Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
A football team that earns the right to host a postseason game on its own turf is typically able to benefit from home-field advantage. However, UC Davis is facing an issue in the wake of a massive upset that led to the Aggies being forced to figure out where a sizeable chunk of the team is going to stay the night before an FCS playoff showdown.
UC Davis found itself looking for a new head coach after Dan Hawkins resigned in the wake of his seventh season with the team in 2023. They ultimately reunited with Tim Plough, the former Aggies quarterback who started his coaching career at the alma mater he returned to after stints with Boise State and Cal.
He kicked off his tenure with a bang, as UC Davis posted an 11-3 record during an inaugural season that ended with a loss to South Dakota on the road in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs last year.
They returned to the postseason after going 9-3 and punched their ticket to the quarterfinals for the second straight year with a 47-26 win over URI. All signs pointed to UC Davis heading up to North Dakota State this weekend for a showdown with the defending national champions, but things took a very unexpected turn when Illinois State earned a 29-28 win over the Bison as 23.5-point underdogs.
That means UC Davis will serve as the host as the higher seed, but that’s a gift and a curse due to the logistical issues the Aggies are now facing.
30 UC Davis players need a new place to stay the night before a playoff game after getting kicked out of their dorms
December 12th marks the last day of finals and the final day of the first semester at UC Davis. The majority of dorms on campus close for winter break starting at 12 PM on December 13th, but freshmen are apparently required to vacate their residences prior to Friday night.
As Plough noted at a press conference earlier this week, that presents an issue for 30 first-year members of the football team who won’t be able to stay in their dorm the night before a playoff game, and he bemoaned what he positioned as a largely unneeded distraction while calling attention to a problem most teams at a higher level wouldn’t end up grappling with.
“We have to continue to get back to this game so it continues to be an issue”@UCDfootball isn’t just preparing for Illinois State in the FCS Quarterfinals this week — it’s also finals week and the last week of the quarter on campus.
That means student-athletes are juggling… pic.twitter.com/20MPzBU6wD
— Jake Gadon (@JakeGadon_TV) December 10, 2025
Plough suggested financial restraints could prevent the team from booking hotel rooms for players who might have to crash on someone’s floor, and he said he can only hope to keep making deep playoff runs that might eventually force the university to address the issue head-on.