‘The seeds of greatness’: UC Davis football undaunted by 0-2 start against top teams
When Dan Hawkins opened his weekly media session on Monday and was introduced as the coach of a gritty team that nonetheless is 0-2, he quipped, “Stung me with the 0-2, but guess we have to live with it.”
This was not a complaint. Hawkins was in good spirits, encouraged by the effort of a team eager to win. UC Davis has faced two teams on the road that were favored to win, falling at Cal 34-13 — UC Davis led 7-0 after the first quarter — and then losing a 24-22 crusher at FCS No. 2-ranked South Dakota State, the same team that blasted the Aggies out of the 2021 playoffs.
Resolve is a word the sixth-year UCD coach has used often this season because the Aggies have hung in there, gotten back up, dusted off the residue of defeat with a chance to unleash on a University of San Diego team Saturday in a home opener. Football isn’t big on moral victories, but it sure beats trying to recover from blowout losses to open a campaign.
“We’ve raised the bar here the last few years with expectations of being a championship-level program, a playoff team,” Hawkins said. “That’s a cool thing. We see the seeds of greatness here. The resolve of our team is good. Last year, we got gashed (at South Dakota State) and we cleared a lot of that up. I think we’re still emerging on offense.”
UCD trailed 10-0 and 24-10 at South Dakota State before charging back behind quarterback Miles Hastings, who hit Justin Poerio for a 9-yard touchdown with 3:21 left to play and then found McCallan Castles from 25 yards out with 2:03 to go.
UCD defensive back Rex Connors earned Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for his effort at SDSU. The redshirt freshman had 17 tackles and two interceptions. His 13 solo tackles led the team. Asked if he’s had a game like that, the Utah native said, “that was my first game like that. I’m hoping to have more.”
Hawkins said of San Diego (1-1), “We face a squad that has battled us hard. It’ll fun to be home. Love to see all the students back. It should be a great home opener. We’ve got a good football team. We’ve played a tough schedule. We’ve got to keep our oars in the water and keep rowing.”
University of San Diego (1-1) at UC Davis (0-2)
When: Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium, 7 p.m.
On the air: SacTown Sports 1140, ESPN+
Quick hits: This is the 10th meeting between the programs with UCD leading 8-1 and riding a 6-game winning streak, including 53-7 last season. ...The Aggies are 5-0 at home against USD. ... Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. is seven yards shy of setting UCD’s career rushing mark and passing G.P. Muhammad, who had 3,589 yards from 1995-98. ... USD beat Division III La Verne 58-0 in an opener and lost at Big Sky member Cal Poly 28-27 last week, giving up the final two touchdowns. ... Re-al Mitchell had two trick-play touchdown passes for USD at Cal Poly. ... USD’s defensive line includes starter Will Bick, a redshirt junior from Capital Christian High School in Sacramento. He has eight tackles in two starts this season.