UC Davis receives a surprise No. 8 seed in the FCS playoffs

Aggies have a first-round bye before taking on the Rhode Island-Central Connecticut winner at home Dec. 6

The UC Davis football team, fresh off a come-from-behind 31-27 win over Sacramento State on Saturday, received a shock of the good kind when the FCS playoff seedings were announced Sunday morning on ESPNU.

The Aggies had expected to not be seeded in the top eight, a ranking that provides a team with a first-round bye and a home game in the second round.

But much to the surprise of Aggie players, coaches and fans who packed the ARC Ballroom Sunday morning to watch the FCS selection show live, when the No. 8 seed was revealed, it was none other than UC Davis.

That revelation led to sustained cheering, laughing, back-slapping, high-fiving and general disbelief in the overflow crowd.

The FCS Selection Committee ranks the top 16 teams in the 24-team field, with the top eight receiving first-round byes and the next eight hosting home games in the opening round.

The Aggies, thus, will have two weeks to prepare for their first opponent on Saturday, Dec. 6 in a noon game at UC Davis Health Stadium.

“This is a tribute to our team and to the respect that the Big Sky Conference commands,” said Aggie head coach Tim Plough.

Tim Plough

That Dec. 6 opponent will be either Rhode Island or Central Connecticut State.

No. 9 Rhode Island, 10-2, won the Coastal Athletic Conference championship, while Central Connecticut State, 8-4, is the champion of the Northeast Conference.

Rhode Island is an early favorite in that first-round game.

Defending champion North Dakota State, 12-0, is No. 1, followed by Big Sky Champion Montana State, 10-2, and Big Sky runnerup Montana, 11-1.

Montana State went on the road Saturday to defeat Montana, 31-28, to claim the title.

The Aggies finished 8-3 overall and third in the Big Sky at 6-2.

UCD’s first game against Mercer was halted by lightning with the Aggies leading 23-17 with 7:46 remaining in the fourth quarter and was declared a “no contest.”

But the fact that Mercer went on to a 9-2 mark, won the Southern Conference title and is the No. 6 seed, likely figured in the committee’s evaluation of where UC Davis should be seeded.

If the Aggies prevail in their first game, they will almost certainly be headed to Fargo to take on the defending champion Bison either Dec. 12 or 13.

That matchup, of course, depends on the Bison winning their first game as well against the winner of this Saturday’s game between No. 13 Southeastern Louisiana and Illinois State.

NDSU will no doubt be heavily favored in its first game.

“Who would you rather play than the No. 1 seed?,” Plough asked.

“It would be a great challenge to go to the home of the defending champions, but a great opportunity too.”

Plough was especially happy to have a week off to prepare for the playoffs.

“Any time you can get a bye week at this time of year when you’re pretty banged up is a good thing,” said the Aggie coach.

“I’m especially happy that our guys will now get to go home for Thanksgiving, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. We’ll practice through Wednesday this week and then they can go home and we won’t practice again until Sunday.”

Other top seeds include No. 4 Tarleton State, 11-1, No. 5 Lehigh, 12-0, No. 6 Mercer, 9-2, and No. 7 Stephen F. Austin, 10-2.

The championship game will be played Jan. 5 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com