Pepper led them to victory in their first game with 22 points in 21 minutes! — DrMike

Awesome! Good for Eli!

Article also mention Teddye Buchanan would be starting — DrMike

No surprise there for me. Teddye has legitimate FBS talent. Unfortunately, I think he will create problems for us. He's a beast!

Here's an interesting spreadsheet put together by a member of the anygivensaturday.com FCS forum. It compares the teams according to the cumulative stats as a whole on offense and defense for each team's returning starters in every FCS conference. The Aggies look strong in the Big Sky.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wAC-Ok4L6KmuRzrZj-F5NvAgQa7ATZmSnEWrY9KTsW0/edit?gid=692475703#gid=692475703

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?361594-Keeper-s-2024-FCS-Returning-Starters-amp-Stats-survey

This sports scribe likes our chances at Cal:

UC Davis over California

UC Davis has a talented roster. Miles Hastings is a top-20 quarterback in the FCS, running back Lan Larison is the preseason Big Sky Player of the Year, defensive lineman Zach Kennedy can set the edge and Rex Connors has an argument as the best defensive back in the FCS. That talent alone gives them a fighting shot against an FBS opponent, but against Cal, they could win. The key to stopping Cal will be shutting down All-American level running back Jaydn Ott, but UC Davis has only allowed one 100-yard rusher in its last 15 games dating back to 2022.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-07-23/12-potential-fcs-over-fbs-upsets-2024

I just got back from visiting relatives in Indiana and Michigan and I just finished listening to the interview with Plough and the interview with Zach Kennedy. I gotta say guys, you're knocking it out of the park. These interviews are outstanding and I'm getting more amped up for the season with each interview you release. Great job!

We'll miss him. He's extremely versatile, can be creative and explosive and plays hard 100% of the time. He has the ability to make a play that energizes the team when we need it too. I hope he isn't seriously injured and we get him back soon. He got pretty banged up last season too.

Day 16 - Lan Larison:

Win or lose at Cal, I just hope we come away healthy. I always worry about injuries when we play against and opponent with a big size and speed advantage.

I'm feeling really good about this season!

Day 14 - HC Tim Plough:

Day - 13 Defensive Coordinator, Matt Coombs and DB Lamont Shamburger:

All BW Conference teams will play 2 conference games in early December this year before finishing their non-conference schedule. The will start conference play with 2 road games:

12/5 at Cal Poly
12.7 at Santa Barbara

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2024/8/15/womens-basketball-aggie-basketball-set-for-pair-of-december-big-west-opening-games.aspx

All BW Conference teams will play 2 conference games in early December this year before finishing their non-conference schedule. The will start conference play with 2 home game:

12/5 vs Cal Poly
12/7 vs Santa Barbara

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2024/8/15/womens-basketball-aggie-basketball-set-for-pair-of-december-big-west-opening-games.aspx

Day 11- Rex Connors and HC Tim Plough:

Day 10 - 16 photos of the scrimmage to scroll through:

https://ucdavisaggies.com/galleries/football/2024-football-fall-camp-day-ten/fbfallcampday10/2330/131061

Lan Larison has been ranked as the #9 contender for the Walter Peyton Award:

9. Lan Larison | UC Davis

Lan Larison is the heartbeat of UC Davis' offense, and that's with an above-average quarterback in the backfield with him, Miles Hastings. Hastings' improvements as a passer should open up the run game for Larison. If Larison can surpass the 1,100-yard mark again this fall and UC Davis makes a run at the Big Sky title, he'll have a compelling Walter Payton Award case.

Rex Connors has been ranked as the #10 contender for the Buck Buchanan Award:

10. Rex Connors | UC Davis

Rex Connors' numbers fell in 2023 after playing in only seven games. He still had 59 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and seven pass breakups. When he played nine games as a freshman in 2022, he had 88 tackles, five interceptions and 10 pass breakups. If Connors is fully healthy this season, he should be one of the best safeties in the FCS.

Top 10 List for both awards here:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2024-07-31/ranking-top-fcs-preseason-award-contenders

Day 10 - Coach Plough:

The Athletics Media folks have really stepped up the the publicity so far this year and that's great to see. I think it will help build on the enthusiasm that Plough is bringing to the program and I think it will help put more fans in the seats this fall.