A student-oriented preview of the September 27th matchup between the Eastern Washington Eagles and our own UC Davis Aggies.
Who we’re playing:
The Ags are up against the Eastern Washington Eagles, a DI school in our conference. This is the first game we’ve played against a team that is in our division (I), in our subdivision (FCS), and in our conference (Big Sky). EWU is 3-1; the Ags are 1-2.
When and where:
Saturday, September 27, at 6:00 PM at Aggie Stadium.
Why should I go to this game?
Eastern Washington is one of the best FCS programs in the nation, and maybe the best opponent we will ever see in Aggie Stadium. Their star quarterback, Vernon Adams, is likewise possibly the best player to have ever visited Davis. In fact, according the the Cats-Griz Insider position rankings, this game is a meeting of the best skill players in the Big Sky Conference — they ranked Eastern Washington’s Vernon Adams and Cooper Kupp as the conference’s best quarterback and receiver, respectively, UCD’s Gabe Manzanares as the best running back, and Eastern Washington’s Quincy Forte and the runner-up back.
Are we likely to win?
It isn’t statistically likely that we’ll win, but Eastern Washington may not be able to crush us the way Stanford and Colorado State did. The Eagles score a lot — it wouldn’t be unrealistic to call them one of the nation’s best offenses, especially at our level — but they also give up a lot of points too. (Two different opponents scored over 50 points each on them.) It’s in the range where a few EWU mistakes, home field advantage, and a very good performance on our part could result in an upset.
How do I get tickets?
If you’re a student you will get in free just by swiping your Aggiecard. That will get you either a seat in the grassy endzone or in the east-side student section.
Aggie Pack giveaways:
Tandem is handing out shirts commemorating the 20th anniversary of Aggie Pack to some number of students. (This shirt will be available at the Aggie Pack rally next week.) From promotional photos the shirt looks to be dark blue with a galloping mustang logo on it. Shirts are usually handed out right as one enters the stadium.
The normal tube socks, coupons, and pizza will likely be present at gametime as well.
Intersting stuff before or at the game:
Tailgating starts a few hours before the game in the lot by the main gate. This week’s theme is Brewfest, where you get a lot of beer samples and a meal for $35 before the game. There is also apparently a salute to our outstanding veterinary school.
How early should I arrive?
This game is on move-in weekend and may see a fair amount of freshman and parent crowds. Arrive at 5:30 to get a good student seat; come even earlier if you’d like to sit in the front row and guarantee yourself a shirt. Give yourself two hours before gametime for Brewfest at least.
What if I can’t make the game?
The UC Davis radio call will be streamed online. The Ags have also set up a live stats page, and Big Sky TV will provide a supposedly free video stream.
Social Media links:
Aggie Sports Talk Football Forum
Big Sky Conference Football War Zone
Official Facebook Event
Hashtags for this game:
#GoAgs
#AggieFootballSaturday
#BigSkyFB