Sept. 8, 2009

Complete Montana Game Notes in PDF Format
Complete UC Davis Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME 2
No. 4/5 Montana (1-0) at UC Davis (0-1) 
Sept. 12, 2009 • 7 p.m. • Aggie Stadium (10,849)
KHTK (1140 AM) • KDVS (90.3 FM) • Comcast SportsNet California 

 

OPENING KICKOFF
• News, notes and headline items to get things started... Many will be expanded later on in these notes.

• UC Davis looks to win its home-opener for the second consecutive year when it hosts Montana for the first time in their limited series history.

• The Aggies are 11-5 in home-openers under HEAD COACH Bob Biggs, including a 3-3 mark over their last six and a 1-1 record in their NCAA Division I FCS era.

• UC Davis won its first three home-openers under Biggs beginning in 1993 and then won five straight between 1999-2002... It's alternated wins and losses since... It is 1-1 in Aggie Stadium openers in the facilities' brief history.

• The Aggies are looking for their first win over a ranked opponent since winning 26-17 at Portland State in 2007... They've lost five straight since, including a close 29-24 decision at then No. 4 Montana last season.

• UC Davis' last victory against a ranked team at home was a 37-27 victory over No. 16 San Diego in 2006, the last game of the season and the final one ever at Toomey Field.

• The last opponent ranked as high as Montana was No. 3 Cal Poly in 2008 (L,51-28 at SLO)... 

• The Aggies' loss on Saturday ended a streak of 212 games in which it had scored... The last opponent to shut out UC Davis prior to Fresno State was Cal Poly, which did it with a 19-0 win at Toomey Field in 1990.

• So, while the shutout streak for all games came to an end, the streak of not being blanked on the UC Davis campus is still alive and well at 101 games... (Mix in a couple of "home games" at Hughes Stadium during the Causeway Classic and the "home" streak expands to 103 games.)

• Saturday's game marks the first of four games to be broadcast by Comcast Sportsnet California and the first of three over the next four games... The four games on TV match the four that were televised last season.

• UC Davis, which plays three Big Sky Conference teams this season, is 8-5 against the league since 2005 including a 3-2 mark at home.

• Saturday's game marks the start of UC Davis' third season with Aggie Stadium as its home... The Aggies are 7-4 playing on Jim Sochor Field.

• UC Davis is trying in 2009 for its first winning season since 2006, a year which was the last in a string of 37th consecutive winning campaigns that dated back to 1970.

• The Aggies are picked by Phil Steele's College Football Preview to win the Great West Conference title this season and are the No. 2 pick by the league's coaches... UC Davis finished second in the GWC in 2008 and is looking for its first league title since capturing co-honors in 2005.

• QB Greg Denham was held to 188 passing yards against Fresno State, ending a string of five consecutive 300-yard games dating back to last season.

• The 310 rushing yards allowed against the Bulldogs marked the second time in the Aggies' last three games that it has surrendered at least that many (427 vs. Cal Poly).

• DE Patrick Michelier (foot) missed the opener because of injury but is listed as the starter on this week's two-deep.

• Random (and somewhat obscure note of the week): UC Davis is 9-6-1 under Biggs in the second game of the season... The Aggies are 4-3-1 at home in such matchups.

• The 51-point margin of defeat is fourth-largest in school history.

 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. THE GRIZZLIES
• Montana holds a 3-0 lead in a series that has spanned 73 years... The teams first met in 1926 (21-0), 1995 (41-20) and last season (29-24), the latter two games in Montana.

• Last season, UC Davis battled back from a 10-0 deficit in the game's first five minutes, and a 23-10 halftime score, to take a 24-23 lead with 6:36 to go on a seven-yard pass from QB Greg Denham to WR Bakari Grant... WR MARC MARIANI, though, snagged a pass from QB COLE BERQUIST from eight yards out just three minutes later to deliver the Griz the win.

• A then-record crowd of 25,209 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium witnessed the dramatic Montana win.

• Denham completed 31 of 38 passes for 251 yards and had a one-yard QB sneak for a score... RB Brandon Tucker caught nine passes and WR CHRIS CARTER had seven.

 

HEAD COACHES
• Bob Biggs (UC Davis `73) is in his 17th season at the helm of the Aggies and his 32nd with the program overall.

• He owns a 124-62-1 (.632) overall record and is 67-21-1 (.758)... Biggs is also 36-24-1 (.598) in the month of September... He is 0-2 against Montana.

• Biggs is the second-winningest coach in the history of the UC Davis program, trailing only Jim Sochor whose 156-41-5 record between 1970-88 led to his enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame.

• Four of his QB's have gone on to play professional football, including current Cincinnati QB J.T. O'SULLIVAN (1998-2001) and former San Jose SaberCats (AFL) starter MARK GRIEB (1994-96)... Others include KHARI JONES (1991-93) who had a standout career in the Canadian Football League and Kevin Daft (1995-98) who was a reserve on the Tennessee Titans when they went to the Super Bowl XXXIV.

• BOBBY HAUCK (Montana `88) is 67-16 (.807) overall and in his seventh year a head coach of the Grizzlies.

• He's led Montana to a 37-5 record over the past three seasons and Big Sky Conference championships in each of his six previous seasons at the helm... The Grizzlies participated in the NCAA Playoffs each year, advancing to the championship in 2004 and 2008.

• Hauck has also coached at UCLA, Northern Arizona, Colorado and Washington.

 

BRIEF MONTANA SCOUTING REPORT
• Montana has enjoyed one of the most storied programs in NCAA Division I FCS history, capturing two national championships (1995, 2001) while playing in six title games.

• The Grizzlies have earned a spot in the postseason field 19 times including 16 straight, both of them FCS records.

• This year's Montana team is off to a promising start following its 38-0 shutout of Western State last weekend... The Grizzlies broke open a scoreless deadlock by scoring 24 consecutive points over the second and third quarters... A 14-point fourth quarter provided the final margin.

• RB CHASE REYNOLDS rushed for 100 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, while scoring one a five-yard jaunt in the second quarter.

• QB JUSTIN ROPER (16-24-0, 149 yds, 1 TD) and QB ANDREW SELLE (6-15-1, 112 yds, 1 TD) split time under center and will likely do so again this week... Selle found TE STEVE PFAHLER from seven yards in the third quarter for his scoring strike while Roper hit Pfahler from 10 yards late in the period.

• WR TYLER PALMER caught six passes for 87 yards while WR JABIN SAMBRANO had five for 63 to lead the receiving corps.

• Montana, which has a starting offensive line group that averages 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 304 pounds, rushed 44 times for 183 yards, held a 25-6 advantage in first downs, tallied 444 total yards and was 10 of 17 on third down... It ws also 6-for-7 in the red-zone.

• The Griz defense held Western State to just 59 rushing yards on 31 carries, 116 total yards and allowed just three third-down conversions on 14 chances.

• LB SHAWN LEBSOCK had seven total tackles including Montana's only sack (for an eight-yard loss) while nine different players had at least partial credit for a tackle-for-loss.

• SS ERIK STOLL had  five tackles while FS MIKE McCORD led the team with four solo stops.

• Montana scored touchdowns on four of six drives in the second half, three of them consisting of at least eight plays...  The defense, meanwhile, forced the Mountaineers into six three-and-outs during the game.

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE FRESNO STATE GAME
• UC Davis was outgained in total yards, 511-231, rushing for 43 yards and giving up 310.

• Freshman P Colton Schmidt made his debut by averaging 39.2 yards per kick... Not included in his average was a blocked punt in the third quarter.

• The second-quarter interception for a 94-yard touchdown by Fresno State LB NICO HERRON was the second by an Aggie opponent over the last three games... Herron's pick, changed momentum in a 14-0 game after UC Davis had driven to the Bulldogs' 8-yard line.

• UC Davis was on the positive end of a pair of calls overturned by replay officials... The first came after it was ruled WR CHRIS CARTER had already made contact with the ground when he lost the ball on a kickoff return in the first half... The second occurred when a punt was eventually ruled to have hit a Fresno State player on the foot before being recovered by the Aggies' SS Danny Hart... That recovery helped UC Davis drive inside the Bulldogs' 10 before Herron's big play.

• UC Davis had six drives of at least six plays each... It's best drive was an 8-play, 59-yarder in the first quarter which ended with a missed field goal attempt.

•  WR CHRIS CARTER (41 yards) and RB Joe Trombetta (11 yards) tied for game-high honors with four receptions each.

• QB Greg Denham was 18 of 41 with an interception for 188 yards, completing a pair of 33-yard passes to RB Josh Reese and TE Brad Bispo.

• The Aggies held an 11:46-3:14 possession advantage in the second quarter after Fresno State held the ball for more than 10 minutes of the first.

• The announced crowd of 37,267 was the most-ever for a UC Davis game... It surpassed the 31,250 that watched the Aggies upend Stanford in 2005.

• FS Ramsey Moyer had a game-high six solo tackles and tied for game-high overall tackling honors with seven stops... LB Marshall Congdon also had seven tackles including 1.5 TFL's.

• LB Mike Morales had a second-quarter interception which he returned eight yards... It was his fourth career pick and third over the past two seasons.

• Fresno State broke up six passes while UC Davis had none.

• The 51-point margin of defeat was the Aggies' fourth-largest overall and the biggest since 1934 (Cal 54, UC Davis 0).

 

AGGIES VERSUS RANKED TEAMS SINCE 2005
• UC Davis is 5-10 since 2005 against FCS teams ranked in the Sports Network's top 25 poll of media and sports information directors.

• The Aggies' last win over a ranked team was a 26-17 victory against No. 18 Portland State in 2007 while its last win at home was a 37-27 victory over No. 16 against San Diego in the final game of 2006.

• The highest-ranked team since the start of 2005 that UC Davis has beaten was No. 10 Cal Poly (20-13 at Toomey Field in 2005.)

Here is a list of the 15 most recent games against ranked teams:

11/15/08 vs. #3 Cal Poly (L, 51-28)
9/20/08 at #4 Montana (L,29-24)
9/6/08 at #22 Central Arkansas (L,24-21)
10/13/07 vs. #22 Cal Poly (L,63-28)
10/6/07 at #2 North Dakota State (L,35-16)
9/8/07 at #18 Portland State (W,26-17)
11/25/06 vs. #16 San Diego (W,37-27)
11/4/06 vs. #5 North Dakota State (L,28-24) 
10/29/06 at #5 Cal Poly (L,23-17)
9/23/06 at #8 Youngstown State (L,38-24)
9/16/06 at #20 Montana State (W,45-0)
11/19/05 at #19 Eastern Washington (L,24-7)
10/29/05 vs. #10 Cal Poly (W,20-13)
10/22/05 at #17 North Dakota State (W,20-14)
9/4/05 vs. #7 New Hampshire (L,17-13)

 

KELLEY PERFECT IN PAT'S IN 2008
• PK Sean Kelley enjoyed a spotless season in 2008 when it came to extra points, converting all 42 of his attempts.

• Kelley's conversions rank No. 7 for an Aggie season while his attempts are No. 9... No other UC Davis kicker in the top 10 for made PAT's made them all like Kelley did... ERIC FRIEND came close in 2000, converting 77 of 79.

• For good measure, Kelley was 10 of 13 on field goal attempts.

 

UC DAVIS LOOKS TO PICK UP RUSHING GAME
• The Aggies were limited to just 43 rushing yards on 20 attempts against Fresno State, extending a trend going back to the start of last season where they have been held to less than 100 yards eight times.

• UC Davis averaged 117.4 ypg on the ground in `08, ranking 82nd in Div. I FCS.

• It did have notable exceptions last year, amassing 295 yards against Iona (W,55-24) and earlier posting 227 against Portland State (W,38-24)... For the year, it averaged 3.6 yards per carry. 

 

ELEVEN FROM ALL-GREAT WEST TEAMS RETURN
• UC Davis welcomes back nearly a dozen players who earned recognition from the Great West Conference last year.

• The total is broken down by three All-GWC first team offensive honorees in WR CHRIS CARTER, TE Dean Rogers and Tommy Hernandez; second-team offensive winners WR Bakari Grant, QB Greg Denham, OL Mark Tos, and RB Joe Trombetta; and second-team defensive honorees DE Patrick Michelier, LB Mike Morales and CB Jeremy Scott... The remaining awardee was PK Sean Kelley, who was selected to the second-team.

 

AGGIE PRESEASON HONORS 
• UC Davis received significant mention in Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine, landing team and individual honors.

• On the team side, the Aggies are the publication's pick to win the Great West title with Cal Poly, South Dakota, Southern Utah and North Dakota following.

• UC Davis is also No. 3 on the magazine's "Top 16 Most Improved FCS Teams" for programs that had losing records last year but are expected to have winning ledgers in 2009... For the record, Hofstra (4-8) and Gardner-Webb (5-6) are Nos. 1 and 2.

• C Tommy Hernandez was selected a preseason second-team All-America and one of 13 Aggies picked for preseason All-GWC honors.

• First team (7): QB Greg Denham, W CHRIS CARTER, OL Mark Tos, TE Dean Rogers, DE Patrick Michelier, LB Mike Morales, PK Sean Kelley and Hernandez.

• Second team (6): RB Joe Trombetta, WR Bakari Grant, DE Steven Wulff, LB Michael Healey, CB Jeremy Scott. 

 

DENHAM ENJOYS RECORD-SETTING YEAR IN `08
• QB Greg Denham didn't take long to place his name in the Aggie record book, enjoying a standout sophomore season in which he led set school records for completions (296), regular-season attempts (451) and regular-season yards (3,478).

• Denham, from nearby Auburn, ranked third nationally in completions per game (26.9) and ranked 5th in Div. I FCS in total yards.

• He posted a half-dozen 300-yard games including five in a row to end the season, capped by 434 yards at San Diego in the season finale... That was the program's first 400-yard game since former QB Matt Engle torched the Toreros for 409 yards in 2007.

• Denham became the fifth Aggie QB to surpass 3,000 yards in a season while throwing the program's eighth 3,000-yard campaign overall.

• His yards ranked fourth for a season overall.

 

FIVE OF TOP SIX TACKLERS ARE BACK
• The Aggies were stingy against the rushing attack last year, allowing just 107.5 ypg, to rank 21st nationally.

• Five of the top six tacklers from that squad, including the top two, return to the squad in 2009.

• LB Mike Morales led the team with 72 overall stops which also included a team-best 48 solo... DE Patrick Michelier, currently out with injury, had 51 tackles and a team-best 10.0 TFL's for second-best.... LB Dozie Amajoyi and LB Mike Healey each picked up 44 tackles to rank fourth and fifth, respectively, while CB Jeremy Scott rounds out the group after garnering 42 tackles.

• The only player lost among the top six was graduated senior LB Tyler Pringle.

 

PRESSURE FROM THE DEFENSIVE ENDS
• UC Davis had 24 sacks last year and two of the top Aggies in that area will be back at it again this year.

• DE Steven Wulff, who made his debut with the Aggies by being named as the Great West Defensive Player of the Week after his performance in the opener at San Jose State, had 7.0 sacks for 47 yards.

• DE Patrick Michelier was third with 5.0 sacks for 31 yards in losses.

• In all, six of seven players that had sacks last year are back this year... The only exception is All-American John Faletoese who had 5.5 sacks from his defensive tackle position... Faletoese signed a free-agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in the spring before being released later.

 

TROMBETTA IS 1,000-YARD RUSHER
• RB Joe Trombetta has been a victim of the injury bug during his first two seasons on the field with the Aggies, missing one game in 2007 and four games in 2008.

• Despite that, he has been an effective runner when in the game, amassing 1,223 career yards in his 18 contests... He is the second UC Davis player to reach 1,000 career yards as a sophomore, joining SHOLA ADEYEMO who did it in 1987.

• He's tallied 11 touchdowns in his career and has added 771 receiving yards with five more scores as he approaches  2,000 all-purpose career yards (currently at 1,994).

• Trombetta announced his presence at UC Davis in dramatic fashion, running for a career-long 90 yards against Western Washington (he had 189 for the game) in his first-ever UC Davis game and the inaugural game at Aggie Stadium.

• His 90-yarder was the second-longest in school history, trailing only JIM SPECK's 94-yard score in 1953.

 

NOTABLE STREAKS ON THE LINE
• C Tommy Hernandez and OT Mark Tos have each strung together impressive streaks on the offensive line during their careers.

• Both have been in the trenches at the start of the last 24 Aggie games.

• Longevity on the line is not a stranger at UC Davis... OG Jonathan Compas, currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, started all 40 of his career games before graduating last season, while OG Mario Gonzalez ended his career last year with 34 straight starts.

 

DYNAMIC 1-2 RECEIVING PUNCH
• UC Davis has a notable receiving corps headlined by senior WR CHRIS CARTER and junior WR Bakari Grant.

• Carter ranks 9th for career catches (132) and is closing in on the top-10 in yards (currently at 1,586), needing just 298 more to do so.

• Grant, whose "Hail Mary" catch from QB Greg Denham beat Northern Colorado on the game's final play last year, has 111 catches for 1,366 yards.

• Carter is a two-time All-GWC honoree while Grant has earned honors from the league in both of his seasons. 

 

COACHES PICK UC DAVIS SECOND IN PRESEASON 
• Great West coaches selected the Aggies to finish second to defending champion Cal Poly during a preseason poll conducted in August.

• Cal Poly (24 pts) received four first-place votes, and UC Davis (20) picked up the other... They were followed by South Dakota (12), North Dakota (10) and Southern Utah (9).

 

MAKING MENTION ON A NATIONAL BASIS 
• Despite a 5-7 record last season, UC Davis received votes in both of the major FCS preseason polls.

• The Aggies picked up 63 points in the Sports Network's (media/SID) poll for an overall ranking of No. 40.

• The FCS Coaches poll awarded UC Davis 19 points to rank it No. 42.

• The Sports Network votes were the first since Nov. 10 (T-46th) of last year and provided the Aggies' their highest ranking since peaking at No. 28 after nearly beating San Jose State in last year's season-opener.

• The FCS Coaches poll mentioned UC Davis for the first time since its Nov. 3. 2009 poll (T-39th)... It has its highest position since a 2008 season-best No. 29, also after the opener last year.

• UC Davis' last Top-25 appearance in either poll came Oct. 23, 2006 when it was No. 16 by the Sports Network and No. 17 by the FCS Coaches... It was 4-3 at the time. 

 

HOME-GROWN ROSTER IN 2009
• UC Davis has always been dominated by players from the Golden State and 2009 is no different.

• The only out-of-state Aggie is QB Sean Maraz who hails from Phoenix, Ariz.

 

UC DAVIS GRABS LOCAL TALENT
• Eight players on this year's roster are a short drive for some home cooking, coming from within 45 miles of UC Davis.

• Players close to home: QB Greg Denham (Auburn), FS Kevyn Lewis (Sacramento), LB Hunter Pahl (Loomis), LB Marshall Congdon (Elk Grove), DT Andrew Benjamin (Orangevale); WR Dwight Smith (Davis), RB Josh Reese (Davis), DE Patrick Michelier (Davis).

 

JOHNSON RETURNS TO COACHING STAFF
• UC Davis welcomed back defensive coach Mark Johnson who returned this past spring to assume coordinating duties.

• Johnson, who played for the Aggies in 1985 and 1987-89, has coached with the program three other times including 1990-94 and two other brief stints in 1997 and 2002-04.

• He was most recently the defensive coordinator at Utah State (2005-08) and has also coached at WAC members Nevada (2000-01), Boise State (1998-99), San Jose State (1996) and Oregon (1995).

• Johnson assumed coordinating duties at UC Davis for longtime coach LOU BRONZAN who has assumed Assistant Director duties in the Physical Education Department after 25 years.

 

 COACHING STAFF ROSTER RECEIVES UPDATE
• Besides Mark Johnson, UC Davis has two other coaches new to the staff.

• Jeff Copp, who coached the safeties at Utah State while on staff with Johnson, joined the Aggies at the start of camp in August to coach the safeties... He replaced former ASSISTANT COACH Keith Buckley who was named the head coach at Pacific (Ore.) in July... Pacific (Div. III) is bringing back football in 2010.

• Tim Plough, former quarterback at UC Davis, moved from an administrative role into a coaching position directing the quarterbacks... He replaced Rich Scangarello who is now on staff with the Oakland Raiders. 

 

AGGIE STADIUM HEADS INTO THIRD YEAR
• UC Davis will play its third season at Aggie Stadium, which opened in 2007, starting Sept. 12.

• Last season saw the addition of lights which were installed in May 2008... The lights were broken in with five night games.

• Aggie Stadium is a $31 million facility whose primary funding (approx. $19 million) is coming from undergraduate students who approved the Facilities And Campus Enhancement (F.A.C.E) Inititiative in 1999.

• The stadium, also the home for Aggie women's lacrosse and field hockey, saw its first action in April 2007 when UC Davis hosted Saint Mary's in lacrosse action.

• Aggie Stadium features nearly 9,000 permanent seats and almost 2,000 grass berm seats for a total capacity of 10,849, a slight total increase from its inaugural.

• Also featured is a Daktronics scoreboard with 19'2" by 24' video display.

• The field is a Sportexe Synthetic Field... Wall-to-wall 104,000 square feet.

• The team building features three locker rooms and 160 total lockers, a team meeting room and large equipment/training room.

• Thirty-two points of sale for concession and the Aggie Pride Outlet for souvenir merchandise are also available.

• The pressbox features two radio booths, a TV booth and seating for nearly 20 writers, in addition to coaches booths and two more booths for operations.

• 5,000 parking spaces within a 10-minute walk highlight transportation accomodations.

 

OTHER STREAKS OF NOTE
• UC Davis saw its streak of 212 games in which it had scored a point come to an end at Fresno State (L,51-0)... The last shutout prior to that was a 19-0 defeat to Cal Poly in 1990... The streak nearly ended in 2001 when the Aggies faced North Dakota in the postseaso but UND took a safety late in the game, helping the Aggies' preserve the streak... North Dakota won 14-2.

• The Aggies are believed to have not had less than 200 yards in total offense since a 30-12 loss to Nevada in 1969, a span that now stands at 433 games... UC Davis had 130 in that game.

 

TEAM CAPTAINS
• UC Davis has two team captains this season in C Tommy Hernandez and LB Mike Morales.

• Both are in their first year as team captains. 

 

AGGIES IN THE PROS
• QB J.T. O'SULLIVAN (1998-2001), the all-time passing leader at UC Davis, is a backup signal-caller for the Cincinnati Bengals... He has played with several NFL teams as well as in the former NFL Europe after being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round in 2002... O'Sullivan is the last NFL draftee for UC Davis.

• Former MARK GRIEB (1994-96) was a two-time Arena Bowl MVP for the San Jose Sabercats before the league ended operations this year.

• OL Jonathan Compas signed a free-agent contract with the Oakland Raiders this year, was waived on Monday but signed last week with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and earned a spot a few days later on their 53-man roster.

• OT Cory Lekkerkerker (2003-04) was on the roster of the Tennessee Titans before being released last week.

• TE Daniel Fells (2002-05) is  currently on roster with the St. Louis Rams.

• OT Elliot Vallejo (2003-06) was a backup lineman with the Arizona Cardinals last year but was waived this preseason.

• WR Brandon Rice (2005-08) is a receiver with the California Redwoods of the new United Football League.

 

AGGIE COACHING TREE INCLUDES BIG NAMES
• Besides becoming the all-time winningest coach at UC Davis, former mentor JIM SOCHOR has several former players and assistants who have gone to notable college or pro coaching careers, including:

• MIKE BELLOTTI (Oregon, former head coach), who played for Sochor in 1969-72 and was a subsequent assistant coach... He is currently the athletics director at Oregon.

• DAN HAWKINS (Colorado, head coach) played for UC Davis in 1981-82, was later an assistant with the Aggies and subsequently was head coach at Boise State .

• CHRIS PETERSEN (Boise State, head coach), who played for UC Davis in 1985-86 and was also an assistant... He led Boise State to an unbeaten season and a 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

• PAUL HACKETT (Oakland Raiders, asst. coach), who played from 1966-68, was an assistant at UC Davis as well a head coach at USC, Pittsburgh and an assistant with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

 

 

 

UC Davis Aggies Football

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