Rhode Island Looks for Program-Altering Win at UC Davis on Saturday Night

The second round of the FCS playoffs will wrap up on Saturday night in California with 8-seed UC Davis hosting Rhode Island. It will be a first-ever meeting between the two schools and, besides the obvious significance that comes with a playoff game, the stage is set for what could be a big night for both schools. The Aggies are looking to return to the quarterfinals for the second straight season and doing so would make it 2-for-2 for head coach Tim Plough in short tenure. As big as a win would be for the home team, though, it would be monumental for the visiting Rams.

For much of its Division I history, URI has been a tortured program. The team hadn’t even qualified for the playoffs since 1985 until last season, despite coming incredibly close a few times. Last year’s playoff run ended for the squad at this same point in the second round after a hard-fought loss to Mercer. To find the last time the Rams suited up for a quarterfinal game, you’d have to go all the way back to that ‘85 season and back then the playoff format featured one less round of games so getting there was a little easier than it is now. 40 years later, Rhody has the chance to get that far again and doing so would be massive beyond just the scope of the here and now.

Coming out of a CAA that’s getting more stagnated by the year, Rhode Island currently finds itself with the unique opportunity to stamp itself as the next “it” team in the conference. The league that has lost so many of its former heavyweights including James Madison, Delaware and Richmond is set to say goodbye to another pair of contenders in Villanova and William & Mary. When that all happens, the Rams will be one of the last mainstays still around in a conference that looks nothing like its former self. With two league titles and playoff berths in a row, Rhode Island has already taken poll position as the next perennial power. Winning on Saturday night and getting to the final eight, though, will really drive the notion home that the new CAA runs through Kingston.

Getting by UC Davis will be no easy task, however. The Aggies went 8-3 in an always-tough Big Sky Conference and, despite being riddled with injuries, were able to pile up big numbers across the board. Freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick has been a phenom and the defense has been solid, particularly against the run. The Aggies have only lost at home once all year and have had an extra week to prepare. Rhode Island, making the 2,600-mile trip across the country, is up against it in this one.

With that being said, this is one of the best teams that the Rams have had in quite sometime. Jim Fleming, now in his 12th season at the helm, has led his squad to their first 8-0 mark in conference play since being named the head coach. Signal caller Devin Farrell is the second best passer in the FCS with for 3,451 yards this year and receiver Marquis Buchanan tops the list with 1,224 yards. It’s one of the most lethal connections in the nation right now and, going up against an Aggies defense that is without its top player in DB Rex Connors, Rhody’s offensive stars might be poised to shine bright.

None of that is even mentioning the fact that the Rams might also boast the country’s best linebacking corps in A.J. Pena, Moses Meus and Rohan Davy. Meus and Davy alone have combined for 199 tackles while Pena is a monster when it comes to getting into the backfield. He has ten sacks and 19 tackles for loss this year and that’s just what Fleming’s team will need against a guy like Pinnick on the other side.

It won’t be easy but Rhode Island has more than a puncher’s chance in this game. If they can get it done, it will surely be one of the biggest wins in recent memory for the program and it just might serve as the hinge point for even bigger things down the line. The winner here will get the winner of #1 North Dakota State and Illinois State and, in all likelihood, it will be the Bison waiting. Winning here will probably give the Rams their shot at the best team in the land and will get them farther than they’ve been in four decades. The stakes are as high as they’ve been for the school in a long, long time.

Rhode Island and UC Davis will kick off at 10:00 PM (ET) on Saturday evening and the game will air on ESPN2.