When it comes to memorable experiences, to each their own

Is Saturday's Montana State game the biggest in Aggie history?

Over and over again I've been asked this week if Saturday's Aggie-Montana State Game of the Century is truly the "biggest" game in UC Davis' 106-year football history.

Bigger even than the very first game against St. Mary's in 1915 that got this whole glorious journey going?

After all, if there hadn't been a first game, we wouldn't even be talking about Montana State today.

For those math purists who say 1915 to 2024 does not compute to 106 seasons of football, please note that World War I prevented any games in 1918 and World War II halted all Aggie football from 1943-45.

Be that as it may, when assessing the heft of any one game, you have to consider what level of college football was involved, the records of the respective teams and what was at stake beyond the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

When the Aggies took on those Galloping Gaels in 1915, there were no divisions in college football. In fact, some schools that would later become major powers were still playing rugby instead.

For many seasons, UC Davis schedules were a mixed bag that included opponents at wildly different levels. In one stretch from 1923 through 1936, the Aggies played the likes of Cal, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon State, Brigham Young, Arizona and Fresno State, along with Sacramento City College, LaVerne (but not Shirley), the U.S. Naval Hospital ("Let's run Stethoscope Three over left tackle"), the San Diego Marines (Semper Football) and the Arbuckle American Legion.

Yes, the Arbuckle American Legion.

Later on, the Aggies were in the loosely defined "College Division," while the big boys were in the "University Division," which likely rankled some of the excellent faculty members at the University Farm.

Then came Division 1-A, Division 1-AA, Division II and Division III, with the Aggies starting in Division II, moving up to 1-AA and surviving an unexplainable name change to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), one level below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

There will be a quiz at the end of this piece with a swell prize, so please stay with me.