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I talked at length with chef Dan Hawkins about his recipe for No. 10 UC Davis' fast 5-1 start. We chatted about what he needs to add now that the campaign has been fully kneaded and popped in the oven.

So what are these elements with which he and his staff have been cooking?

"Oh, my gosh. Wow. It's hard to answer that in the short form…

"You've got to have good players, you have to have good culture. You have to be good in the fundamentals, good team leadership. The injury factor is always part of it.

"It's like your momma's favorite pasta: There's a lot of little wrinkles that go in there."

Hawkins acknowledges that even before the first practice was conducted in March, his kitchen was blessed with the finest ingredients.

One advantage that UC Davis has always seemed to have in athletics is that the kids who come to campus in the first place already are smart, thoughtful youngsters who are there to hone their already plentiful skills and approaches to life.

Hawkins and his assistants, university administrators and professors are there to ensure that the trajectory of eventual success continues to shoot for the moon.

"These are high-character kids," the veteran football coach points out. "I spend time with (every student-athlete) of ours talking about leadership, teamwork and what all those things entail. You've got to have the players on your team who know the way, show the way and go the way … and we certainly have that."

The yeast in the Hawkins Era has clearly been the offensive play of junior quarterback Jake Maier and All-American wide receiver Keelan Doss, now a fifth-year senior.

Together, the pair have once again propelled UC Davis to the top of the Big Sky Conference statistical ladder. With Maier throwing for 1,960 yards (No. 5 in FCS) and 16 touchdowns and Doss' 56 receptions (for 545 yards) leading all those with six games played, offensive coordinator Tim Plough has been able to go to the pantry for various spices — RB Ulonzo Gilliam, tight end Wes Preece and wideout Jared Harrell, for example. The result is one of the nation's tastiest offenses, averaging 40.8 ppg and 489 yards an outing.

"I said it a thousand times, but Jake is outstanding," Hawkins says. "Keelan is a tremendous physical talent — but people can never understand what he totally brings to our team when you have a great player who is your hardest-working, most humble guy.

"We have a ton of that. We have a ton of people who are willing to help facilitate and lead and figure out what kind of role they need to play on the team … then for them to do it."

To get to the top of Big Sky standings like the Aggies are — and to be able to stay there — everybody involved needs to carefully read and reread the recipe.

Hawkins says he and his staff provide a framework for the student-athletes to take a season as far as their ability and determination will allow.

"We know it's their football team and we're here to facilitate it," adds Hawkins, who says another ingredient is trust based on "following the process."

To wit, the overtime touchdown that secured last Saturday's 44-37 victory over Idaho State ...

It was fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard line for Davis. Conventional wisdom says field goal on that first OT possession.

With the sellout Aggie Stadium crowd in a frenzy, UC Davis gave the ball to Gilliam and — voila! — the locals scored the coup de grace in another game for the ages.

Confidence. Following the process. Knowing that practice repetition makes even the dramatic everyday fodder for these Aggies, brought it home on Saturday.

"It all goes back to (coaches Jim) Sochor and (Bob) Foster," Hawkins notes. "Always play hard when you're ahead and never give up when you're behind. Trusting in the process and not getting hung up on winning and losing. That's hard to do for anybody.

"But you keep playing hard, no matter what the score is. Week after week, trying to get better is another key."

Oh, and luck? Does that have anything to do with baking up a championship season?

"I suppose it does," Hawkins says with a chuckle. "The bounce of the ball."

Like in the Idaho State game ...

"The ball hits off their punt returner and flops around on the ground and we can't get it. We just can't get it. I mean, we practice fumble recoveries and they practice catching punts … we got three guys around the ball and they get it back."

Grrr. Neither side did their jobs, but the break in that case went to Idaho State.

That same fickle-natured luck did in the Bengals at the end of regulation when ISU missed a 27-yard field goal as time expired — setting up Gilliam's heart-stopping touchdown.

Again, Hawkins laughs: "Coach Sochor would tell you 'Luck is where preparation meets opportunity, and luck is infatuated with the efficient.' "

Lucky? Or a byproduct of preparation?

Take your pick, just rejoice in the fact that it all seems to be working for these Aggies.

One more thing... Your kitchen needs to be friendly not only to the ingredients and chefs, but the judges (think fans) need to buy in, too. So, chef, er, coach Hawkins: What about having a full house at Aggie Stadium on Saturday?

"It's a great environment. The staff is doing a terrific job making it a friendly atmosphere, a comfortable, family atmosphere.

"You like some noise, you like some excitement. It was great that the students showed up."

And terrific that the prideful Aggies came from 16 points down in the second half, ensuring their biggest Big Sky test to date wasn't half-baked.

— Former Davis Enterprise sports editor Bruce Gallaudet writes "Inside Aggie Nation" each Wednesday. His "Aggie Corner" column can be read on Fridays or Sundays in the Davis Enterprise (davisenterprise.com).