This is a great article about the history of the football games between the Aggies and the Bears. Keep in mind that the article was written just prior to the 2010 game:

Cal has posted their and our game notes
Here is ours;
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/calberk.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/8/27/2019_08_31_UC_Davis_Game_Notes_at_Cal.pdf

My mom and dad both went to Cal so I naturally grew up as a huge Cal fan. I decided to go to UC Davis though after visiting the campus and feeling really comfortable there. I never regretted it, but whenever the Ags play Cal, I am a bit split in my loyalties. I've always sided with UCD though and just once I want to see them BEAT CAL, something I feel a bit squeamish about writing. Better I write GO AGS!

Likewise, as a fan of both teams I can honestly say I hate the years when the Ags play Cal because I feel super split and I can't really enjoy it. I'm a Cal fan who follows all of Cal's games, but I'm also an Aggie alum who also catches every Ags game that he can. I just felt at home at Davis. Even had my grades been a bit higher, I still had no desire to apply to Berkeley becuase it was 10-15 mins away from home and I was was born there. Also my mom attended Cal for one season as a transfer, but switched to Humboldt because her parents lived in West CoCo and she had to go home every night. She preferred to move away. Now when Cal plays Sac State, that's my favorite. No split loyalties there.

Great story. I love Biggs quotes.

From the Aggie website article today:

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Cal went 7-6 overall with a 4-5 record in the Pac-12 Conference in 2018... The season featured a 12-10 upset of Washington on Oct. 27, and an appearance in the Cheez-It Bowl (against TCU) on Dec. 26... Senior ILB Evan Weaver leads five total Preseason All-Pac-12 picks, along with DE Luc Buquette, CB Camryn Bynum, P Steven Coutts and S Ashtyn Davis... Following a season in which he recorded 159 tackles with 4.5 sacks, two interceptions and six PBUs, Weaver also made preseason watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award (collegiate defensive player of the year), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player of the year) and the Butkus Award (linebacker of the year)...

Third-year head coach Justin Wilcox has numerous connections to UC Davis: he played defensive back at Oregon for Aggie alum Mike Bellotti, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Dan Hawkins at Boise State (2001-02), then later served the Broncos as defensive coordinator for UC Davis grad Chris Petersen (2006-09)... Additionally, wide receivers coach Burl Toler III was a member of the Aggie coaching staff (also overseeing WRs) in 2017... Finally, Cal's director of football operations, Denis Hallin, served in the identical capacity for UC Davis from 2013-15 under then-head coach Ron Gould (also a former Cal assistant).

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2019/8/28/football-uc-davis-opens-at-cal-on-saturday.aspx

So it’s confirmed Bland is not eligible.

https://mavensports.io/cal/news/cal-football-uc-davis-to-visit-berkeley-without-ineligible-star-linebacker-MQ3GcIYfjEi7SjDdmFFQig/

Linebacker Montell Bland, who earned FCS freshman All-America honors last season, won’t be in uniform for UC Davis when the Aggies visit Cal in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.

Bland is not listed on the Aggies’ depth chart and an athletic department spokesman confirmed — with no other details — that he is not eligible to play at Cal.

Bland is the team’s top returning tackler with 78, a total that includes 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He had three quarterback hurries and recovered a fumble.

That a big blow...he's a talented athlete so someone else needs to step up.

I’ll poke at Berkeley all day long. I didn’t apply at Cal, as I saw enough during an 8th grade visit that, with the pace, speed and overall stress level of students, it just wasn’t the place for me. The Davis campus was incredibly comfortable from the first time I visited during high school.

I also have family members who went to Stanford, so, even though I’m a graduate of a UC school...I can’t root for the Golden Bears.

Countdown to kick off with Scott Marsh and game interview with Justin Wilcox
https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/2018/9/20/aggie-podcast.aspx

Now down to a 13 point underdog. That spread is manageable.

“The California Golden Bears might have a historic defense on record, but bookmakers appear to be taking pause. Despite playing an FCS opponent, the UC Davis Aggies are only 13 point underdogs in Berkeley this Saturday, ”



https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2019/8/26/20834461/california-golden-bears-uc-davis-aggies-football-line-over-under

Agree. “Kal” is something I’m used to seeing on an $C or fUCLA board. I don’t get this movielover guy who’s been coming over to our football board posing as a Cal fan. He comes to our site saying we should be able to beat Davis with our 2nd and 3rd string, and then comes here and says we’re beginning to look past you to UW. :chin:

I actually hoped to see some success at Davis after Gould took over since he had a very good reputation at Cal and he was sorely missed when a new regime took over. Coach Wilcox and Hawkins have some history together. If anything, this should be seen as a friendly matchup.

2 days. Fired up. Going to game with big group of former Ags/players. Tailgating starts early. Not much time for thoughts but someone already said it. The Cal secondary is absolutely no joke. And UCD has always struggled to run the ball against P5 FBS comp. Need to get that run game to work in some form, passing lanes won’t be easy to find. Expect lots of short/intermediate passes to find ways to move the ball. Ags a 13 point dog feels fair. I expect lower scoring. Prob more thoughts later.

I’ll be watching every FCs game I can get my eyes on tomorrow. Excited to see SDSU (and their freshman Gibbs) agaiNst Minny tomorrow night. That Jacks team is loaded, but breaking in frosh Qb. NAU in an interesting one with Mizzou st with Cookus back. Another QB back, Jacob Knipp for No Colorado who is vey talented when he can stay healthy. If he gets protected tomorrow the Bears should be able to hang around w/ SJSU

I root for all the NorCal teams except when they're playing us. I love it that Cal and the Ags have several games on the books for the future. It's a great game for Aggie fans and, although we're underdogs, it's a great experience for our fans and our team.

Cal is a great school with an impressive campus. My son just graduated with his MPH degree in May from the Berkeley School of Public Health which is one of the best in the nation.

This thread is being made fun of on three separate cal fan sites (which may be a record since the different cal fan sites never agree on anything)

Why movielover is acting as some sort of double agent is puzzling to say the least. Someone may need to tell him that you don’t need to pretend to be a cal fan to post on Bearinsider. Hopefully in the future movielover finds better things to do with his time.

And then the “Kal” hate is amusing to say the least. How many here even know the origins of “kal”? And why a fellow UC school (that shares similar characteristics in which the moniker is making fun of) would use such a name is ironic...to say the least. SC can say kal. Stanford can say kal. Davis saying kal makes zero sense.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for UC Davis as an academic institution. It is one of the greatest (and friendliest) universities in the world. But reading thru this thread was disappointing. There is very little that separates Berkeley from davis. So stop acting like you’re asu or some second rate school with a massive inferiority complex.

I think this is all in good fun - we are all “Sons of Kalifornia”. And any institution that can claim Robert Oppenheimer and Earnest Lawrence is pretty kool in my book (dang Apple butterfly key)

I look forward to the game. It'll be fun. Nobody here bears ill will. Get it, "bears?" But seriously, they're just jokes.

Also, movielover has been a member here for years and is a fine fellow. Feel like maybe people are reading into things too deep.

Anyway--prediction: UC Davis 28, Cal 21

Maybe the Bear fans hit the Joe Kapp tequila bottle a little early?

They seem rather thin skinned if they can post goofy Farmer pictures (threads), a Look Alike thread, and one reference to Kal sends them over the edge.

The Joe Starky interview w / Scott Marsh was interesting in that the only Aggie he referenced was the Maier of Davis. Doesn't sound like he's very worried either.

Oh man, we used to have the look-alikes threads going. Too late for this game, maybe we'll hit up the Lehigh, Poly and Sac games.

Despite Cal’s elite defense, this is probably as good a chance as we’ll ever have to beat them. Maybe our best team ever? imo it will come down to preventing their defense from scoring which means our O-line needs to make sure Maier has time. Unfortunately I have us losing this one but we have a shot for sure. 23-13 Cal

Actually its mostly you that Cal fans are a bit puzzled with. Going over to an opponent's site, acting like you're a Cal fan and badmouthing your own team on the Cal boards makes zero sense.

Maybe you can explain it. Because from an outsider's view, its neither particularly amusing nor funny (especially once you get caught - and you keep doing it). And I fail to see how its productive for anyone, especially for yourself. It just makes UCD fans look psychotic. if that's what you're going for, you win!!!

Trust me, Cal fans can take a bit of teasing. We've seen much much worse. But at least other fans have been funny. Your act (or whatever it is you're doing) its not funny. Unless your goal was to have people laugh at you and not with you.

It's a big environment, first game, mistakes are going to happen on both sides. I hope the game is clean, I hope the Aggies show well.

I want to see how this year's defense is going to shape up.

If the spread is now 13, that makes more sense. I would love to see the Aggies pull an upset, but the Cal defense is likely to be among the top 10 nationally. Still, I think UC Davis will cover the spread because Cal's offense is so weak. It should be a low scoring game. The Ags strong offense will have trouble scoring on the Bears, but the Ags defense could hold the Bears offense down. Over/under should be around 20.

Typical Berkeley fans...coming on our site to complain they've been picked on. What was it Dan Hawkins said? THIS AIN'T INTRAMURALS!

Well written article from the Bear Insider by David Bush:

“Based on history Cal’s season opener Saturday against UC Davis looks like an easy one for the Bears. But it might not be such a walkover.”

“I think they do as good a job as anybody of getting the balls to their playmakers in space in different ways,” DeRuyter said. “Their backs run hard, they can catch the football out of the backfield. They’re threats, unlike most teams we are going to see because they do so many different things.”


https://bearinsider.com/s/1593/davis-preview-aggies-qb-could-present-some-problems

CK. Really looking forward to the SDSU - Minnesota game tonight. If the jacks still had Christien I would take them, as he was a real playmaker Frosh first game QB makes it very tough I think.

Excellent article about the game.

Like so many others, mine is a mixed marriage. Me Davis; she Berkeley. She says she never went to a football game while she was at Berkeley, but she did date some Cal athletes and will sometimes needle me about the one that became very big in tech and is now a well known bazillionaire. But when we lived in the Sac area she would graciously attend UC Davis games with me and was a stout fan of the Aggies. She says she really doesn’t care who wins this game, but I think she secretly would enjoy an Aggie win. No disrespect for Cal; It’s the underdog thing I think. Both Davis and Berkeley are first class universities with first class football teams. No one will deny that.