UC Davis, a team representing a storied football program from far away, has been shoved to the shadows in initial glances at the University of Central Arkansas schedule.
Saturday's game is tucked between a long-anticipated opener against Henderson State and the much-anticipated renewal of a rivalry with Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Many fans are already looking ahead to a late September matchup at Tulsa. Southland Conference teams Sam Houston State and McNeese State, who both visit Estes Stadium this season, have move immediate and recognizable star power.
But the game against the Aggies may be the toughest game the Bears will play at home. On paper it's certainly in the top three.
UC Davis, which is two years ahead of UCA in its NCAA Football Championship Subdivision transition, was for years and years a perennial power in NCAA Division II. It has had only one losing season in 28 years.
Aggie coach Bob Biggs is in his 16th season. As a player at UC Davis, he led the nation in Division II his senior season. He's one pillar in a line for strong quarterbacks for the Aggies, whose most notable quarterback alumni are Ken O'Brien (former quarterback New York Jets) and J.T. O'Sullivan, currently the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
"It's a school of 30,000 in a good recruiting area on the West Coast," UCA coach Conque said. "When you look through their history of all their 9- 10-, 11- and 12-win seasons and the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship game (Division II) appearances, it's very impressive."
UC Davis, which defeated the Bears 33-13 two years ago at Davis, Calif. (just outside Sacramento), is a Great West team. The Bears have never defeated a Great West team (losing twice to South Dakota State and once to UC Davis. The conference has given the entire Southland Conference fits the last few years.
"I think there are two ways to go about building a championship football team," Conque said. "One is you combine a lot of athleticism with a little bit of size, which is primarily how teams do it in the South, including the Southland Conference. Another way is you combine a lot of size with a little bit of athleticism, which is more how they do it in the Midwest and the Great West Conference.
"What has given teams in our conference trouble through the years, like we saw at South Dakota State, those dadgum linemen are big and strong."
The difference in this UC Davis team from the one the Bears saw two years ago?
"The biggest difference is the youth on defense, particularly the secondary," Conque said. "Their offensive line is just as good and big and athletic ... We're going to have to avoid the turnovers and mistakes we made two years ago that took us out of the game."
The Aggies left Thursday to get acclimated to the environment, particularly the humidity, in Arkansas. Actually, they get a break in that regard. They've practiced all week in the mid-90s and will come to Arkansas an unseasonable cool spell, ushered in by Hurricane Gustav, that will likely have the temperatures in the 60s at game time.
But the turf on First Security Field will be soft. Conque is hoping that's an edge. Despite a Razorback game in Little Rock at the same time, Conque has been openly promoting the need for a strong crowd at Estes Stadium.
Against the challenge he expects from UC Davis, any edge will do.
"They (the Aggies) will physically resemble UCLA," Conque said.
Henderson State, a Division II team the Bears defeated 38-14 in their opener, is one of two "on-paper freebies" on the schedule.
Things are now kicked up a couple of gears.
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)
