 

[ThunderRam]

FSU hires Tedford, who seemed to be their top choice from the outset as their former coach.

Source in Sac St Athletic Dept inferred that Taylor WAS contacted by Fresno to gauge his interest, and there was concern by some at Sac St that he would be open to it. No feedback on what he actually said to the Bulldogs. Glad Bulldogs got their guy and we still have ours

I wasn’t much worried about Fresno, but now Oregon has requested permission to interview Justin Wilcox thus the CAL job could become available.

UNR is another possibility I’ve been reading.

I wish this would stop already.

 

[mistark]

Why did Norvell leave UNR for Colorado St? Seems like a lateral move.

 

[Bubba3000]

Why did Norvell leave UNR for Colorado St? Seems like a lateral move.

Why Jay Norvell left Nevada for a CSU football team he beat by 42 points just two weeks ago

Jay Norvell says he joined the Rams from Mountain West foe Nevada despite the Wolf Pack's recent success due to a "major upgrade of support" at CSU

www.coloradoan.com

It's mostly about the Benjamin's.....good for him he was a huge improvement over Brian Polian

 

[larry legend33]

I think Taylor and Richardson end up at CAL eventually.

 

[ThunderRam]

I think Taylor and Richardson end up at CAL eventually.

Really hope your wrong.

 

[mistark]

I think the biggest issue Sac St will have is keeping Andy Thompson as their DC for next season. Sac St gets lucky in that he is a Univ of Montana alum and I don't see that job opening with Hauck back at the helm.

Now, If Taylor were to leave, does Sac St go with Thomspon or Richardson as the predecessor to Taylor?

I know the Offensive staff is starting to be contacted by other schools as well. If 1 or 2 get poached it could be the start of a dismantling. I hope it's nothing and they all stay on board. We all know keeping continuity and building upon what's already been done will be key for Sac St moving fwd.

I do think that there are some very qualified local hs coaches that could and would step in at sac st (asst level) if the money matches what they make at the hs level (hard task).

Hoping Sac St can continue their success. They have turned the local recruit opinions on that program and wishing them the best moving fwd.

 

[Bubba3000]

I can tell you prior to Cal Poly hiring Beau Baldwin, they were losing assistant coaches on an annual basis, mostly because Cal Poly paid poorly and living on the central coast is expensive. I've been told that Baldwin's assistants make quite a bit more than assistants that reported to Tim Walsh. Late in the Walsh era the OC and DC were being paid around $100k a year. Probably the best opportunity came to Aristotle Thompson (Coach AT) who left Cal Poly two or three years ago to become the running backs coach at Cal Berkeley. Cal Poly also lost strength and conditioning coach Chris Holder to Mater Dei HS. I was told that his wife had much better earning potential in the Mater Dei area, which allowed him to make that move.

 

[Streak One]

With success comes the staff poaching. I see Cal as the only real threat to losing Taylor/Richardson (see them as a pair).

Now the assistants could be tougher to hang onto for the Hornets.

 

[ThunderRam]

I think the biggest issue Sac St will have is keeping Andy Thompson as their DC for next season. Sac St gets lucky in that he is a Univ of Montana alum and I don't see that job opening with Hauck back at the helm.

Now, If Taylor were to leave, does Sac St go with Thomspon or Richardson as the predecessor to Taylor?

I know the Offensive staff is starting to be contacted by other schools as well. If 1 or 2 get poached it could be the start of a dismantling. I hope it's nothing and they all stay on board. We all know keeping continuity and building upon what's already been done will be key for Sac St moving fwd.

I do think that there are some very qualified local hs coaches that could and would step in at sac st (asst level) if the money matches what they make at the hs level (hard task).

Hoping Sac St can continue their success. They have turned the local recruit opinions on that program and wishing them the best moving fwd.

Totally agree with you regarding Andy Thompson. He should be on a lot of radars. In fact, if a P5 program were to hire him as their DC I think they’d be very happy they did.

That said, I remember reading a story about Taylor and Thompson really hitting it off when they finally met. Upon arriving in SAC, they actually lived together before their familes were able to move out. Apparently they lived and breathed football 24/7. And developed a tight relationship.

One thing I’ve picked up from this staff and their comments is how close they all are, how much they love working together, and how they are able to balance their family life with their job. They don’t do the 16 hour coaching days that many coaches brag about but that end up burning themselves out over and alienating their families. If any of them go elsewhere, it may not be like that where they end up. Most likely won’t be.

I mention this because it could play a factor in decision making. If I was AD Mark Orr, I’d be figuring out how to increase the pay of the staff. If they are all making decent money, there might be a chance to keep them together longer because they love the situation so much.

I get that it’s a long shot, but we’ve seen some staffs stick together longer when some of them could have left for more money and/or promotions. Especially when family time is of big importance.