Wagner travels from Staten Island to the Bay Area to face the California Golden Bears for their 23rd FBS matchup. Wagner is currently 0-22 vs FBS opponents.
Christopher, this is incredible work which clearly transcends football. This is a commentary on dedication, routine, and a desire to educate an audience on all levels of opponents. I hope the folks from Wagner find this, those young gentlemen have made the game their obsession their whole lives and are working a low-paying second job on top of working for their degree. Having someone cover them with the level of depth and detail often reserved for the Ohio States and Georgias of the world is the least we can do to show our appreciation for their sacrifice. I'm feeling good about Cal's chances today, but I'm sure Darryl Vonstickyhands will find his way into the end zone; his high-end speed is up there with FBS competition.
Wow, that VonStickyhands footage was striking — I’m convinced containing him is the key to the game. Hopefully our DBs are properly aligned on Saturday; the second clip is a sobering reminder of the risks of misalignment.
On a more serious note, the images were not loading for me on the subway, so I was originally very worried and confused about our friend Darryl. Great write-up as always, Chris!
NFL scouts will be in attendance to finally get a live look at Darryl VonStickyhands. It can't be understated the impact VonStickyhands will have on this game. We Cal fans look forward to the interesting matchups he'll pose to Cal's defenders. I think Cal's Kingston Lopa is going to be able to keep him out of this game though on the way to a comfortable Cal win.
1. You reference the FCS games against UC Davis (go Ags!) and Sac State - let's hope that this game bears no resemblance to those games (get it - bears haha). I have seen Cal snatch defeat from the jaws of victory too many times to count and I really, really hope that's not the case here. Instead, I'm hoping Cal gets a chance to get experience for the non-starters.
2. Bruh, you have WAAAAY too much time on your hands. Get a life! :D (Great analysis)
This is a PhD dissertation on how small the differences are between top level football programs and really poor ones. Identifiable but marginal differences. The young men on Wagner are not unclear on how to play the game, and are likely the better athletes from their high schools. But imagine how truly exceptional Jahvid Best was as a RB? He made D1 defenders look slow. Yet, it's a marginal difference because the Wagner RB knows how to play, and would be the best at your HS. So I respect Wagner for suiting up and playing their best, and while we should win easily, I love the game of football and appreciate people who play it.
This is something that I think is difficult for most -- understanding how much steeper the peaks are compared to the average experience. You see this in academics and intelligence -- you don't realize how dumb you are until you reach the upper echelons of intelligence and are surrounded by the elite. You may have been the smartest out of your high school, but welcome to the real world.
Reminds me of orchestra as a kid growing up, I played for a higher level orchestra that was for kids of all ages with no known floor all the way up to conservatory musicians capped at the age of 21. Our concert mistress was 13.
So true! I have vivid memories of going into office hours of Richard Saykaly (sp?) my Chem 1A professor in 1987 and was blown away by his clear comprehensive intelligence. Or my fellow Chem 1A student Akshay who never studied, immediately understood, and Aced the whole Chem 1A class. Alan Dundes quoting student research papers from 20 years before. I'm a double major grad with nearly straight A's at Cal and an MA from Stanford where I was strongly recruited for their PhD program and declined. And yet, and yet, I don't hold a candle to the brains I've met who in either the social or physical sciences can process information at lightning speed or remember everything at one glance.
I mean, I guess it's for the best, but the transfer portal/NIL is clearly stratifying teams into very distinct tiers. I remember watching Cooper Kupp put up 200+ receiving yards against Pac-12 teams year after year on an FCS team, and Eastern Washington was a dangerous team for FBS teams to play--there was significant overlap between the best FCS teams and worst FBS squads. Kupp had 206 receiving yards and 3 TDs in a win over an 8-4 Wazzu team in 2016, and 246 receiving yards and 3 TDs against #7 ranked Oregon in 2015. Kupp's fewest receiving yards against an FBS program was when he put up a mere 119 receiving yards and 2 TDs in his first game as a true freshman in a win over #25 ranked Oregon State. Kupp was the cleanest route runner I've ever seen, and an absolute technician which made him essentially uncoverable as a slot receiver. But he had practically no D1 offers (he was turned down by Yale) because he played for a small school in Eastern Washington (Yakima) and apparently didn't run a fast enough 40 time to get noticed. Now if you were to have a game even half as good as Kupp did in any given FBS matchup, you may as well just take the bus ride back with the FBS team because they'd probably offer you on the spot.
So I guess it's better for the players because they have a lot more opportunity for upward mobility, but it also means that there aren't many Cooper Kupps still out there that can torch FBS teams, and FBS-FCS matchups have been extremely uncompetitive so far this year. And that's not to mention that a lot of those top FCS programs are making the move to FBS now before their window closes (e.g. NDSU to the Mountain West, Sac State to the MAC, etc). Most of the best talent on FCS rosters now seems to be FBS players transferring downwards for more playing time.
I know people are always shocked when an FCS team upsets an FBS squad, but it usually isn't that shocking if you know about the teams (like people are well-aware that NDSU could beat a middle-tier FBS school in recent years). At this point, however, I think a P4 program with millions of dollars on the roster falling to an FCS team WOULD be hugely shocking.
I have spent many an afternoon on the Wagner Seahawk campus for youngster's travel soccer matches (nice pitch, grass a little high IMO) and it's actually very lovely!
This is some truly exceptional work. I never thought I’d read anything about Wagner’s #3 tight end.
I’d like to think this won’t be anywhere near as close as recent FCS games, both because Wagner isn’t as strong and because this Cal team has better upside and athletic talent than past years. This should be a game where they keep things simple, overwhelm Wagner with talent and put things to bed quickly.
I also hope Wagner takes the rare West Coast visit as a chance to plant some recruiting seeds and build some connections that can pay off as they work to return to relevance.
Christopher, this is incredible work which clearly transcends football. This is a commentary on dedication, routine, and a desire to educate an audience on all levels of opponents. I hope the folks from Wagner find this, those young gentlemen have made the game their obsession their whole lives and are working a low-paying second job on top of working for their degree. Having someone cover them with the level of depth and detail often reserved for the Ohio States and Georgias of the world is the least we can do to show our appreciation for their sacrifice. I'm feeling good about Cal's chances today, but I'm sure Darryl Vonstickyhands will find his way into the end zone; his high-end speed is up there with FBS competition.
Did I read this entire article? No.
Did I watch all the highlights? No.
Did I need such in-depth highlights? No.
Did I read that tiny font prelude. YES.
Did my respect for Chris rise for all the work he put in. YES
Did I give my props for Chris for writing such an in-depth article about Wagner? YES RIGHT NOW.
Am I even more hyped that CAL can work out some kinks, get some momentum and kill it this game? HECK YEAH
GO BEARS
oh did I google VonStickyHands to see if writeforcalifornia shows up. YES I DID.
I caught Google red-handed: https://imgur.com/a/ZZyjD40
Wow, that VonStickyhands footage was striking — I’m convinced containing him is the key to the game. Hopefully our DBs are properly aligned on Saturday; the second clip is a sobering reminder of the risks of misalignment.
On a more serious note, the images were not loading for me on the subway, so I was originally very worried and confused about our friend Darryl. Great write-up as always, Chris!
Wagner is closer to LeBron than I am to Wagner
I heard Von Stickyhands and his legal team won their challenge and he'll be suiting up for Wagner on Saturday.
The only team from Staten Island I recognize is the Wu Tang Clan from Shaolin, Strong Island!
NFL scouts will be in attendance to finally get a live look at Darryl VonStickyhands. It can't be understated the impact VonStickyhands will have on this game. We Cal fans look forward to the interesting matchups he'll pose to Cal's defenders. I think Cal's Kingston Lopa is going to be able to keep him out of this game though on the way to a comfortable Cal win.
I have two comments:
1. You reference the FCS games against UC Davis (go Ags!) and Sac State - let's hope that this game bears no resemblance to those games (get it - bears haha). I have seen Cal snatch defeat from the jaws of victory too many times to count and I really, really hope that's not the case here. Instead, I'm hoping Cal gets a chance to get experience for the non-starters.
2. Bruh, you have WAAAAY too much time on your hands. Get a life! :D (Great analysis)
This is a PhD dissertation on how small the differences are between top level football programs and really poor ones. Identifiable but marginal differences. The young men on Wagner are not unclear on how to play the game, and are likely the better athletes from their high schools. But imagine how truly exceptional Jahvid Best was as a RB? He made D1 defenders look slow. Yet, it's a marginal difference because the Wagner RB knows how to play, and would be the best at your HS. So I respect Wagner for suiting up and playing their best, and while we should win easily, I love the game of football and appreciate people who play it.
This is something that I think is difficult for most -- understanding how much steeper the peaks are compared to the average experience. You see this in academics and intelligence -- you don't realize how dumb you are until you reach the upper echelons of intelligence and are surrounded by the elite. You may have been the smartest out of your high school, but welcome to the real world.
Reminds me of orchestra as a kid growing up, I played for a higher level orchestra that was for kids of all ages with no known floor all the way up to conservatory musicians capped at the age of 21. Our concert mistress was 13.
So true! I have vivid memories of going into office hours of Richard Saykaly (sp?) my Chem 1A professor in 1987 and was blown away by his clear comprehensive intelligence. Or my fellow Chem 1A student Akshay who never studied, immediately understood, and Aced the whole Chem 1A class. Alan Dundes quoting student research papers from 20 years before. I'm a double major grad with nearly straight A's at Cal and an MA from Stanford where I was strongly recruited for their PhD program and declined. And yet, and yet, I don't hold a candle to the brains I've met who in either the social or physical sciences can process information at lightning speed or remember everything at one glance.
I mean, I guess it's for the best, but the transfer portal/NIL is clearly stratifying teams into very distinct tiers. I remember watching Cooper Kupp put up 200+ receiving yards against Pac-12 teams year after year on an FCS team, and Eastern Washington was a dangerous team for FBS teams to play--there was significant overlap between the best FCS teams and worst FBS squads. Kupp had 206 receiving yards and 3 TDs in a win over an 8-4 Wazzu team in 2016, and 246 receiving yards and 3 TDs against #7 ranked Oregon in 2015. Kupp's fewest receiving yards against an FBS program was when he put up a mere 119 receiving yards and 2 TDs in his first game as a true freshman in a win over #25 ranked Oregon State. Kupp was the cleanest route runner I've ever seen, and an absolute technician which made him essentially uncoverable as a slot receiver. But he had practically no D1 offers (he was turned down by Yale) because he played for a small school in Eastern Washington (Yakima) and apparently didn't run a fast enough 40 time to get noticed. Now if you were to have a game even half as good as Kupp did in any given FBS matchup, you may as well just take the bus ride back with the FBS team because they'd probably offer you on the spot.
So I guess it's better for the players because they have a lot more opportunity for upward mobility, but it also means that there aren't many Cooper Kupps still out there that can torch FBS teams, and FBS-FCS matchups have been extremely uncompetitive so far this year. And that's not to mention that a lot of those top FCS programs are making the move to FBS now before their window closes (e.g. NDSU to the Mountain West, Sac State to the MAC, etc). Most of the best talent on FCS rosters now seems to be FBS players transferring downwards for more playing time.
I know people are always shocked when an FCS team upsets an FBS squad, but it usually isn't that shocking if you know about the teams (like people are well-aware that NDSU could beat a middle-tier FBS school in recent years). At this point, however, I think a P4 program with millions of dollars on the roster falling to an FCS team WOULD be hugely shocking.
To be fair, they'll always be out there. It's how we found JDJ just two years ago.
I really hope they run a lot of screens. That would be excellent work for our defensive unit!
I have spent many an afternoon on the Wagner Seahawk campus for youngster's travel soccer matches (nice pitch, grass a little high IMO) and it's actually very lovely!
Last week, Wagner was blown out by James Madison 87–3.
Cal by 50?
The Bear Will Not Quit, The Bear Will Not Die ethos is strong in you Christopher- thank you!
This is some truly exceptional work. I never thought I’d read anything about Wagner’s #3 tight end.
I’d like to think this won’t be anywhere near as close as recent FCS games, both because Wagner isn’t as strong and because this Cal team has better upside and athletic talent than past years. This should be a game where they keep things simple, overwhelm Wagner with talent and put things to bed quickly.
I also hope Wagner takes the rare West Coast visit as a chance to plant some recruiting seeds and build some connections that can pay off as they work to return to relevance.