Zaire Collier gave thanks Thursday for being 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds. The UC Davis center puts away a fair amount of food every day, so eating his way through a holiday was rather easy. His idea of having seconds was enjoying a meal with his parents and then a second with his grandparents.
The drive from his parents’ house in Granite Bay to the grandparents’ home in Valley Springs took 90 minutes. That was enough time for Collier to recover from one stuffing and prepare for another. His grandfather’s mashed potatoes are Collier’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish and worth the burp.
Football was likely a topic of conversation at both meals. Collier does not mind one bit even when he has a break from snapping the ball and blocking. “I value time with my family,” he said. “I always feel better about how I played after talking to my folks. They knew me better than I do sometimes.”
Collier spent Thursday night in Valley Springs, a foothill city nine miles west of San Andreas, and returned to Davis on Friday. A first-round bye in the FCS playoffs allowed UC Davis head Tom Plough to give his players a three-day break. Preparations for the Dec. 6 playoff game will begin in earnest on Sunday.
UC Davis earned the bye as the No. 8 seed in the 24-team playoff bracket. The Aggies will host the winner of Saturday’s game between Rhode Island and Central Connecticut State at noon Dec. 6. A win would send UC Davis into the quarterfinals to likely go against No. 1 seed North Dakota State.
This is the Aggies’ fourth postseason appearance since 2018 and the third time they have earned a bye, which comes with a home game in the second round. UC Davis won the first two, including a 42-10 victory over Illinois State last year, but a win in the quarterfinals remains an elusive objective.
For UC Davis to be in the playoffs is quite an accomplishment given all the injuries the Aggies have had to endure this season. Few teams could have been 6-2 in the Big Sky Conference and be 8-3 overall after losing four starters, including All-American safety Rex Connors, and two key backups.
And for a team that finished third in the Big Sky to get a bye is a testament to the national respect the Aggies have earned. Having 10 players earn All-Big Sky honors speaks to the depth of talent at UC Davis. Collier was one of the 10 by being selected to the second team as an offensive lineman.
Collier became the starting center as a redshirt freshman in 2024, when UC Davis set a school record with 11 wins and finished second in the Big Sky. Montana State won the title with a 30-28 win in Davis. The Bobcats denied the Aggies again this season with a 38-17 win in Bozeman.
UC Davis would have shared the Big Sky crown by beating Montana State on Nov. 15 and having Montana State beat Montana last Saturday. The Aggies would have made the last two weeks of the regular season far more intriguing if they had beaten Idaho State on Nov. 1 instead of falling 38-36.
Idaho State had been 0-4 in Davis and 1-7 overall against UC Davis. The Bengals upset the sixth-ranked Aggies by returning a blocked punt for a touchdown and allowing two field goals with UC Davis inside the 10 both times. Idaho State’s Dason Brooks ran for 219 yards after averaging 77.7 per game.
UC lost despite a season-high 567 yards. “Obviously it wasn’t one of our better showings,” Collier said, “We never panicked. It was more of a challenge for us. It’s a credit to our staff – our strength coach, trainers, everyone involved. We never flinched. Everything we want was still in front of us.”
Collier believes anything is possible in the playoffs and taking UC Davis lightly would be a big mistake. The Aggies have had to put their entire roster to use after all the injuries and backups are now playing key roles. “The beauty of our team this year is it’s not one guy,” Collier said. “It’s a collective.”
