# 2021 UC Davis Aggies football team

The 2021 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The season Led by fifth-year head coach Dan Hawkins, the Aggies compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Big Sky. UC Davis received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff, where they lost to South Dakota State in the first round. The Aggies played home games at UC Davis Health Stadium in Davis, California.

## Preseason
### Polls

On July 26, 2021, during the virtual Big Sky Kickoff, the Aggies were predicted to finish sixth in the Big Sky by both the coaches and media.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (7) |
| 2 | Montana | (3) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington | (2) |
| 4 | Montana State | (1) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | (1) |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Cal Poly | |
| 13 | Northern Colorado | |
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Weber State | (14) |
| 2 | Montana | (4) |
| 3 | Eastern Washington' | (3) |
| 4 | Montana State | (3) |
| 5 | Sacramento State | |
| 6 | UC Davis | |
| 7 | Northern Arizona | |
| 8 | Idaho | |
| 9 | Idaho State | |
| 10 | Portland State | |
| 11 | Southern Utah | |
| 12 | Northern Colorado | |
| 13 | Cal Poly | |

### Preseason All–Big Sky team

The Aggies had three players selected to the preseason all-Big Sky team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 4:30 p.m. | at Tulsa* | No. 23 | Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman StadiumTulsa, OK | ESPN+ | W 19–17 | 15,085 |
| September 11 | 1:00 p.m. | at San Diego* | No. 14 | Torero StadiumSan Diego, CA | | W 53–7 | 1,712 |
| September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Dixie State* | No. 14 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | W 60–27 | 9,865 |
| September 25 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 14 Weber State | No. 12 | Stewart StadiumOgden, UT | ESPN+ | W 17–14 | 6,802 |
| October 2 | 7:00 p.m. | Idaho | No. 8 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | W 27–20 | 11,622 |
| October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Idaho State | No. 7 | Holt ArenaPocatello, ID | ESPN+ | L 17–27 | 5,206 |
| October 16 | 5:00 p.m. | Northern Colorado | No. 13 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | W 32–3 | 10,963 |
| October 23 | 5:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | No. 10 | Alex G. Spanos StadiumSan Luis Obispo, CA (Battle for the Golden Horseshoe) | ESPN+ | W 24–13 | 9,573 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | No. 8 | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | ESPN+ | W 40–24 | 6,088 |
| November 13 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 Eastern Washington | No. 6 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA | ESPN+ | L 20–38 | 7,344 |
| November 20 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 11 Sacramento State | No. 10 | UC Davis Health StadiumDavis, CA (Causeway Classic) | ESPN+ | L 7–27 | 12,315 |
| November 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 11 South Dakota State* | No. 14 | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | L 24–56 | 3,681 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Tulsa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Aggies | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 19 |
| Golden Hurricane | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At San Diego

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Aggies | 16 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 53 |
| Toreros | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Dixie State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trailblazers | 7 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| No. 14 Aggies | 15 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 60 |

### At No. 14 Weber State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Aggies | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 14 Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Idaho

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vandals | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| No. 8 Aggies | 3 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 27 |

### At Idaho State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 7 Aggies | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Bengals | 14 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 27 |

### Northern Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| No. 13 Aggies | 0 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 32 |

### At Cal Poly

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Aggies | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |

### At Northern Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Aggies | 8 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 40 |
| Lumberjacks | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### No. 7 Eastern Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 7 Eagles | 0 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 38 |
| No. 6 Aggies | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

### No. 11 Sacramento State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Hornets | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| No. 10 Aggies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS | 23 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 17 |
| Coaches | 21 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 16 |