Rolling, rested and revved up for the stretch drive, No. 4 UC Davis hosts Northern Colorado
In football, game day is a fun day, particularly for the good to great teams with a ton to play for. The off-week bye is just as appreciated for programs in need of a breather and a chance to rest and recover.
UC Davis checks off on all of these boxes. Ranked No. 4 in the FCS with a 7-1 record, riding a seven-game winning streak with a 4-0 showing in the Big Sky Conference, the Aggies are proof of a season well done with plenty of games and goals left on the horizon.
UCD is coming off a bye week and will host struggling yet dangerous Northern Colorado, 1 p.m. Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium.
Coach Tim Plough has stressed since summer drills that the aim is to win home games, the best formula for the program to secure its second Big Sky crown since 2018 and third FCS playoff berth in the stretch. UCD is 4-0 at home, including 2-0 in the Big Sky, the biggest effort coming against powerhouse Idaho, a 28-26 triumph Sept. 28. That was UCD’s first win over a Top 5 team in program history, dating back to 1915.
UCD’s overall winning streak is the longest in the Aggies’ 20-year history in the FCS after decades of good living at the Division II ranks, but to make it eight straight, Plough wanted to make sure his crew had some time to reflect. He encouraged his players and coaching staff to take some time off. He did, though head coaches are always connected to their program in a sport where the thinking is that the hardest workers reap the biggest rewards.
“I was in dad mode this weekend,” Plough said Monday during his weekly media session. “My wife (Christine) had a girls trip, to get away and a much-needed break from the kids.”
The Ploughs have three young sons. The boys didn’t have an off-week. It was all-systems go for them.
“Soccer on Friday and baseball on Saturday,” the coach/father said.
Plough is a former UCD quarterback who had two stints as an assistant coach with the program before taking over as head man this season, so he understands the time invested into football. It can be consuming. It can lead to burnout.
“It’s a good to get some players and staff some time away, find some balance in their life,” Plough said. “We talk about seeking balance, which is kind of a futile move in life because there really is no balance in football. When you’re home, it’s family. You just try to find joy in the day and get away from football for a little bit.”
Northern Colorado (1-7) at No. 4 UC Davis (7-1)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
On air: Sactown Sports 1140; ESPN+
Of note: UCD leads the series 9-3, including 4-2 at home, winning the last meeting in Yolo County in 2022, 58-10. All-American running back Lan Larison is second in the FCS in all-purpose yards with 168.1 a game. Third-year starter Miles Hastings is sixth in the FCS with 2,515 passing yards in his best season yet. Kicker Hunter Ridley has made 12 consecutive field goals, a streak that started when he made a school-record four against Utah Tech on Sept. 7. He was this week placed on the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award that honors the top collegiate kicker among the more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and national junior college teams in the country. The Aggies are third nationally with three defensive scores. Northern Colorado opened with six consecutive losses before stunning then-No. 20 Weber State 21-17 on Oct. 12 to halt an 18-game skid. It was also the program’s first win over a ranked team since 2016. The Bears of Greeley are coming off of a 24-0 home loss to No. 9 Montana.