Perks of success: UC Davis football earns playoff-opening bye, home game and holiday week off
The perks of success have reaped a lot of rewards for the UC Davis football team.
The FCS No. 5-ranked Aggies are rolling at 10-2, their finest record in their 20-year history at the Division I-AA level. They defeated rival Sacramento State 42-39 on Saturday in the 70th Causeway Classic in a Big Sky Conference finale; earned the fifth seed in the playoffs on Sunday, which means an opening-round bye; and then they toasted the royal weekend with the team’s annual postseason banquet.
So what did coach Tim Plough order up for the troops this week? Monday, there were meetings, and then the Aggies were turned loose. They have the rest of the week off to rest, to recover, to go home for a Thanksgiving spread, with the coach reminding one and all to be grateful for all the good that they have.
UCD will return to practice on Dec. 2. On Dec. 7, the Aggies will host the winner of this week’s Illinois State-Southeast Missouri State playoff opener.
Plough was emotional in praising his team after Saturday’s contest, saying he expected a good season but wasn’t sure if it would be a great one.
It’s become a great one. While players point to their coach as a major reason why, the coach points to the players as all the reasons why. Plough was named the American Football Coaches Association Regional Five Coach of the Year last week and this week was named as an Eddie Robinson Award finalist as national Coach of the Year.
Dan Hawkins won the honor in 2018 at UC Davis after leading the Aggies to a share of the program’s first Big Sky championship. Plough was an assistant on that Aggies team. Troy Taylor won the Eddie Robinson award in 2019 at Sacramento State after winning the first of three success Big Sky crowns. He now coaches at Stanford.
“What an incredible season,” Plough said after the Causeway. “It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, to be honest. I am so proud of the team and the staff and everyone involved with the program. In my humble opinion, that’s the greatest regular season we’ve had. It think it’s tremendous and they should be remembered for a long time.”
Joy is a word used a lot within the UCD program, dating back to the Jim Sochor days of the 1970s and ‘80s when the Aggies excelled at the Division II ranks.
“I hope they find joy in winning 10 games,” Plough said. “We want to set a standard here. Our goals are always to beat the team down south (Cal Poly), Sac State and to win the Big Sky.Our dream is to play in January (in the national championship game).”
The coach added, “We’ll have time to get healthy and prepare a good plan, and the players will be able to have Thanksgiving dinner with their families. I think our best football is still ahead of us.”
Larison honors
UCD All-American senior running back earned two honors this week after accumulating 273 all-purpose yards against Sacramento State.
He was named the Stats Perform National Offensive Player of the Week and the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week. Larison is also a front-runner for the Walter Payton Award, which recognizes the top player in the FCS and is named after the former Jackson State star who enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears as one of the sport’s greatest running backs.
Larison rushed for 148 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns in the Causeway Classic, including the sealing 59-yarder. He also had four catches for 69 yards, returned four kickoffs for 56 yards and recovered an onside kick to secure the victory.
Larison leads all running backs nationally in receiving yards with 755 and in touchdown receptions with six. He is the UCD single-season and career leader in all-purpose yards. He leads the country with 2,132 all-purpose yards.
▪ UCD senior quarterback Miles Hastings is also a finalist for the Walter Payton award. He has passed for 300 or more yards six times this season, breaking the UCD regular-season record for passing touchdowns and passing yards, passing Jake Maier in both categories.
Hastings has passed for 3,745 yards and 32 touchdowns as he soars up the UCD career lists. He has 10,420 career yards and 74 career touchdowns.
▪ UCD junior linebacker David Meyer this week was also named a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, joining a list of the top 35 defenders in the FCS. Meyer has 104 tackles and four interceptions and a game-sealing interception return for a touchdown to polish off Texas A&M Commerce 36-22 in a September nonconference game.
▪ UCD on Wednesday morning learned that 13 Aggies earned All-Big Sky honors, including six on the first team: Larison, tight end Winston Williams, defensive lineman Zach Kennedy, Meyer, and defensives back Rex Connors and Kavir Burns.
For a complete list of all-Big Sky honors, go here.