Win over Eastern Washington bumps the Aggies up to No. 5 in latest FCS poll

Lan Larison earns Offensive Player of the Week honors

After a decisive 48-38 win on the road at Eastern Washington, UC Davis moved up one spot to No. 5 nationally in the FCS Coaches Poll as the Aggies look forward to a bye week before a brutal four-game stretch in November to end the regular season.

The ranking is UCD's highest since a No. 4 spot in 2018.

UCD returns to action Nov. 2 at home in a 1 p.m. game against Northern Colorado, 1-6 overall and 1-3 in the Big Sky.

The Aggies are now 7-1 after their seventh straight win and moved up in the poll when former No. 5 Villanova was ambushed, 35-7, by Maine.

There was a change at the top as well as No. 2 North Dakota State put together a 92-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to stop No. 1 South Dakota State, 13-9, before nearly 19,000 fans in the sold out Fargodome.

The Bison took over the top spot, while South Dakota State dropped to No. 3.

The Big Sky's Montana State, 8-0, moved up one spot to No. 2 after routing Portland State, 44-14.

South Dakota is No. 4, giving the Missouri Valley Conference three of the top four spots in the country, along with No. 7 North Dakota.

South Dakota visits South Dakota State Saturday in yet another MVC showdown.

The Big Sky has four teams in the top 12, including No. 9 Montana and No. 12 Idaho.

The parity in the Big Sky is especially apparent this season as most schools reach the halfway point of their eight-game league schedule.

In conference play, only two of the Big Sky's 12 teams, UCD and Montana State, are undefeated, no team is winless, and only three schools have a winning record. 

Montana is third at 2-1, while Idaho, Northern Arizona and Weber State are all tied for fourth with 2-2 marks.

While football coaches prefer to play games "one at a time," fans of the Aggies and Montana State can be forgiven for looking ahead to a Big Sky showdown between the two Nov. 16 in Davis.

"Right now, we're concentrating on Northern Colorado and no one else," Plough said.

"This bye week couldn't have come at a better time. It gives the coaches a chance to see where we can improve and it allows our team to get healthy. Plus, at UC Davis, I'm sure there are some academics our guys need to take care of."

Plough couldn't contain his praise for the Aggie performance at Eastern Washington, where UCD broke an 11-game losing streak against the Eagles.

"I could tell from the post-game celebrations how important this win was," Plough noted.

"For us to be consistent in the Big Sky we have to beat teams like Eastern Washington, Idaho and the Montanas."

UCD's Lan Larison earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors after rushing for 182 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries and added six receptions for another 75 yards.

Quarterback Miles Hastings had another stellar performance, passing for 329 yards and four scores.

Plough had high praise for defensive end Zach Kennedy, who had two tackles for loss among his total of six.

Zach Kennedy (95)

"Zach just gives relentless effort every minute of every game," said Plough.

"He shows true Aggie Pride with his Ironman presence and has played nearly every down this season. His availability, dependability and accountability are off the charts."

Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Sacramento State went into double overtime to stop Weber State, 51-48, to move to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in league.

The Aggies will play at Sac State to close the regular season Nov. 23.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com