Aggie News

Update 08/11/06

COACHES, MEDIA PICK UC DAVIS TO FINISH SECOND IN GWFC RACE

DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis, which captured a share of the Great West Football Conference last season, is picked to finish second in the race for this year's championship, according to polls of both the league's head coaches and media released on Friday.

Both the coaches and media agree on a predicted order of finish for the five-team conference. Four of the five head coaches picked defending co-champion Cal Poly to finish first in this year's race with UC Davis tabbed to place second. North Dakota State earned the remaining first-place vote from the coaches and was third in the preseason poll, followed by South Dakota State and Southern Utah.

The media poll has the same order of finish for the five league teams with 16 voters handing the Mustangs - who advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinals last year - a first-place vote. The Aggies earned the remaining two first-place votes.

Cal Poly totaled 23 total points from the coaches, five ahead of the Aggies and six in front of North Dakota State. The Mustangs tallied 87 points in the media poll with UC Davis (65) and North Dakota State (63) in a close race for second.

UC Davis finished 6-5 last season for its 36th consecutive winning season, highlighting its year with wins over Stanford and ranked opponents Cal Poly and North Dakota State. The Aggies finished 4-1 in conference play.

UC Davis, which played as an independent from 1994-2003, has finished in first place 23 of its past 25 seasons of conference affiliation since 1971, finishing second the only other two times (1991, 2004).

The Aggies are preseason ranked No. 21 by The Sports Network, also earning top 25 rankings from both Street & Smith's (No. 15) and AnyGivenSaturday.com (No. 20).

UC Davis opened practice for the upcoming fall season on Thursday, preparing for its season-opener on Sept. 2 at Northern Colorado. The Aggies, who are also in their final year of reclassification to Division I, will have their home-opener on Oct. 14 against Central Arkansas.

GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLLS
Head Coaches
1. Cal Poly (4), 23 pts.
2. UC DAVIS, 18 pts.
3. North Dakota State (1), 17 pts.
4. South Dakota State, 11 pts.
5. Southern Utah, 6 pts.

Media
1. Cal Poly (16), 87 pts
2. UC DAVIS (2), 65 pts
3. North Dakota State 63 pts
4. South Dakota State 37 pts
5. Southern Utah, 18 pts

Information courtesy UC Davis ICA/Media Relations