UC Davis Football ranked #18 In Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top-25 Poll

UC Davis football is receiving plenty of attention in the preseason FCS top-25 poll. Are you ready for some Aggies football?

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Aug 6, 2024, 10:21 AM

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UC Davis football goes through drills at practice as they prepare for the regular season opener....

(Image courtesy of UC Davis)

With Aug. 31 and the 2024 season opener rapidly approaching, UC Davis football has earned a top 20 national preseason ranking coming in at No. 18 in the country in the 2024 Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25.

The Aggies, who open 2024 at Cal, finished the year at No. 24 in the final 2023 Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. Earlier in the preseason HERO Sports ranked the Aggies at No. 21 in their FCS Preseason Poll, putting the Aggies in the top 25 in a pair of national polls.

Under first year head coach and former Aggie Tim Plough, UC Davis returns a strong squad that went 7-4 (5-3 Big Sky) in 2023, barely missing out on the NCAA National Championship Playoffs as one of the final teams on the outside looking in. Across the board the Aggies have experience, returning 11 starters on offense and right starters on defense.

#1️⃣8️⃣

Taking 𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘌 😤

🗞️ – https://t.co/NL1vJVhnES #GoAgs | #Shredville | #UCDNA pic.twitter.com/58CAeDmbSf

— UC Davis Football (@UCDfootball) August 6, 2024

Highlighting those returners is multi-preseason All-Americans Lan Larison (senior; running back), Rex Connors (junior; defensive back) and Zach Kennedy (senior; defensive line). Larison (Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year) and Connors have also been named to both the Walter Payton Preseason Watch List (offensive) and the Buck Buchanan Preseason Watch List (defensive) to go along with preseason Big Sky All-Conference honors. Hunter Ridley (junior; kicker) and Kennedy also join Connors and Larison with preseason Big Sky All-Conference honors.

UC Davis is one of six Big Sky schools to land inside the preseason top 25, sitting behind only the Missouri Valley Conference’s seven members. Montana and Montana State come in at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, with Montana State receiving a first-place vote. Idaho and Sacramento State sit at No. 7 and No. 8 while Weber State rounds out the Big Sky’s representation in the poll at No. 22.

This story was originally posted by UC Davis Athletics.