Today, it's time to take a look the third of four Big Sky Conference newcomers, and the first of two football-only members. The UC Davis Aggies are joining the conference this season after playing in the now-defunct Great West Conference (along with North Dakota, Southern Utah, and Cal Poly). And the Aggies will definitely be a motivated team to play well in 2012, after finishing 2011 with a 4-7 record in the Great West's swan song.
Speaking of swan songs, the 2012 season will be just that for Aggies head coach Bob Biggs, who announced at the end of 2011 that this season will be his last on the UC Davis sideline. Biggs has served as head coach at his alma mater since 1993, and has a career record of 140-78-1 over 19 seasons. He previously served as the team's quarterbacks coach before becoming head coach, and also lettered for the Aggies from 1969 to 1972 as a quarterback.
The Aggies have had a penchant for sending solid quarterbacks to the NFL. One of the most notable is Ken O'Brien, who had a successful career with the New York Jets during the mid to late 1980s. Another Aggie that made it to the NFL was J.T. O'Sullivan, who was mostly a journeyman in the league, but now plays for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Offensively, the team's leading passer is back in 2012. Junior Randy Wright started 10 of the team's 11 games last season, throwing for 2250 yards and 14 touchdowns. In fact, 13 of Wright's 14 touchdown passes were caught by the team's two leading receivers, Tom Hemmingsen and Anthony Soto, who are both back this season. Also, leading rusher Colton Silveria is back, as he's coming off a 603-yard, 6 touchdown freshman season.
MY THOUGHTS: If there is one team that could really use a bounceback season, it's these UC Davis Aggies. There should be definite improvement on both sides of the football, as 2011 was a building year for the Aggies. This will be coach Biggs' only season in the Big Sky, and with the success he's had in throughout his head coaching career, I could see the Aggies having a winning season in 2012.
Photo credit: Shazib Haq/The California Aggie
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