The celebrations get underway with a pair of events sponsored by the Cal Aggie Alumni Association leading up to Saturday's football game. The first is "Aggie Night" at J.J. Pfister Distillery in Sacramento (9819 Business Park Dr., Ste. #3, Sacramento, Calif., 95827) on Thursday (Nov. 18) from 5:30-7:30 p.m., featuring Causeway Classic related trivia, prizes, and raffle items, as well as a 20 percent discount on food and drinks with your CAAA membership card.
On Friday (Nov. 19), Aggie fans can enjoy a pregame celebration at Sudwerk Brewing Co. in Davis (2001 2nd St., Davis, Calif., 95618). Attendees will receive 15 percent off food and drinks, with light appetizers provided courtesy the CAAA.
Thursday's event at J.J. Pfister Distillery is free to attend, while a ticket to the event at Sudwerk is $5 per person. Fans can register for either, or both events, at alumni.ucdavis.edu.
Attention then turns to the field at UC Davis Health Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the 67th annual meeting between the Aggies and the Hornets as the two programs battle for playoff positioning in the regular season finale.
Prior to kickoff, current UC Davis seniors are invited to run the field as part of the inaugural "Senior Sprint" at 12:45 p.m., followed by "Senior Day" ceremonies honoring the departing Aggie senior class at 12:50 p.m. After the first quarter, be sure and stay in your seats as all-time UC Davis great Rolf Benirschke will have his name added to the "Aggie Pride Wall" alongside Ken O'Brien and Bo Eason.
The Hornets have become a force under third-year head coach Troy Taylor, who was named to the position in December of 2018 but is only in his second full season due to the cancellation of the 2020 campaign.
In his first season in 2019, Taylor led CSUS to a 7-1 record and a share of the Big Sky title and was named as the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year, an honor UCD head coach Dan Hawkins earned in 2018.
Overall, Taylor is now 14-1 against Big Sky competition in a league many rank as the toughest in the nation. He is also 1-0 against UC Davis.
The Aggies are coming off a difficult 38-20 loss to Eastern Washington in a game they led 17-14 early in the second half before being outscored 24-3 the rest of the way.
“We battled and played well for a long time, but they had too much at the end,” Hawkins noted. “That loss hurt because our guys care so much, but they put UC Davis in the ring and it’s good to be in the ring. It’s been a long battle this season and it feels like we’ve been playing non-stop football for two years.”
AGGIES over SACRAMENTO STATE … both teams appear playoff bound, but the Hornets have a shot at the Big Sky championship at stake as well. The Aggies, meanwhile, would hate to end the regular season with two straight losses, no matter the opponent. Take the Ags by 4, but pay the rent first.
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