Tim Plough has demanded a great deal of his players in his first season as head coach at UC Davis and the Aggies have responded. UC Davis will host Montana State on Saturday in a showdown for the Big Sky Conference championship. With so much on the line, Plough is demanding even more.
Plough did not mince words in his press conference Monday when asked what his players deserve from students, alumni and fans. He wants UC Davis Health Stadium to be packed with fans willing to put forth as much effort in cheering for the Aggies as his players have in compiling a 9-1 record.
And in “full transparency,” Plough revealed some of his players are not counting on such a show of support. “I hope they are pleasantly surprised,” said Plough, a former Aggies quarterback who had two stints as an assistant coach at his alma mater before returning last December to take the helm.
“I would just hope the community, the students and alumni recognize that this team is special and they deserve support,” Plough added. “They deserve that effort from the students and community to fill the stadium and give them an atmosphere that would be worthy of a championship game.”
Plough was the offensive coordinator at UC Davis in 2018 when the Aggies shared the Big Sky title with Weber State and Eastern Washington. Quite a few folks did not think UC Davis was worthy of any piece of the title because the Aggies did not play Weber Sate and lost to Eastern Washington.
No such poppycock will be heard this year because the title will be decided on the field. UC Davis has beaten two of three teams tied for third place, Montana and Idaho. Montana State also beat Idaho and will play Montana next week. Neither the Aggies nor Bobcats will play Northern Arizona.
“I like the fact we got to play everybody,” Plough said. “I’d be lying if I said I expected us to be 9-1. I didn’t think we were going to be here, but since we are let’s take advantage of it. To have a game like this in Davis with so much on the line is pretty cool. These opportunities don’t come too often.”
This opportunity was made possible by UC Davis beating Montana for just the second time in 11 meetings. The Aggies traveled to Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the first time since 2018, when they stunned 24,141 fans with a 49-21 victory. Last Saturday’s 30-14 victory was in front of 26,012.
All those folks took great pleasure at screaming at the top of their lungs whenever UC Davis had the ball in the first half. All that racket led to the Aggies being penalized four times for false starts and once for delay of the game. Three of the penalties were costly for the Aggies in the second quarter.
Second-and-10 at Montana’s 13-yard line turned into fourth-and 22 at the 25. The Aggies did not come away empty-handed because Hunter Ridley kicked a 42-yard field goal to break a 7-all tie. The junior followed with a 41-yarder on the final play of the first half to make it 13-7 at intermission.
Montana State took the lead in the third quarter, but UC Davis responded by going 75 yards to pull ahead for good when Miles Hastings tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ian Simpson. The Aggies scored again on their ensuing possession to make all those fans sit down and be silent.
“No one gave us a chance to win that game,” Plough said. “(The players) just continue to find a way to do it. The guys have been through a lot. They have the resiliency and poise that good teams have. That’s why I want to be here and be a part of wins like that. It was a cool moment.”
