UC Davis football set for televised FCS opener vs. Mercer. Can Aggies top 2024?
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- UC Davis opens 2025 season against No. 11 Mercer in nationally televised game.
- Redshirt sophomore Caden Pinnick named starting quarterback after strong spring.
- Veteran offensive line and All-American defenders anchor Aggies' playoff ambitions.
What do the UC Davis Aggies do for an encore?
Coming off their finest season at the Division I FCS level since moving up from Division II in 2007, the Aggies kick off another season of great promise Saturday in front of a nationally televised audience.
UCD is preseason-ranked No. 7 and will take on No. 11 Mercer University of Georgia in the FCS Kickoff in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Cramton Bowl. It is a 4 p.m. West Coast start and it kicks off the 107th season of Aggies football. ESPN will televise the earliest season opener in the history of the Aggies.
UCD seeks its third FCS playoff trip since 2021, and the quest is to make it four such appearances with a Big Sky Conference championship goal to boot.
Aggies second-year coach Tim Plough this week named Caden Pinnick as the starting quarterback. It was competition between Pinnick, the former Del Oro High School of Placer County star, and Grant Harper, a fifth-year senior from the Bay Area and last season’s backup to record-setting Miles Hastings.
Pinnick is a redshirt sophomore who took a big step in securing the job after a strong spring season and Spring Game. A former UCD quarterback, Plough said his team can win with either quarterback.
Harper understands the Aggies playbook and is a poised passer. Pinnick is also a student of the game and offers an athletic burst that the Aggies have not seen at the position in years. A UCD history buff, Plough said Pinnick’s skillset and ability to make all the throws and also run brings to mind Chris Petersen and Khari Jones, Aggies quarterback stars from yesteryear.
Petersen out of Yuba City High and Sacramento City College excelled for the Aggies in 1985 and ‘86, setting UCD passing completion-percentage marks. He got his coaching start with the program before becoming a national name as head coach at Boise State and Washington.
Jones of Center High near Sacramento was also a two-year starter for the Aggies, in 1992 and ‘93, becoming the first passer in program history to pass for 3,000 yards in a season and have more than 50 career touchdown passes. He is a longtime coach in the Canadian Football League.
“Caden is one of the better athletes we’ve had at the position,” Plough said. “You think of the history of the program, like Chris Petersen and the Khari Jones, for the people who have watched Aggies football, that reminds me of the type of player Caden is. He can create with his legs.”
Experienced up front and on D
Pinnick will have the benefit of working with returning targets in receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. and preseason All-American tight end Winston Williams, and he will have the bonus of working behind a veteran offensive line, one of the most experienced and talented in the FCS.
Six players return in the trenches for UCD with a combined 63 starts in Eli Simonson, Zaire Collier, Ernesto Nava, David Main, David Porotesano and Jace Rodriguez.
Collier is the center, a graduate of Granite Bay High in Placer County.
“We preach pressure as a privilege, especially up front,” Collier said. “We know we have a young quarterback and receivers and running backs, so there will be a lot of pressure on us on the line, rightfully so. We take it as a privilege, owning up to it and attacking it, and we’re very connected.”
UCD is led on defense by twin brothers Rex and Porter Connors, both preseason All-Americans. A multiple time All-American, Rex set a UC Davis record for solo tackles with 74 last season from his safety spot. Porter is a linebacker with the same desire to disrupt offenses.
Causeway on hold?
UCD and Sacramento State have been football rivals since 1954, the first year Sac State played the sport. In the regular-season finale on Nov. 22 to cap the Big Sky Conference schedule, the teams will meet for the 71st time, but when will the 72nd meeting happen?
With Sac State leaving the Big Sky after this season after a 30-year run to go independent in a quest to move up to the FBS level, the schedules do not align next season for the rival programs.
UCD has no opening for the Causeway Classic next fall as it plays San Diego, SMU in Texas and Stetson College of Florida in nonconference games before the Big Sky schedule. Nonconference games are binding contracts.
The plan is to resume the rivalry in 2027.
No. 8 UC Davis vs. No. 11 Mercer
When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Where: Montgomery, Alabama, in FCS Kickoff Classic
On air: ESPN, Sactown Sports 1140 radio
Of note: UCD has not competed in this event but Mercer is in it for the second time in three years. Like UCD, Mercer must replace its leading rusher and receiver after going 11-3 in 2024 and reaching the FCS quarterfinals. The Bears return 11 starters, seven on offense. DJ Smith started the first half of last season at quarterback for Mercer, passing for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing for four scores before missing games with injuries. Mercer ranked first in the FCS in rushing defense in 2024, allowing 70.8 yards, but the Bears only three of their top 12 tacklers.
This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 12:31 PM.