UC Davis earns the No. 5 seed in FCS playoffs and first-round bye. Who do they play Dec. 7?
The season continues for the UC Davis Aggies.
Fresh off of their 42-39 victory over rival Sacramento State in the 70th Causeway Classic on Saturday to cap the regular season and Big Sky Conference schedule, the Aggies on Sunday were seeded fifth in the 24-team NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, better known as the FCS.
UC Davis (10-2) earned a first-round bye and on Dec. 7 will host the winner of the Nov. 30 Southwest Missouri State-Illinois State match-up. That game will start at 1 p.m. at UC Davis Health Stadium.
The Aggies are in the FCS playoffs for the third time since 2018, the only such berths in the program’s 20-year history in the FCS after decades of playoff showings in Division II.
The program’s No. 5 seeding is the program’s highest in the FCS. The Aggies were seeded sixth in 2018. UCD has not faced either Southeast Missouri State or Illinois State.
On Saturday, UCD first-year head coach Tim Plough praised his team for producing “the greatest regular season in the history” of the program. On Sunday, the coach offered more kudos, saying, “I’m thankful and grateful, especially for these tremendous players. I think any team that made the 24-team bracket is going to be a great football team. I was pleased that we got a seed and a bye, because I thought we deserved that.”
He added: “For us to make a run, it starts with us focusing on us. We have made it a goal to get better each week, and it starts with being grateful that we have another game to play. And if we have another game to play then we should prepare for that game and prepare to play our best football.
“We also talked about playing winning football, and for me winning football means you are the most physical team and the smartest team. The physical team always wins and the smartest teams never lose.
“I think we have been resilient and tough team, that has been making the smart decisions in game. If we continue to do that, I think we will have a chance to be in every game. And if we are in every game, I feel confident that we have the quarterback, skill players and defense to win games late.
“It’s going to be fun and I think every game is going to be tough, but as I told the team, we are in this thing so we might as well give it everything we’ve got and see how far we can take it. I’m excited and so are the guys for the challenge.”