From the Davis Enterprise:

“For us to find ways to win these kind of games is great,” Hawkins told the Enterprise. “If you’re going to be a great team, you have to find a way to win close games. Anytime you go on the road and win, it’s big. Anytime you beat an FBS team, it’s big. This is just another steppingstone for the Ags. We have a bunch of guys who really believe in themselves.”

Tulsa had one final chance to get the ball back, as the Aggies faced a third-and-4 at their own 49 with 2:03 left and Tulsa out of timeouts.

Always the riverboat gambler, Hawkins called for a pass play that would have stopped the clock if incomplete, but Rodriguez was on target for an 8-yard gain to Gilliam and the Aggies took two snaps in the victory formation to secure the win.

“Sometimes you just need to put the ball in your own hands and trust your guys to make plays,” Hawkins said. “You can get too conservative in situations like that and give the other team a chance to win. Hunter had a heck of a game and we knew if nothing was open he would eat the ball and stay in bounds. We really trust him to make the plays.”

Full article here: https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/aggies-take-down-hurricanes/

My buddy and I had a great night in Tulsa. Took us forever to get there from Oakland, stuck on a hot, delayed airplane connecting at Dallas; thought we might be late. Aggies made it all worth it.

We sat surrounded by Tulsa fans. They were all pretty nice, but we were nice too. They didn't mind us getting hyped up about our team and we complimented theirs. We promised we wouldn't cuss (too much) or make fun of their teams' players or parents. Just the refs . Anyway, they were surprised/impressed we made the trip and gave us nice advice about where to hang out afterwards.

Way to represent!

Congratulations Aggies!

The Cal-Davis monikers are still out there of course:

Draft Kings Nation Covers Aggie Upset Over Tulsa

Hard to imagine Sam Houston (institute of technology) would fall from no. 1 after their beat down of Northern Arizona. I will say that preseason polls come directly from the Institute of Little to No Research.

On another note it looked to me toward the end of the game as though the Tulsa players were more affected by the heat and humidity than were the Aggies. Their big DL guys were really blowing air towards the end. TV guys said so too. Aggies looked fitter if not nearly as big as Tulsa. A 375 lb guy just will not do well towards the end of a football game when its 90/90 temp and humidity. Kudos to the Aggie conditioning coach!

Now I feel like a fair weather fan for not signing up on ESPN+ to watch the game. Seems like I missed out on a historical victory. As a matter of principle, I've refused to pay for my sports viewing but if ESPN+ is the only way I can get to see the Ags play, then so be it, I'll pay. I hope they'll carry other UCD sports as well.

I was swapping texts with Sam Young, and he mentioned we were the better conditioned team. Considering they can suit up more players, its even more impressive that we wore THEM down!

Yes, Sam would know this. Tulsa was a very big and athletic team. They have to have one of the biggest offensive lines in the county. Well over 310 tackle to tackle. But size is sometimes just not enough if you play a very mobile opponent like the Aggies clearly are. HR looks quicker than he was last year.

Yeah it was a tongue in cheek statement that maybe just didn't convey in a text format. I do not think that the Aggies are the #1 team in the country by any means, just a funny observation after a partial week 1.

We were without a couple of defensive linemen, one an all big sky second team player Luka Nixon And Princeton Toki wasn’t on the travel roster. Toki played some this spring and while he didn’t generate many stats he’s a load.

IF we take care of business with San Diego, we could have a full house vs Dixie State ... AND create a wonderful first impression for 2 years worth of new students and transfers.

….but the Ags should be clearly ranked in top 10 after week 1. Those pre-season polls are a joke. They just throw in Montana schools automatically in top 20 and they didn’t even play in spring. Good to move up early in season. Much harder to work way up in polls then “work” your way down the latter being much harder for those “name” teams with a reputation that may not be deserved in the current year. They seem to need multiple losses to drop much. In the big sky, if you are not a Montana school, Weber or EWU, voters will drop you like a rock with a loss or two

Oh I absolutely agree with you in that regard. I think Montana is the largest example of preferential treatment when it comes to the polls, but Montana State and Eastern Washington also come to mind. It's much easier to make large jumps in the polls early on in the season so I wouldn't be surprised to see Davis in the top 10 after week 1 is complete, but depends on what some other teams do on Saturday.

It takes a few years of success to make a name for yourself. These early season polls are just name recognition. We need to beat some ranked FCS teams to give us credibility in the FCS polls.
Can’t keep losing to Eastern and Weber. Especially this year where they beat us just a few months ago, there is an expectation we’re not as good.

one thing that is quite noticeable about HR - especially compared to his predecessor - he is very mobile and quick. That adds another dimension. I am not saying he is another or better than Jake Maier - but he definitely has escapability and the ability to make a quick run

I like his accuracy and his ability throw on the run and improvise. His ball has a nice tight, spiral just like Jake had too. He's pretty slender so I'm glad he didn't get crushed often by those big Tulsa D linemen and LB's. Our O line did a nice job against Tulsa's size and protecting Hunter.

Yep. And the ESPN announcers made the same observation. He certainly has a motor and can maneuver away from the rushing linemen.
BTW, when Thompkins was in, he threw a nice strike to the receiver, but a good defensive play batted it away. He was not as effective scrambling against Tulsa. My guess is that was the best D we will see all season.

I wonder if Rodrigues lost the ten pound difference in his weight since the spring. He is 170 now. That’s how it appears, but they don’t update weight every season.

All of guys looks tighter and ripped. HR, LL,UG especially. Moms do tend to like that in their boys. Eat right or go to bed!

Several years back at the golf tournament, I was sitting near Gould and one of our more influential donors. Donor said ‘Ron, it seems like their QB is always better than ours’

I think that’s no longer the case. Jake and, it appears, HR can win games. He was so much better than the Tulsa QB last night .

Yep, I think more of our players lost weight than gained it. A lot of these guys look like they’re 5% body fat.

I don’t think any of the Tulsa fans would dispute that.

The old adage that recruiting is half the battle. Buchanan came up huge, RedFrosh. I don't think QBs were attracted to a plodding, predictable offense. So bad.

"Tulsa loses to Cal. Cal Davis."

https://twitter.com/SacBee_JoeD/status/1433662275353595905?s=20

Kevin Blue, Ph.D.@kevinablue

Yo, nice win guys! Congrats
@CoachHawkinsUCD and team!

Ags fans: remember that this was the replacement game for USC. So in the end, we got paid twice and end up with an FBS road win!

Love it! (HR mustache link.)

https://twitter.com/Rphillipstexas/status/1433623685462646790?s=20

Sac Bee, Joe Davidson

UC Davis football team stuns Tulsa. Were the Aggies really huge underdogs?

UCD - Tulsa Highlights

https://youtu.be/JOoBt8ayZDg

Tulsa had one final chance to get the ball back, as the Aggies faced a third-and-4 at their own 49 with 2:03 left and Tulsa out of timeouts.

Always the riverboat gambler, Hawkins called for a pass play that would have stopped the clock if incomplete, but Rodriguez was on target for an 8-yard gain to Gilliam and the Aggies took two snaps in the victory formation to secure the win.

Boy I love this mentality. Lot of coaches would play it safe, run the ball, burn 40 seconds and punt to pin them deep. But you’ve got 3rd and short with a QB who has completed 80% of his passes on the day. Go for the win. More likely to pick up the 1st down and there for more likely to pick up the win. Obviously you tell your QB not to force anything because the worst case scenario should be an incomplete pass.

Lift up your voices, now’s the time to sing
This is the day the Victory Bell will ring
Loyal Aggies, all for one
Never stopping, ’till we’ve won
Because the Mustang will show our team the way to fight,
Charging the enemy with all his might
Let’s go, Let’s win, today’s the day
The Aggies will Fight, Fight, Fight!