American college football season
The 2021 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The season Led by fifth-year head coach Dan Hawkins, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Big Sky. UC Davis received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff, where they lost to South Dakota State in the first round. The Aggies played home games at UC Davis Health Stadium in Davis, California.
Preseason
Polls
On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Aggies were predicted to finish sixth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.[1]
Coaches poll
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
1
|
Weber State
|
(7)
|
2
|
Montana
|
(3)
|
3
|
Eastern Washington
|
(2)
|
4
|
Montana State
|
(1)
|
5
|
Sacramento State
|
(1)
|
6
|
UC Davis
|
|
7
|
Northern Arizona
|
|
8
|
Idaho
|
|
9
|
Idaho State
|
|
10
|
Portland State
|
|
11
|
Southern Utah
|
|
12
|
Cal Poly
|
|
13
|
Northern Colorado
|
|
Media poll
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
1
|
Weber State
|
(14)
|
2
|
Montana
|
(4)
|
3
|
Eastern Washington'
|
(3)
|
4
|
Montana State
|
(3)
|
5
|
Sacramento State
|
|
6
|
UC Davis
|
|
7
|
Northern Arizona
|
|
8
|
Idaho
|
|
9
|
Idaho State
|
|
10
|
Portland State
|
|
11
|
Southern Utah
|
|
12
|
Northern Colorado
|
|
13
|
Cal Poly
|
|
Preseason All–Big Sky team
The Aggies had three players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.[2]
Offense
Connor Pettek – C
|
Defense
Bryce Rodgers – DT
|
Special teams
Daniel Whelan – K
|
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
| 4:30 p.m. | at Tulsa* | No. 23 | | ESPN+ | W 19–17 | 15,085 |
September 11 | 1:00 p.m. | at San Diego* | No. 14 | | | W 53–7 | 1,712 |
September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Dixie State* | No. 14 | | ESPN+ | W 60–27 | 9,865 |
September 25 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 14 Weber State | No. 12 | | ESPN+ | W 17–14 | 6,802 |
October 2 | 7:00 p.m. | Idaho | No. 8 | - UC Davis Health Stadium
- Davis, CA
| ESPN+ | W 27–20 | 11,622 |
October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | No. 7 | | ESPN+ | L 17–27 | 5,206 |
October 16 | 5:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 13 | - UC Davis Health Stadium
- Davis, CA
| ESPN+ | W 32–3 | 10,963 |
October 23 | 5:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | No. 10 | | ESPN+ | W 24–13 | 9,573 |
November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 8 | | ESPN+ | W 40–24 | 6,088 |
November 13 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 Eastern Washington | No. 6 | - UC Davis Health Stadium
- Davis, CA
| ESPN+ | L 20–38 | 7,344 |
November 20 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 11 Sacramento State | No. 10 | | ESPN+ | L 7–27 | 12,315 |
November 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 11 South Dakota State* | No. 14 | | ESPN+ | L 24–56 | 3,681 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Pacific time
|
[3][4]
Game summaries
At Tulsa
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 23 Aggies
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
6 |
19 |
Golden Hurricane
|
3
|
7
|
7
|
0 |
17 |
At San Diego
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 14 Aggies
|
16
|
6
|
14
|
17 |
53 |
Toreros
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
0 |
7 |
Dixie State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Trailblazers
|
7
|
6
|
14
|
0 |
27 |
No. 14 Aggies
|
15
|
21
|
3
|
21 |
60 |
At No. 14 Weber State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 12 Aggies
|
0
|
7
|
3
|
7 |
17 |
No. 14 Wildcats
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
0 |
14 |
Idaho
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Vandals
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
0 |
20 |
No. 8 Aggies
|
3
|
10
|
0
|
14 |
27 |
At Idaho State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 7 Aggies
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
14 |
17 |
Bengals
|
14
|
10
|
0
|
3 |
27 |
Northern Colorado
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Bears
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3 |
3 |
No. 13 Aggies
|
0
|
11
|
7
|
14 |
32 |
At Cal Poly
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 10 Aggies
|
0
|
10
|
14
|
0 |
24 |
Mustangs
|
0
|
7
|
6
|
0 |
13 |
At Northern Arizona
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 8 Aggies
|
8
|
12
|
17
|
3 |
40 |
Lumberjacks
|
14
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
24 |
No. 7 Eastern Washington
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 7 Eagles
|
0
|
14
|
10
|
14 |
38 |
No. 6 Aggies
|
7
|
3
|
7
|
3 |
20 |
No. 11 Sacramento State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 11 Hornets
|
7
|
17
|
3
|
0 |
27 |
No. 10 Aggies
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
7 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
---|
STATS | 23 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 17 |
---|
Coaches | 21 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 16 |
---|
References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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