An annual rite of passage: UC Davis opens fall football camp

Rugged schedule includes major challenge at Cal on August 31

Tim Plough at spring practice in March

Exactly one month before UC Davis heads to Berkeley for a non-conference football showdown with the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12, the Aggies opened fall camp Wednesday morning on the Bob Biggs Practice Field adjacent to UC Davis Health Stadium with a spirited getting-to-know-you practice session.

Oops, let's back up and do that again.

We need to make that the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference, not the Pac-12.

What, you ask, did they move the entire Berkeley campus from the east side of San Francisco Bay to the west side of the Atlantic Ocean?

Well, not exactly, but the folks in charge at Cal did pretty much the same as that to their football team, moving them on July 1 from the old Pacific Coast Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

While UCD has played a number of Pac-12 teams over the years, including California eleven times, the Aggies have never played a team from the ACC.

Apparently, the 12th time's a charm, even if it is a far quicker ride to Berkeley than it is to Duke or North Carolina or Clemson or Florida State or any of the ACC schools other than Stanford, which is also new to the ACC this fall.

Be that as it may, fall camp has begun in Aggieland, even if we're less than halfway through what is officially summer.

As is normal at this time of year in most preseason college football camps across the country, optimism runs high at UCD.

The difference, however, between the Aggies and many of their FCS brethren is that there is good reason for optimism as UCD players assembled for their opening practice under first-year head coach Tim Plough.

Tim Plough

Plough, who is taking over for the popular Dan Hawkins, is known as an offensive mastermind, having served as offensive coordinator at UC Davis, Boise State and Northern Arizona after completing his four-year playing career as an Aggie quarterback in 2010. He was most recently an offensive assistant at Cal, which makes the August 31 opener in Berkeley even more intriguing.

A quirk in the calendar that has never been fully explained by the NCAA will allow all FCS schools to play 12 regular season games this fall instead of the usual 11. Aggie brass have taken full advantage by scheduling a rare sixth home game, the first of which comes September 7 against Texas A&M Commerce, which is not in the ACC.

"I have a lot of gratitude being here, being back at Davis, and trying to build something special," said Plough after Wednesday morning's initial workout.

"This is always an exciting day, taking it slow and trying to get the young guys up to speed. The goal is to peak near the end of camp, so we're taking it slow, but we do have a game at the end of August that we're focused on right now."

Other non-conference games include a date at Southern Utah on Sept. 14 and home against Utah Tech on Sept. 21 before starting the eight-game Big Sky schedule at home Sept. 28 against Idaho.

"As a program, we always want to compete for a Big Sky championship," Plough noted of a rugged conference rated by many observers as the toughest top to bottom league in the country.

"We always hope to get in the playoffs and the ultimate dream is to play in Frisco."

Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco is the permanent home of the FCS championship game in early January.

When the Aggies played at Texas A&M Commerce to open the 2023 season, Hawkins took the team for a surprise visit to Toyota Stadium the night before the A&M game.

Gathering his star-struck players at midfield, Hawkins became emotional as he told his team to remember this sight, concluding, "I don't want to come back here without you."

Frisco, however, remains a dream for Aggie players and fans alike. UCD has never played there, though they did compete in the NCAA Division II championship game in McAllen, Texas, falling to Southwest Texas State, 34-9, in 1982.

"Right now, we have some immediate smaller goals, like having a great fall camp and getting everyone ready for the season," Plough added.

The final three games of the season feature road dates at Montana and Sacramento State sandwiched around a home battle with Montana State.

"I'd be surprised if every one of those teams isn't in contention for the Big Sky championship," said Plough.

"But if you want to be the best, you have to play the best."

And, presumably, beat the best.

You can reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com