No. 8 UC Davis Football Eyes Home NCAA FCS Quarterfinal Match Up Against Illinois State

For the second-straight season, No. 8 UC Davis football (9-3) has advanced to the NCAA Football Championships Subdivision Playoff Quarterfinal.

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Dec 9, 2025, 6:44 AM

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For the second-straight season, No. 8 UC Davis football (9-3) has advanced to the NCAA Football Championships Subdivision Playoff Quarterfinal, but for the first time since 2001, a playoff quarterfinal will be played in Davis when Illinois State (10-4) makes its second-straight postseason trip to UC Davis Health Stadium on Dec. 13.

Fans can get tickets to the game by hitting the link, by calling the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or by emailing the Aggie Ticket Office at aggietickets@ucdavis.edu.

😤

Aggies host the @NCAA_FCS Playoff Quarterfinals and we need 🫵 to bring the energy and fill SHREDVILLE!!

Get your tickets by hitting the link below!!

🎟️ – https://t.co/Uw9bzROhrP #GoAgs | #Shredville pic.twitter.com/atXGV9oSJp

— UC Davis Football (@UCDfootball) December 8, 2025

More on UC Davis football

It’s the first time since 2001-02 that the UC Davis football team has reached the playoff quarterfinals and the first time hosting since 2001. It’s also the 17th time the Aggies have reached the quarterfinals in their postseason history.

The Aggies reached the quarterfinals after knocking off No. 9 Rhode Island on ESPN2, 47-26, in the second-round matchup played at UC Davis Health Stadium.

During the game, Caden Pinnick, an FCS Football Central Freshman All-American, threw for five touchdown passes becoming only the second Aggie in program history to achieve that in a playoff game, while both Jordan Fisher (running back) and Samuel Gbatu Jr., (wide receiver) went over 100 yards, each breaking 1,000 yards on the season in both rushing and receiving.

As for Illinois State, they come in having pulled off one of the bigger upsets in FCS history, knocking off No. 1 North Dakota State in the Fargodome 29-28 in an exciting game that will go down in the history books. And despite throwing five interceptions, the Redbirds scored late to pull off the upset.

It’s the second-straight season that Illinois State and UC Davis will meet in the playoffs, with the Aggies and Redbirds matching up during last year’s second round. In that game, also played in Davis, the Aggies dominated from start to finish coming away with a 42-10 victory to advance into the 2024 quarterfinals.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley, and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.