Aggie football ranked 6th in FCS preseason poll; Montana State No. 1
Powerful Big Sky Conference has four teams in the Top 25.
Continuing its recent run as one of the most respected Football Championship Subdivision programs in the country, UC Davis has been ranked No. 6 in the STATS Perform preseason poll.
The Aggies are coming off two straight FCS playoff appearances, reaching the quarterfinal round both times.
With the Big Sky Conference going to nine league games this fall instead of the customary eight, UCD will face Big Sky action in its season opener August 29 at Portland State.
“Conference games are always important whenever you play them,” said third-year Aggie head coach Tim Plough, who noted he is an enthusiastic supporter of the nine-game league schedule.
“In terms of preparation, we won’t do things much differently, but there is certainly added emphasis on this game.”
In previous Big Sky years, the Aggies would open with three or four nonconference games, then go nonstop into the league schedule to finish out the season.
The early start was necessitated when Sacramento State pulled out of the Big Sky at the end of the 2025 season to move up to the MAC in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
That move also cancelled the long-running UCD-Sac State Causeway Classic that had been contested every season since the first showdown in 1954. (A 14-0 Aggie win, by the way.)
To replace the Hornets, who had become one of several Big Sky powers in recent years, the conference added Southern Utah and Utah Tech to push league membership to 13 schools.
The Big Sky is regularly one of the strongest FCS leagues in the country, recent evidence being reigning national champion Montana State, which tops the preseason poll with all 57 first-place votes.
Montana State claimed the championship at the end of a 14-game winning streak with a dramatic 35-34 overtime win over Illinois State in the FCS championship game.
“So how do we get motivated from success?” asked MSU head coach Brent Vigen. “It’s recognizing that it’s not just about the end result. It’s how did we get there, and really being able to lean into last year or any previous years. It’s really about this is a new team going back to square one.”
New or not, the Bobcats remain as the odds-on favorite to claim a second consecutive national title.
Fellow conference member Montana, which comes to Davis for a huge Big Sky showdown September 26, is listed No. 2 in the poll.
Big Sky member Northern Arizona is No. 25, with Idaho State No. 26 and Southern Utah No. 32.
The always powerful Missouri Valley Football Conference checks in with six schools in the top 25, led by No. 3 South Dakota State.
Missing from the poll for the first time in many years is North Dakota State, the gold standard of the FCS with multiple national championships, which also moved up to the FBS this year by joining the Mountain West.
UCD has also joined the Mountain West for the majority of its sports, but not football.
Illinois State (4), Tarleton State (5), Rhode Island (7), Villanova (8), Youngstown State (9) and North Dakota (10) round out the top 10.
The 2026 Aggies appear to be loaded on both sides of the ball, featuring All-Conference and All-American nominees in all phases of the game.
Leading the way on offense is Walter Payton Preseason Watch List senior Samuel Gbatu Jr., the 2025 Big Sky leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He will challenge UCD’s long history of great receivers in the school record book before all is said and done.
Defensively, the Conners brothers, Rex and Porter, have returned after seeing their 2025 seasons cut short due to injury, then being awarded another year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Both Conners brothers have been named STATS Perform and FCS Football Preseason All-Americans, while Rex has been named to the Buck Buchanan Preseason Award Watch List for the third straight year after setting the program record for career tackles last season.
Other notable starters include center Zaire Collier, running back Jordan Fisher, defensive linemen Trent Carrade and Rayne Mayo Jr., and sophomore defensive back Drew Cofield.
After Portland State, UCD will play the three non-conference games on its schedule at the University of San Diego September 5, SMU September 12 and the home opener against Stetson September 19.