Oct. 13, 2009

Complete UC Davis Game Notes in PDF Format

• Coming off its first overtime game since 2003, UC Davis returns to Aggie Stadium looking for its second Homecoming win since the facility opened in 2007... The Aggies lost to South Dakota State (28-21) the first year before beating Southern Utah (49-26) in 2008.

• UC Davis is also trying to even its record for the first time since that win over SUU when it was 3-3.

• The Aggies have won seven of their past nine games at Aggie Stadium and are coming off a win at South Dakota last week that snapped an eight-game road losing streak.

• After scoring just 10 points over its first two games, UC Davis has averaged 23 over its past three.

• UC Davis continues to rank among the NCAA Division I FCS leaders in passing yardage (12th, 272.2 ypg) while QB Greg Denham, who picked up his eighth career 300-yard game last weekend, is second with an average of 28.2 completions per game... He's 10th in passing yards (272.2 pg).

• WR Chris Carter continues to move up the program's all-time receptions chart, now sitting fifth with 171... He is 22 grabs away from moving into the top three... Carter is tied for third among FCS receivers this season at 8.6 pg.

• LB Mike Morales had a game-high 12 tackles at South Dakota, giving him 25 over the past two games and pushing his career total of double-digit games to eight.

• The Aggies are still looking to establish a solid rushing attack, having been held to less than 63 yards on the ground in each game so far... They're averaging 2.0 yards per carry.

• DT Jacob Maxson was named the GWC Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking a PAT in overtime that allowed UC Davis to win the game with its first possession of OT.

• FS Danny Hart has recovered three fumbles, tying him for the second-highest total in the FCS... The Aggies have five overall.

• Freshman P Colton Schmidt continues to have a strong season, putting three of his four kicks at South Dakota inside the 20... One-third (9 of 27) of his boots this season have landed inside the `red-zone'.

• UC Davis has scored just 18 points combined in the first (6) and third (12) quarters but has scored 54 points combined in the middle quarters.

• K Sean Kelley has made a field goal in each of his last four games and has made five of his past six.

• Through five games last season, the Aggies were minus-7 (14-7) in giveaways/takeaways but this season are plus-1 (7-8) over the first matchups... They've turned their gained-turnovers into 23 points while opponents have cashed in UC Davis' miscues for just 10 points.

• Winston-Salem State was in the midst of a reclassification to NCAA Division I before announcing last month that it would be returning to Div. II beginning in 2010-11. 

• UC Davis is trying to get on a roll to secure a winning season for the first time since 2006 when its impressive streak of 37 straight winning campaigns finally came to an end.

 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WINSTON-SALEM STATE
• The Aggies and the Rams are meeting for the first time.

• The teams share just three common opponents in the history of their programs: Bethune-Cookman, Cal Poly and Carson-Newman.

 • Winston-Salem State represents UC Davis' first-ever opponent from the state of North Carolina.

 

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 126-64-1 (.662) overall record and is 55-43-1 (.567) against NCAA Div. I teams... Biggs is also 51-17 (.750) in the month of October.

• 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 Biggs' 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.

• KERMIT BLOUNT (Winston-Salem State `80) is 90-82-3 and in his 17th year with the Rams... His 90 wins are most in school history... He reached the mileston with a 27-26 win over Delaware State on Nov. 8, 2008.

• Blount has led the Rams to a pair of conference championships as head coach... He played quarterback for the Rams, helping them to two other titles in 1977 and 1978.

• He was twice named the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year (1999, 2000).

BRIEF RAMS SCOUTING REPORT\
• Winston-Salem State enters the week having lost eight consecutive games going back to last year, including an 0-5 record this season.

• The Rams are looking to find consistency this season, averaging just 106.6 rushing ypg., 73.2 passing ypg, and 179.8 of offense overall.

• Because of its reclassification status, the Rams are not officially ranked in the NCAA FCS statistics... However, if ranked (and not including other reclassifying teams), WSSU would be 93rd in rushing and 118th for both passing and total offense.

• The Rams scored 10 points in each of their four games this year before battling Howard in a low-scoring 7-3 matchup in their last game on Oct. 10.

• QB JARRETT DUNSTON has 132 rushing yards (2.9 avg.) to lead the Rams while RB CEDRICK HICKMAN has 117... RB BRANDON McCRAE picked up a majority of his 103 yards this season by rushing 12 times for 62 yards against Howard.

• WSSU has struggled with its passing game so far, completing just 33.3 percent of its 126 passes for a total of 336 yards and three scores.

• QB's BRENDAN WILLIAMS and JARRETT DUNSTON have seen similar action so far this season with Williams throwing for 184 yards and a score and Dunston picking up 176 yards and two touchdowns.

• The Rams have favored the run in about 60 percent of its plays.

• WR OMAR KIZZIE has nine catches for 83 yards to lead the receivers who have 42 grabs overall.

• WSSU had just 139 total yards against Howard, picking up 110 of them on the ground... The Rams passsed 23 times, completing six for 29 yards.

• The defense has been more effective in the early going of the 2009 season, allowing just 20.6 ppg, 113.8 rushing ypg and 305.8 ypg overall.

• If officially ranked among FCS teams, the Rams would be 32nd against the rush and 35th in overall total defense. Their scoring defense (T-42nd) and passing defense (57th) would also rank among the top half of teams.

• DL AKEEM WARD (34) paces the defense with 34 tackles, including a team-high tying 5.5 TFL's and a team-best 2.5 sacks... He's also forced a fumble.

• LB CHEDRICK MARSHALL has 28 stops while six players have at least three TFL's.

• DB CAMERON DEMPS is one to watch out for on special teams, having already blocked two kicks... K LANDEN THAYER has made 5 of 7 field goals, including a long of 43 yards.

• DL JOHN HARRIS leads the returners with a 22.6 average on nine kicks, including a team-best 60-yard return.

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE COYOTES GAME
• UC Davis played its first overtime game since losing 9-6 to Grand Valley State at Toomey Field in the first game of the 2003 season... The Aggies improved to 4-2 all-time in extra-period games.

• UC Davis was held below 63 rushing yards for the fifth time this season, gaining 61 yards on a season-high 31 attempts... RB Joe Trombetta had 47 yards - including two on an overtime TD - on 17 carries.

• QB Greg Denham was sacked a season-high four times, one more than the Aggies' total of three entering the game... Conversely, UC Davis did not pick up a sack for the first time in its past three games.

• TE Dean Rogers had four catches for a career-high 103 yards including a 60-yarder early in the fourth quarter which ended with a fumble deep in Coyotes' territory... His previous best in yardage was 38 yards against Iona last year.

• P Colton Schmidt averaged 41.8 yards on four punts, putting three inside the 20-yard including a 53-yarder that rolled to the South Dakota State one-yard line.

• The Coyotes' turned Schmidt's punt to the 1 into a 99-yard drive (5 plays) that helped them tie the game late in the third quarter, 17-17.

• LB Mike Healey's nine tackles were a career-high, eclipsing the seven he had on Oct. 3 at Boise State.

• UC Davis snapped an eight-game road losing streak with the victory... Its last win away from Aggie Stadium prior to Saturday was at Sacramento State near the end of the 2007 season.

• South Dakota State missed two field goals (20, 31 yards) and had an extra-point blocked.

• The Aggies' 6.1 yards per play was their best of 2009...They were also 8 of 15 on third down and had a season-high 442 yards of total offense.

 

UC DAVIS GOES OVERTIME FOR WIN AT USD
• The Aggies' win at South Dakota on Oct. 10 marked their first overtime game since losing 9-6 against then No. 1 (Div. II) Grand Valley State Sept. 6, 2003.

• The victory improved UC Davis' record in extra-period affairs to 4-2... That breaks down to 4-1 on the road, 0-1 at home.

• Here is a listing of all OT matchups:

   WIN - 9/20/97 at Sac State, 36-28 (3 OT)

   WIN - 9/27/97 at Clarion (Pa.), 35-28

   WIN - 9/11/99 at Western Oregon, 40-33

   LOSS - 11/30/02 at Tex. A&M-Kingsville, 27-20

   LOSS - 9/6/03 vs. Grand Valley State, 9-6

   WIN - 10/10/09 at South Dakota, 24-23

 

MORALES POSTS BACK-TO-BACK BIG GAMES
• LB Mike Morales had 12 tackles at South Dakota, giving him two straight games with at least that many... He had 13 at Boise State the week before.

• Morales now has eight career games with at least 10 stops.

• Here are his double-digit outings: 2007: 10 vs. Cal Poly, 15 vs. South Dakota State, 11 at Sacramento State. 2008: 11 at Central Arkansas, 10 vs. Sacramento State, 10 at Cal Poly. 2009: 13 at Boise State, 12 at South Dakota.

 

TOP TWO CROWDS HAVE COME IN 2009
• UC Davis has played in front of three crowds of at least 30,000 fans with the two largest coming this season... All have been against FBS teams.

• The Aggies' game at Fresno State had an attendance of 37,267... Its loss at Boise State was witnessed by 32,497... The third game on the list came in 2005 when 31,250 fans - including an estimated 10,000 Aggie faithful - watched UC Davis upset Stanford, 20-17.

• UC Davis has attracted four crowds of at least 10,000 to still-new Aggie Stadium... Tops was an attendance mark of 10,849 against Southern Utah last year... This year's 10,078 at the Western Oregon game on Sept. 26 is fourth.

AGGIES IN TOP 25 OF NCAA STATS
• QB Greg Denham: Completions (2nd, 28.2 pg), passing yds. (15th, 272.2 pg), total passing yds. (13th, 1,361 yds), 

• WR Chris Carter: Receptions (T-3rd, 8.6 pg), rec. yds. (11th, 92.4 pg).

• K Sean Kelley: Field goals (T-22nd, 1.20 pg).

• CB Kenneth Brown: Passes defended (T-3rd, 1.8 pg).

• FS Danny Hart: Fumbles recovered (2nd, 0.60 pg).

 

FIVE HONORED BY GREAT WEST IN 2009
• UC Davis has enjoyed five Great West Conference Players of the Week so far in 2009, two each for offense and special teams, and one for defense.

• WR Chris Carter was honored with offensive accolades after picking up 11 catches for 190 yards against then No. 5 Montana on Sept. 12... QB Greg Denham added similar honors on Oct. 11 after passing for 380 yards at South Dakota.

• P Colton Schmidt earned special teams honors the same week after pinning the Grizzlies inside their own 12-yard line three times... DT Jacob Maxson picked up the same accolades after blocking a pivotal PAT attempt in the OT win at South Dakota.

• CB Kenneth Brown picked up the defensive award after an interception, forced fumble  and two pass breakups on Sept. 26 against Western Oregon... He also blocked a PAT.

 

ALL-TIME RECORD
• UC Davis owns an all-time record of 474-354-33 (.570) as it plays its 91st season of football... The Aggies started playing in 1915 and have played continuously except for 1918, and 1943-45.

• A total of 15 head coaches, beginning with R.E. HARMON (1915-16) have directed the Aggies' program.

 

CARTER, DENHAM EXPLOITS TOPS IN NCAA
• QB Greg Denham and WR Chris Carter vaulted to the top of the NCAA FCS single-charts after big games against Montana on Sept. 12.

• Denham's 67 attempts is tops for an FCS player this year while his 43 completions are second... The completions also tied a school-record held by Kevin Daft (1997 vs. New Haven) while the attempts broke Daft's mark of 64 from that same game.

• Carter's 18 receptions against the Grizzlies are the most by an FCS receiver in 2009 and are most among FCS receivers... And, yes, they are also a school record, breaking the previous mark of 15 established by WR Tony Kays in 2005.

 

CARTER NOW FIFTH ALL-TIME IN RECEPTIONS
• WR Chris Carter, despite missing most of his sophomore season with a knee injury, has entrenched himself as one of the most accomplished receivers in school history.

• Carter's career catches total 171, making him fifth all-time at UC Davis and just 36 away from tying Kays for the all-time lead... Next up are Michael Oliva (1999-2002) and JOHN SHOEMAKER (1996-99) who are tied for third with 192... Carter has 2,007 career yards and is seventh on the all-time list.

• He set a school record with 18 catches against Montana on Sept. 12 and had a career-best 190 receiving yards... He followed that with 11 more catches against Western Oregon... He is also on pace for a school-record 103 receptions. (current record: WR Tony Kays, 93, 2005).

• He has four double-digit receiving games in his career, after  also gaining 13 at Central Arkansas last year and 10 at Sacramento State in 2006... Carter also had his fourth 100-yard receiving last month, 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 against Montana 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.

  

DENHAM 300-YARD LIST GROWS TO EIGHT
• QB Greg Denham threw for 380 yards at South Dakota, marking his eight career 300-yard game and second this season... 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)

 - 27-41-1, 380 yds, 2 TD's at South Dakota (10/10/09)

 

RUSH DEFENSE CONTINUES TO BE TOUGH
• UC Davis has allowed less than 100 rushing yards in two of its five games so far, including just 86 vs. Montana and 48 against Western Oregon.

• The Western Oregon game marked the eighth time since the beginning of the 2008 season that the Aggies have held an opponent below 93 yards.

• 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 yds (27 att.) vs. North Dakota (10/25/08)

 - 86 yds (20 att.) vs. Montana (9/12/09)

 - 48 yds (24 att.) vs. Western Oregon (9/26/09)

• For good measure, Boise State was nearly held below the century mark, gaining just 101 on 33 carries... The Broncos entered the game averaging 214.3 ypg.

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. 

 

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 28 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.

 

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).

 

COACHING STAFF ROSTER RECEIVES UPDATE
• Defensive coordinator Mark Johnson is in his fourth stint with UC Davis and first since 2004... He was most recently at Utah State.

• 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. 

 

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 105 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 437 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... Fells has two touchdowns this season.

 

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 HAS ITS OWN QUARTERBACK "U"
• The Aggies' coaching tree (see above) is just one trademark of the football program... The other is its ability to turn out prolific quarterbacks.

• Despite being a Div. II program until 2007, UC Davis had six signal-callers chosen in the NFL Draft since 1979: Mike Moroski (Falcons, `79), KEN O'BRIEN (Jets, `83), SCOTT BARRY (49ers, `85), JEFF BRIDEWELL (Cardinals, `91), Kevin Daft (Titans, `99) and J.T. O'SULLIVAN (Saints, `02).

• O'Sullivan has played with several teams and is currently a backup with Cincinnati, Moroski is in his 22nd year on the Aggies' coaching staff and Daft is an assistant coach at Cal.

• O'Brien was a member of the famed NFL QB class of `83 that also included Dan Marino, John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly and Tony Eason being drafted in the first round.

• In addition to the draftees, QB KHARI JONES (1991-93) enjoyed a prolific career in the Canadian Football League and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in `01.

• QB MARK GRIEB (1994-96) was an ArenaBowl MVP and champion with the San Jose Sabercats and holds several league passing records.

• QB Jon Grant (2003-06) is a member of the Berlin Adler whose team is playing in the 21st German Bowl on Saturday.

• Even current coach Bob Biggs played some professional football spending some time in the CFL and the World Football League.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UC Davis Aggies Football

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