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

• UC Davis returns to the road trying for its first three-game winning streak since capturing four straight last season.. The 2008 run, capped by a 34-21 home win over North Dakota, put the Aggies at 5-4, the last time they were above .500.

• The Aggies are also looking for their second straight road win after ending an eight-game road losing streak on Oct. 10 at South Dakota... UC Davis last won consecutive road games in 2007 when it won 41-21 at Southern Utah (Oct. 20) and 31-26 at Sacramento State (Nov. 3).

• WR Joseph Gray was named the Great West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after his 81-yard kickoff return on Saturday against Winston-Salem State, giving the Aggies' three of the league's seven award winners so far this year... Others: P Colton Schmidt (Sept. 13), DT Jacob Maxson (Oct. 11).

• Gray's TD was the Aggies' first on a kickoff since former WR Kevin Freeman went 96 yards at Western Oregon in 2002... It's the eighth-longest return in program history and fifth among those that resulted in touchdowns.

• WR Chris Carter continues to move up the program's all-time receptions chart, currently sitting in fifth place with 176 receptions and just 32 away from breaking TONY KAYS' mark of 207 (2003-06)... Carter is T-3rd among NCAA Div. I FCS receivers at 8.0 catches per game.

• LB Mike Morales has 115 solo tackles and 107 assisted stops in his career, ranking him fifth and ninth, respectively, in team history... His 222 total tackles are fifth all-time along with his 20.5 TFL's.

• Also moving up a career chart is QB Greg Denham, whose 220 passing yards on Saturday put him 10th on that list with 5,084... He surpassed JIM SPECK (4,900 yds, 1973-76) with SCOTT BARRY (5,387 yds, 1982-84) occupying eighth place... Denham is also now T-8th at UC Davis with 37 career touchdown passes.

• UC Davis' 38-point outburst in the first half against Winston-Salem State was its largest since a 41-10 halftime lead against visiting Iona last year... The Aggies' extended that lead to 48-10 in the third quarter, matching Saturday's margin... The 31-point winning margin matched the game vs. Iona as the team's largest since winning 45-0 at Montana State in 2006.

• Saturday's game marks UC Davis' sixth straight on artificial grass... The opener at Fresno State was the only one played on natural turf... Only three games this year (FSU, Southern Utah, Sacramento State) will be played on stuff that grows.

• UC Davis is plus-5 in the takeway-giveaway department this year, the difference coming in fumbles where the Aggies have recovered eight while only losing three... They rank T-21st in turnover margin (0.83) after ending last year T-107th (-1.00).

• PK Sean Kelley made a 44-yard field goal against Winston-Salem State, the 17th made of his career... That ties him with BERNIE FURLAN (1967-69) for No. 8 all-time at UC Davis... He is also 3 for 3 this season from 40-49 yards after not having one beyond 36 yards entering the season.

• The Vikings lead 6-3 in a series that was first played in 1974 but has taken breaks of 17 (1975-92) and eight years (1996-2004).

• The Aggies won the initial meeting (50-21) but then lost six straight... They've won the last two meetings over the last two seasons.

• RB Joe Trombetta rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns and QB Greg Denham threw for 361 yards as UC Davis racked up 588 yards of offense in last year's 38-24 win.

• The last meeting in Portland - won 26-17 by UC Davis - featured a memorable goal-line stand by the Aggies who turned the No. 18 Vikings away five straight times from inside the 2.

• 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 127-64-1 (.664) overall record and is 56-43-1 (.566) against NCAA Div. I teams... Biggs is also 52-17 (.754) in the month of October and 56-42 (.583) on the road.

• 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.

• JERRY GLANVILLE (No. Michigan `64) is 9-20 and in his third year at Portland State.

• Glanville, former defensive coordinator and head coach of both the Atlanta Falcons - where he coached current Aggie assistant coach Mike Moroski - and Houston Oilers, was a longtime NFL coach beginning in 1974.

• Glanville later served as a NFL broadcaster for Fox, HBO, CBS and the NFL Network.

• He has also coached collegiately at Hawaii.

• Portland State features a high-powered offense fueled by a productive passing attack which is No. 7 in the FCS at 300.6 ypg., and an overall offense which is No. 24 (387.7 ypg).

• QB DREW HUBEL -  a big part of that attack - was injured on Oct. 10 against Northern Colorado and did not play last week against Northern Arizona... He is listed as questionabale for this week's game.

• Hubel is ranked sixth among FCS players in total offense (301.0 ypg) and had thrown for 1,863 yards and nine scores through his first six games.

• In his place, QB CONOR KAVANAUGH was 11-2-43 for 116 yards against Northern Arizona with QB JUSTIN ENGSTROM throwing for 52 yards on five completions.,, Kavanaugh picked up 42 rushing yards, giving him 205 for the season, second-best on the team... He's averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

• The Vikings finished with 274 yards of total offense, including 106 on the ground... They're averaging 87.1 rushing ypg., ranking 105th in the FCS.

• WR RAYMOND FRY (43 rec., 691 yds, 2 TDs) is one of three players with at least 31 catches, joining WR AARON WOODS (32-430, 3 TD's) and WR LAVONTE KIRVEN (31-573, 4 TDs)... Fry is is eighth (98.7 pg) in receiving yards and T-22nd (6.1 pg) in receptions in the FCS.

• FB BOBBY McCLINTOCK has 217 yards and a 4.4 rushing average for the Vikings who have just four rushing TD's this season... They've allowed 10.

• Defensively, Portland State is allowing 403.3 ypg of total offense (102nd in the FCS) including 130.0 rushing (48th) and 273.3 passing (112nd)... It's being outscored by about 10 ppg (31.8 - 21.0 ppg.)

• LB RYAN RAU has a team-best 46 tackles which incldes team-highs in TFLs (7.5) and sacks (3.0)... LB ERIK PEDERSEN has 42 total stops.

• The Vikings have recorded 12 sacks and allowed 15... DT JERMAINE JACOBS and DE DERECK JESTER each have a pair of sacks... S NATHAN SNOW has three of Portland State's five interceptions.

• Portland State has the same woes the Aggies had last season in the turnovers department... They are -1.86 pg for the season, ranking 114th nationally.

• Woods has been a standout in kick returns, averaging 25.1 yards including a 97-yard touchdown gallop against Weber State earlier this season... It's the second-longest in the FCS in 2009.

• PK ZACH BROWN is 12 of 17 in field goals including a long of 52 yards... His 1.71 avg. per game is T-7th in the FCS.

• RB MARQUIS NICHOLIS carried the ball for the first time as an Aggie, picking up 34 yards on seven carries.

• UC Davis benefitted from five turnovers, most by an opponent since Central Arkansas posted five (4 int, 1 fumble) in 2006.

• QB Greg Denham was 13 of 16 for 220 yards and three scores despite playing just one series into the third quarter.

• WR Chris Carter's touchdown was his first of the season and 12th in his career.

• P Colton Schmidt continues to impress in the punting department, averaging 48.8 yards on four kicks including a 68-yarder that rolled to the Rams' one-yard line... UC Davis didn't punt until the third quarter.

• The Aggies scored on 5 of 6 drives (the other was at the end of the fist half), including scoring three touchdowns over a two-minute span of the second quarter.

• UC Davis had a season-high 92 rushing yards, averaging a season-best 2.4 yards per carry... It also had a season-high 38 attempts.

• DE Eric Sobotka's 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the Aggies' first since current CB Jeremy Scott raced 38 yards with one late in the game at Northern Colorado in 2006.

• CB Jonathan Calhoun and FS Nick Aprile each had interceptions, helping the Aggies pick off a season-high two passes... Both were the firsts of their careers.

• UC Davis had a season-high five sacks, two off the previous high of three against Western Oregon.

• TE Dean Rogers had two catches for 49 yards, giving him six for 152 yards in his past two games... Included against the Rams was a 25-yard touchdown.

• WR Chris Carter had a memorable 68-yard play... He caught a short pass over the middle but in the process of being tackled avoided having his knee touch the ground as he rolled on top of the defender... He righted himself and then raced to the WSSU 7.

RUNNING GAME LOOKS TO GET ON TRACK

• UC Davis is still trying to find a consistent running attack this season having not rushed for at least 100 yards in any of its six games.

• It had a season-high 92 against Winston-Salem State and has only reached 60 yards two other times (62 at So. Dakota; 60 vs. Western Oregon).

• The Aggies have been held to double-digit rushing 16 of its past 18 games dating back to the start of the 2008 season... The notable exceptions were 295 yards against Iona last October and 227 yards versus Portland State in the 2008 home opener.

• UC Davis is averaging just 2.1 yards per rushing attempt this season... An interesting sidenote: Quarterbacks notwithstanding, the Aggies only have 25 negative rushing yards out of 437 gained... They've only scored three rushing touchdowns.

• WR Joseph Gray had an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Winston-Salem State... It is the eighth-longest return in Aggie history and the fifth-longest returned for a score.

• PK Sean Kelley's 48-yard field goal at Boise State is tied for the 12th-longest in school history.

• QB Greg Denham's 380 passing yards at South Dakota are 22nd-most in an Aggie game.

• WR Chris Carter's 190 receiving yards against Montana are seventh-most for a single game.

MORALES MAKING MARK ON TACKLES LISTS

• LB Mike Morales leads UC Davis in solo (24), assisted (18) and total (42) tackles, three areas where he is moving up among the Aggies' all-time leaders.

• He currently ranks fifth in career solo tackles (115), ninth in assisted stops (107) and fifth in total tackles (222)... Morales is also fifth in TFL's since 2001 with 20.5.

• Morales has eight career games with at least 10 tackles, including two this year when he posted 13 at Boise State and 12 at South Dakota a week later.

KELLEY OFF TO STRONG START AS AGGIE

• PK Sean Kelley was an All-Great West second-team pick last season after making 10 (of 13) field goals and all 42 PATs... He had a long FG of 36 yards.

• He's continuing to be a reliable threat for UC Davis, having already added seven field goals this year including three over 40 yards (46 vs. Western Oregon, 48 at Boise State, 44 vs. Winston-Salem State).

• For his career, he has 17 field goals (T-8th all-time), 23 FG attempts (10th) and 55 PATs (T-8th)... He is 55 of 57 in PATs overall.

• 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 

• 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 overtime win on Oct. 10th... WR Joseph Gray had an 81-yard kickoff return to earn honors on Oct. 18.

• 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.

• Additionally, Carter was named the GWC Male Student-Athlete of the Month for September, an award covering athletes from all conference sports... He had 33 catches for 308 yards to help highlight his month.

ALL-TIME RECORD

• UC Davis owns an all-time record of 475-354-33 (.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.

• 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, 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 176, making him fifth all-time at UC Davis and just 31 away from tying WR Tony Kays (2003-2006) 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 2,098 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 96 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.

• 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)

• 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 29 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.

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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 106 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 438 games... UC Davis had 130 in that game.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 won the 21st German Bowl earlier this season.

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