Which UC reigns supreme?
Usually, our campuses battle it out in the rankings, taking turns in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” top spot, for example. But this weekend, UC Berkeley and UCLA are taking it to the gridiron at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley to open the college football season, and only one will win.
When two siblings battle, who better to mediate than a third? That’s why we asked former UC Davis quarterback, Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame honoree and nine-year NFL veteran JT O’Sullivan how to take in the game.
O’Sullivan's YouTube channel, The QB School, has more than 377,000 followers, and his explanations of football strategy, player performance, and nuances of offensive play have garnered millions of views and discussion across the internet. JT’s career in professional football, playing alongside legends like Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers, provided him with nearly unparalleled insight into not only the game, but how to learn it and teach it. With a Ph.D. in leadership studies on top of his experience in winning organizations, he knows a little something about success on the field.
Of the intent of The QB School: “It’s really just what I would say to the quarterback,” O’Sullivan says. “If we were in a quarterback room watching the game together, that's what it would be about. The level of detail would be the same. The conversation would be the same, the language would be the same. Hopefully, people have fun with it.”
JT is a big fan of UC Davis, of course — so much so that he and his wife, also an alum, named their third son Davis — but he is proud to be part of the greater UC family, as well. “I’m obviously a big fan of the UC system,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s meant a lot to me and my family.”
Find out more about what JT thinks about the best way to enjoy a football game (especially if it’s your first) and what to look for in this matchup below, as we prepare for a three-hour UC showdown ... before returning to being one happy UC family, of course.
Oh, and did we mention UC Davis already started off the season 1-0?
UC football things to know:
The first UC football team was organized in 1882.
Three UC campuses have NCAA football teams: UC Berkeley (known as Cal), UC Davis and UCLA.
UCLA leads the all-time series over Cal, 58-35-1.
Cal and UCLA first met on the gridiron in Pasadena on November 4, 1933, in what was the lone draw between the two teams with a 0-0 final score.
Each team has a new coach. For Cal, it’s alum Tosh Lupoi; for UCLA, former James Madison University coach Bob Chesney.
Both teams’ quarterbacks — Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for Cal and Nico Iamaleava for UCLA — were named to the preseason watch list for college football’s prestigious Maxwell Award. UC Berkeley graduate and former Cal Bear Fernando Mendoza, the Oakland Raiders’ No. 1 draft pick, won the award last year.
UC Davis is coached by alum and former quarterback Tim Plough and plays in the NCAA Division Football Championship Subdivision.
Plough has led UC Davis to top 10 rankings and playoff appearances in both of his seasons thus far.
