#3 Weber State @ #6 Sacramento State

[WSUWildcat]

This is a huge game with conference championship and playoff seeding at stake. Winner has the inside track to the Big Sky championship. Sacramento State and Weber are both undefeated against FCS teams. Both schools are playing very well and have been battle tested. Hopefully Weber's experience in big games gives them the edge.

 

[SWeberCat02]

Weber opens up as a 7 pt dog on 5Dimes

 

[Waldo2]

7 point dog? Really?
It will be a close game and I think the D is difference. Turnovers will be key as well.
Take Weber to win outright. Our playoff experience helps us here.

 

[oldrunner]

Sac has been very good offensively. Their D has been up and down a bit. This is the best Sac team we have seen since they entered the BSC.

Weber has been very good defensively. Our offense has been up and down a bit. This may be the best Weber team we have seen in quite a while.

We are going to find out if a good D beats a good O.

 

[clawman]

This game will pretty much decide the Big Sky Champ outright. Sac State is not the BSC whipping boy any more. It is impressive that Troy Taylor inherited most of his players yet took the team from 2-8 last season to probably winning the BSC championship this season. Hopefully AGS will choose this game as GOTW.
https://www.anygivensaturday.com/forumdisplay.php?2-FCS-Discussion

 

[SWeberCat02]

7 point dog? Really?

Not a big surprise given the way Sac has been playing and that they are at home. Sac St is winning their FCS games by an average of 43.8-16.8. That's an average win by 27 points! Weber winning theirs 37.8-23. Average FCS scores by both teams say Sac St by 6.

 

[WSUWildcat]

Game Notes
https://weberstatesports.com/documents/2019/10/29//Game_9_at_Sac_State.pdf

No changes to the depth charts

John Farley-Ofahengaue no longer on the roster

 

[the dan]

Game Notes
https://weberstatesports.com/documents/2019/10/29//Game_9_at_Sac_State.pdf

No changes to the depth charts

John Farley-Ofahengaue no longer on the roster

Well, Constantine is listed at the starter again.

Which probably means he isn’t starting :lol:

 

[Chex]

Sac has been very good offensively. Their D has been up and down a bit. This is the best Sac team we have seen since they entered the BSC.

Weber has been very good defensively. Our offense has been up and down a bit. This may be the best Weber team we have seen in quite a while.

We are going to find out if a good D beats a good O.

I think the team with Cantwell was the best. If they could have combined that offense with last year’s defense, they would have been a national championship team for sure. If they would have held on to beat JMU, I think they would have beat SDSU and had a pretty good shot at NDSU that year still.

This year’s team is a little less talented with the dbs and the offense is spotty.

I think I would give Sac the edge for being at home, and I think their defense is better than Weber’s offense. It will take a Herculean effort by the D and special teams like the EWU game last year.

Should be a good game.

 

[Mrizreal221]

We’re going to beat sac we are the best team in the big sky ..... yeah or offense was spotty but look at the plays that were being called . If I could remember I think I seen the same play being ran over 10 times in one of the earlier games... we got this I believe. I say Weber by 14

 

[BuckeyeHornetFan]

Weber opens up as a 7 pt dog on 5Dimes

As a Hornets fan, I'm actually surprised by this. Yes, they are at home and playing well, but WSU is the higher ranked team according to both major polls.

While I'm hopeful the Hornets will win by more than 7, it seems a bit odd to have the lower ranked team favored by that much -- even at home.

 

[Kadeezy]

We’re going to beat sac we are the best team in the big sky ..... yeah or offense was spotty but look at the plays that were being called . If I could remember I think I seen the same play being ran over 10 times in one of the earlier games... we got this I believe. I say Weber by 14

:shocking:

 

[the dan]

Part of me wants to think Weber wins this one on infrastructure. We’re the established program with big-game experience while Sac State is an upstart very recently removed from the devastation of being coached by Jody Sears. I want to believe they’re a bit overrated because it’s just so hard to go from bottom feeder to a top 5 team in a year. But I’ve seen enough of them to know they’re the real deal.

The first thing I noticed about them is how well schemed their passing game is. Everything they’re doing is intentional. Dotson is a really good receiving back but they don’t just dump it off to him. They find ways to isolate him vs linebackers and he’s been nightmare to cover. When’s the last time you saw a RB as a team’s leading receiver?

Second, Thomson is the best QB in the Big Sky IMO. Dual threat and can make every throw. His mobility will be a huge challenge for us considering how much man-to-man we play. This will be the toughest passing offense since Nevada. They will move the ball, but like Nevada, we need to clamp down in the end zone.

On the positive side, I’m not totally sold on their o-line. They haven’t run the ball consistently despite a great RB. They haven’t given up a ton of sacks either but I think that’s more of a testament to Coach Taylor and the QB. If we make them one dimensional I think we can get after Thomson. As usual, we need a dominant performance out of the d-line.

Defensively, their d-line is extremely disruptive. I’m worried about our tackles matching up with #99. He’s a game wrecker. Ultimately, I don’t believe their D is on the level of San Diego State, or even Maine from last year. Constantine looked healthy last week and the passing game was as crisp as it’s been all year which is encouraging going into this game. He needs make some big throws for us to win.

Another place we have the advantage is the kicking game. They’ve used two kickers and both have struggled while Tuttle is putting together another great year. Hopefully Shaheed is back returning kicks.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Keys to the game (whoever does these things, wins the game):

1. Controls line of scrimmage
2. Wins turnover battle
3. Special teams efficiency
4. Time of possession
5. Maintain dual dimension on offense

 

[WSUWildcat]

Keys to the game (whoever does these things, wins the game):

1. Controls line of scrimmage
2. Wins turnover battle
3. Special teams efficiency
4. Time of possession
5. Maintain dual dimension on offense

Agreed. I think Weber wins the turnover battle and special teams. Line of scrimmage may be a tie with both offensive lines struggling. Time of Possession and offensive balance are likely tied to who can run the ball when needed. If either team is forced to a passing attack, they lose. Which probably means that having a lead will really matter.

 

[SWeberCat02]

If Weber must maintain dual dimension of offense then they might be in trouble. I'm not sure if Weber will be able to pass very effectively. Sac St is best in the conference in pressuring the QB (1st in Sacks by a wide margin and 3rd in the nation, and 4th in the nation in TFL) and Weber's O Line has been suspect at times this season. QB isn't going to have much time. Sac is also 2nd in the conference in Interceptions, which is often a result of QB pressure.

 

[SWeberCat02]

Weber's got to score TDs. Unlike last week, FGs aren't going to win this game. Sac St is really good defensively in the Red Zone (4th in the nation) but do give up Red Zone TDs (44% of the time) more than twice as much as Red Zone FGs (19% of the time).

 

[Kadeezy]

Part of me wants to think Weber wins this one on infrastructure. We’re the established program with big-game experience while Sac State is an upstart very recently removed from the devastation of being coached by Jody Sears. I want to believe they’re a bit overrated because it’s just so hard to go from bottom feeder to a top 5 team in a year. But I’ve seen enough of them to know they’re the real deal.

The first thing I noticed about them is how well schemed their passing game is. Everything they’re doing is intentional. Dotson is a really good receiving back but they don’t just dump it off to him. They find ways to isolate him vs linebackers and he’s been nightmare to cover. When’s the last time you saw a RB as a team’s leading receiver?

Second, Thomson is the best QB in the Big Sky IMO. Dual threat and can make every throw. His mobility will be a huge challenge for us considering how much man-to-man we play. This will be the toughest passing offense since Nevada. They will move the ball, but like Nevada, we need to clamp down in the end zone.

On the positive side, I’m not totally sold on their o-line. They haven’t run the ball consistently despite a great RB. They haven’t given up a ton of sacks either but I think that’s more of a testament to Coach Taylor and the QB. If we make them one dimensional I think we can get after Thomson. As usual, we need a dominant performance out of the d-line.

Defensively, their d-line is extremely disruptive. I’m worried about our tackles matching up with #99. He’s a game wrecker. Ultimately, I don’t believe their D is on the level of San Diego State, or even Maine from last year. Constantine looked healthy last week and the passing game was as crisp as it’s been all year which is encouraging going into this game. He needs make some big throws for us to win.

Another place we have the advantage is the kicking game. They’ve used two kickers and both have struggled while Tuttle is putting together another great year. Hopefully Shaheed is back returning kicks.

Great analysis, man, I just can't wait to watch this game!

 

[Kadeezy]

If Weber must maintain dual dimension of offense then they might be in trouble. I'm not sure if Weber will be able to pass very effectively. Sac St is best in the conference in pressuring the QB (1st in Sacks by a wide margin and 3rd in the nation, and 4th in the nation in TFL) and Weber's O Line has been suspect at times this season. QB isn't going to have much time. Sac is also 2nd in the conference in Interceptions, which is often a result of QB pressure.

I think this is the key to the game. If Weber can't make SAC honor the passing game. Andy Thompson will dial up fronts and stunts that will absolutely stuff the run. Arizona State struggled to pass, and we dialed up the pressure on D and just absolutely dominated a bigger, faster OL - owning the best RB in the Pac-12.

 

[oldrunner]

My feelings are that this game will be won with Defense and Special teams. Turn overs and returns will play a big part. In these big, highly emotional, games it is often the little things that swing it one way or another. This should be a great game.