From the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

Mercer will make its second appearance in three seasons, having used a swarming defense to knock off North Alabama, 17-7, in a lightning-altered game that opened the 2023 college football season. UC Davis is the first California-based school to play in the FCS Kickoff Classic.

Both schools wrapped up historic 2024 campaigns as national seeds in the quarterfinals round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday. The fifth-seeded Aggies (11-3) dropped a tough 35-21 contest at fourth-seeded South Dakota, while the seventh-seeded Bears (11-3) fell 31-7 to second-seed North Dakota State.