No. 9 Eastern Washington beats No. 11 UC Davis. Is the season over for the Aggies?
The spring football season may have ended for UC Davis on Saturday afternoon, the first time fans have been allowed this stop-and-start COVID-19 run, and this is not an entirely bad thing.
The Aggies managed to squeeze in five games after the traditional fall season was moved to March and April because of the coronavirus pandemic, and three games were at home. That’s an achievement in itself, given the challenges of COVID-19 testing, scheduling and protocols.
Ranked No. 9 in the FCS, Eastern Washington topped the No. 11 Aggies 32-22 Saturday, which alone likely concludes the campaign for UCD at 3-2.
Only 16 FCS teams will be selected to the playoffs, 11 of them automatic qualifiers as conference champions. That leaves five at-large spots, one of which is most assuredly Eastern Washington. The Eagles of Cheney placed second in the Big Sky behind conference champion and No. 2-ranked Weber State, which beat UCD 18-15 this season.
UCD’s scheduled game at Cal Poly on April 10 has been canceled after the Mustangs pulled the plug on their season amid injuries and COVID-19 issues. So does UCD call it a season now, or does it wait two weeks, until April 18 for the FCS playoff section for someone to formally tell the Aggies their season is over?
UCD coach Dan Hawkins said of a potential playoff game, “We’ll see. Really don’t know. It’s all about the big picture. We’ve played football over three (academic) quarters here, and we’d still have three weeks before a playoff game, if we get one.”
UCD’s Trent Tompkins added, “It’s been a wild ride. It’s been a crazy spring, a lot of emotions of games and no games. I’m grateful we even had any games.”
The first playoff game is scheduled for April 24 and the championship is May 16 in Frisco, near Dallas. In other words, does it make enough sense to continue in a season that could still go another seven weeks with at least a two-week break before the next kickoff?
In normal times, sure. But nothing about this spring has been normal.
For Eastern Washington, All-American quarterback Eric Barriere completed 30 of 41 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed for 43 yards. He was not sacked. His coach, Aaron Best, said this week that, “Eric is flat-out the best player in the country.”
Hunter Rodrigues and Trent Tompkins each tossed a touchdown for UCD. Tompkins also rushed for a score, as did Lan Larison.
Teams playing well into May makes for a short turnaround for a fall season that starts with July conditioning. This is partly why 32 FCS teams across the country opted out of spring ball, including Sacramento State, after the Hornets won the Big Sky in 2019.
What the Aggies do know is they will be a team to watch this fall as no players in college football will lose a season of eligibility due to the pandemic. This has been a bonus season of sorts.
UCD allowed 1,800 fans into the 10,000 venue, and there were plenty of boos for a controversial targeting call — leading with the helmet — on UCD’s Cole Hanson that moved the ball to the Aggies’ 14-yard line with 7:50 to go. He was ejected, per rules. The Eagles capped the 11-play, 69-yard drive with a Seth Harrison 22-yard field goal for a 32-22 lead with 5:34 to play.
UCD was stopped on downs on its last drive with 1:55 to go, and the Eagles ran it out from there.
At least three UCD fans wore a Bo Eason jersey No. 7 for old time’s sake to honor the early 1980s Aggies defensive star who played in the NFL and now does acting and script writing. There was even a No. 1 Rolf Benirschke jersey, the 1970s Aggies kicker who set San Diego Chargers scoring records.
The UCD band was socially distanced, the tubas that had covers over the opening and saxophones with bags covering the pieces entirely.
UCD cheerleaders cheered nearby. Eastern Washington, closing in on its 14th FCS playoff and eighth since 2009, also had fans in attendance. The parking lot included a sea of Eagles red and plenty of UCD blue.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 4:34 PM.