Sept. 21, 2009

Complete UC Davis game notes in PDF Format

GAME 3
Western Oregon (2-1) at UC Davis (0-1) 
Sept. 26, 2009 • 6 p.m. • Aggie Stadium (10,849)
KHTK (1140 AM) • KDVS (90.3 FM)

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

• The Aggies host Western Oregon, looking to remain undefeated against the Wolves... UC Davis is 8-0 against WOU, including a 54-2 win in the last meeting between the programs in 2004... It’s 4-0 at home versus the Wolves.

• UC Davis held WOU to 97 yards (7 rush, 90 pass) during their 2003 matchup, the last time the Aggies have done held a team below 100.

• The Aggies are trying to avoid an 0-3 start for the first time since 1965 and their first winless start after three games since 1979 when the were 0-2-1 in the early season.

• UC Davis, which has been held to just 10 points over its first two games, has not been held to less than 11 points since 1964 when it tallied six points over the first three matchups.

• WR Chris Carter set a school record with 18 receptions against Montana on Sept. 12, breaking the previous mark of 15 established by WR Tony Kays in 2005... Carter’s 190 yards bettered his previous high of 189, gained at Central Arkansas in 2008 when he also had a then career-best 13 grabs.

• Carter was named the Great West Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career and for the first time against an opponent other than Central Arkansas.

• Carter’s 18 snags are the most in an NCAA FCS game this season and tied for the most in all of Division I. (Emmanuel Sanders, 18 vs. Wash. St., Sept. 19).

• WR Sean Creadick also posted a career-night, finishing with 10 catches... The total surpassed his previous-best of four which he achieved twice... His 73 yards are also a career-high.

• Carter and Creadick gave the Aggies their first game with two receivers with double-digit catches since 1997 when RB G.P. MUHAMMAD (11) and WR FRANCIS MONTES (10) did it against New Haven.

• QB Greg Denham posted the seventh 300-yard game of his career after racking up 362 yards against Montana... It was also his sixth over his past seven games.

• Denham also tied a school record with 43 completions and set another school mark with 67 attempts... Denham shares the completions mark with former QB Kevin Daft, now the wide receivers coach at Cal, and broke Daft’s attempts mark of 64... Daft set his marks in 1997 when he threw for a then-school record 482 yards against New Haven in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

• P Colton Schmidt, a true freshman, was named the Great West Conference Special Teams on Sept. 13 in the Week after pinning Montana deep inside its territory three times - including once at the three-yard line.

 • The Aggies are ranked 12th in the FCS for passing yards (275.0 ypg) and are tied for seventh in sacks allowed (0.5 pg).

• UC Davis’ defense has allowed less than 93 rushing yards eight times since the beginning of last year, including just 86 against Montana.

• Individually, Carter is ranked second for catches (11.0 pg) and fifth in yards (115.5 ypg).network... For good measure he is 13th among all-purpose runners (163.9 ypg).

 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. THE WOLVES
• UC Davis holds an 8-0 advantage over Western Oregon in a series that was first played in 1997.

• The Aggies have outscored the Wolves an average of 46.9-19.3 ppg... UC Davis won the last meeting 54-2 in 2004, a year after winning 27-7.

• UC Davis has scored a high of 64 points (2002) in the series... It’s only been held to less than 40 points in one game.

• The Aggies are 4-0 against Western Oregon at home and 4-0 in Monmouth.

 

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 124-63-1 (.662) overall record and is 67-21-1 (.758)... Biggs is also 36-25-1 (.589) in the month of September... He is 8-0 against Western Oregon.

• 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.

• ARNE FERGUSON (Western Oregon ‘91) is 29-17 (.630) and in his fifth year Western Oregon.

• Ferguson took over a program that was 1-9 in 2004 but improved to 5-6 in just his first season... Three consecutive winning seasons - including a 9-2 mark in 2007 - have followed.

• He has coached at WOU since 1989, except for one season at the prep level.

 

BRIEF WESTERN OREGON SCOUTING REPORT
• The NCAA Division II Wolves have won two straight games, both by 17-16 scores... The most recent victory, which came over Dixie State, was delivered when K KELLY MORGAN booted a 46-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the fourth.

• QB JOSH RIDDELL passed for 402 yards and a pair of scores in the game, finding WR TREVOR GATES on TD throws of 52 and 34 yards.... Riddell completed 27 of 41 passes and was picked off twice.

• He’s averaging 268.3 yards per game and has thrown a half-dozen touchdown passes... The Wolves’ passing attack is ranked 26th in Division II.

• The Wolves were held to 88 rushing yards and are averaging 124.7 for the season... RB BEN KUENZI has carried the bulk of the running load, carrying 63 times for 215 yards... No other player has more than 12 carries... WOU is still looking for its first rushing touchdown.

• WR SEAN FULLERTON has a team-high 22 catches for 266 yards and a pair of scores... Fullerton had a big game on Saturday, catching 14 passes for 164 yards and was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

• The Wolves are averaging 393.0 ypg of offense but are being victimized by penalties so far, averaging 103.0 yards per game... They had 14 for 151 yards on Saturday.

• Defensively, Western Oregon has been tough against the run, allowing just 116.0 ypg while giving up 228.0 ypg through the air... It’s picked off four passes - each by different players - and have recorded eight sacks through three games.

• LB JOHN BREZA has a team-best 20 tackles while LB GAVIN ROMANICK has 19... LB ANDY DOUGLAS has 18 stops but 10 of them have been of the solo variety.

• The defense held Dixie State to just 17 rushing yards on 15 carries and 198 yards overall... It also held Dixie State to just 2 of 14 on third down and only 23:25 of possession time.

• WOU was 9 of 19 on third downs in the game.

• DT SITANI TUPOU earned special teams honors from the GNAC last week after blocking an extra-point attempt... He also had a key sack on the game’s last play.

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE MONTANA GAME
• UC Davis outgained Montana in total yards, 405-312, had more first downs (24-17) and held the Grizzlies to just 86 rushing yards... The Aggies also held a dominating advantage in time of possession (37:24-22:36).

• The Aggies led 10-0 before Montana scored 17 unanswered points over the last 20 minutes, 7 seconds.

• LB Mike Morales tied with LB Dozie Amajoyi for team-high honors with eight total tackles... Morales also tied Montana’s SS ERIK STOLL with a game-high seven solo stops.

• Carter’s 100-yard receiving game was the fifth of his career while his double-digit reception effort was his third... Carter had a long catch of 42 yards which came during UC Davis’ final series when it was trying for a tying score... He also had 227 all-purpose yards after adding 37 on kick returns.

• QB Greg Denham threw for 300 yards for the seventh time in his career and the sixth time over the past seven games.

• The Aggies were held to just 43 rushing yards on 23 attempts, including a team-high 37 by RB Joe Trombetta on 11 carries. 

• The Aggies held the ball for 12:24 of the first quarter and more than 20 minutes of the first half while forcing Montana to start from an average of its own 13-yard line... They were only able to get inside the 20 once, picking up a field goal.

• P Colton Schmidt averaged 34.2 yards on four punts but put three inside the Grizzlies’ 20, helping lead to their tough starting spots.

• Denham was picked off twice, both in the end zone by CB TRUMAINE JOHNSON.

• DE Patrick Michelier, who missed the Fresno State game after injuring his foot in the preseason, played sparingly against the Grizzlies but is expected to start this weekend.

• UC Davis was held without a sack for the second straight game, but only gave up one.

 

UC DAVIS LOOKS TO PICK UP RUSHING GAME
• The Aggies were limited to just 43 rushing yards on 20 attempts against Fresno State and 43 yards on 23 carries by Montana, extending a trend going back to the start of last season where they have been held to less than 100 yards nine times.

• UC Davis averaged 117.4 ypg on the ground in ‘08, ranking 82nd in Div. I FCS... The Aggies are 112th so far this season.

• The Aggies are also looking for their first rushing touchdowns of the season.

• 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. 

 

KELLEY REMAINS PERFECT IN PAT’S
• 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 FG attempts.

• He’s remained perfect in career PAT tries by making his only attempt in the Montana game on Sept. 12.

 

DENHAM 300-YARD LIST GROWS TO SEVEN
• QB Greg Denham threw for 362 yards against Montana, marking his seventh career 300-yard game and sixth over his past seven outings... It was his second-highest yardage total, trailing only his 434-yard effort in last season’s finale at San Diego.

• He ranks fourth all-time in 300-yard games at UC Davis, trailing J.T. O’SULLIVAN (17; 1998-2001), Kevin Daft (11; 1995-98) and Jon Grant (8; 2003-06).

• Here are Denham’s 300-yard games (in order):

 - 26-41-2, 361 yds, 1 TD vs. Portland State (9/13/08)

 - 20-30-1, 326 yds, 5 TD’s vs. Iona (10/18/08)

 - 31-41-1, 320 yds, 2 TD’s vs. North Dakota (10/25/08)

 - 27-48-2, 307 yds, 1 TD vs. Sacramento State (11/8/08)

 - 22-42-2, 332 yds, 4 TD’s at Cal Poly (11/15/08)

 - 26-41-1, 434 yds, 2 TD’s at San Diego (11/22/08)

 - 43-67-2, 362 yds, 1 TD vs. Montana (9/12/09)

 

RUSH DEFENSE STRONG AGAINST GRIZ
• UC Davis allowed just 86 rushing yards against Montana on 29 attempts after the Grizzlies opened their season with 183 against Western State.

• It was the seventh time since the beginning of the 2008 season that the Aggies have held an opponent below 93 yards.

• Other efforts during that span (in order):

 - 42 yds (24 att.) at San Jose State (8/30/08)

 - 19 yds (8 att.) vs. Portland State (9/13/08)

 - 66 yds (26 att.) at Montana (9/20/08)

 - 13 yds (14 att.) vs. Southern Utah (10/11/08)

 - 34 yds (22 att.) vs. Iona (10/18/08)

 - 68 att (27 att.) vs. North Dakota (10/25/08)

 

CARTER HAS BIG NIGHT AGAINST MONTANA
• WR Chris Carter set a school record with 18 catches against Montana on Sept. 12 and had a career-best 190 receiving yards.

• The receptions were the third double-digit totals of his career after 13 at Central Arkansas last year and 10 at Sacramento State in 2006... He also had his fourth 100-yard receiving day, also reaching the plateau with 189 at Central Arkansas last season, 104 against Sacramento State (2008), and 127 vs. Central Arkansas (2006).

• Besides his catches setting a school standard, his yards were the seventh-most in an Aggie game and made him just the third Aggie to ever have at least 175 yards twice... WR Michael Oliva (twice in 2001) and WR Tony Kays (twice in 2005) are the others.

• Carter’s catches pushed his career total to 150, making him sixth all-time at UC Davis... Next up is WR TAY THOMPSON (1970-72) who is fifth with 153... Carter has 1,776 career yards and needs 108 to tie TE HOWARD GRAVELLE (1967-69) for 10th place on that list.

  

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. 

 

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.

 

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 25 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 6th for career catches (150) and is closing in on the top-10 in yards (currently at 1,776), needing just 108 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 115 catches for 1,391 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.

• They have, however, not been shut out in 104 home games.

• 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 434 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.

 

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 earlier this season but signed last recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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

• 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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