Oct. 26, 2009

Complete UC Davis game notes in PDF Format
Complete Southern Utah game notes in PDF Format
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OPENING KICKOFF
• News, notes and headline items to get things started... Many will be expanded later on in these notes.

• UC Davis looks for a four-game winning streak for the second straight season when it returns to Great West Conference play on Saturday at Southern Utah... Three of its final four games will be conference affairs.

• The Aggies are also hoping to win their third straight on the road in the same season since 2004 when they beat Weber State, Northern Colorado and Western Oregon... Counting back into 2003, the streak was five games.

• UC Davis is also looking to go 2-0 in the Great West for the second consecutive season and the third time overall (2008, 2004).

• After averaging 13.8 ppg over their first four games when they went 1-3, the Aggies have been scoring at a 34.3 ppg. clip during their three-game winning streak.

• WR Chris Carter continues his march toward the all-time receptions record at UC Davis... With nine catches at Portland State, he now has 185 and is just seven away from moving into a tie for third at UC Davis... He needs 23 grabs to overtake WR Tony Kays (2003-06) who had 207.

• Carter's school-record 18 receptions against Montana on Sept. 12 are still the most among NCAA Div. I FCS receivers this season... He ranks fourth (8.14 pg) in receptions and 12th (90.9 pg) in receiving yards.

• The Aggies' 143 rushing yards last Saturday marked the first time they cracked 100 yards since gaining 144 against Sacramento State last season, and ended a string of eight straight games in double digits.

• UC Davis' come-from-behind win at Portland State (it trailed 28-17 in the third) marked its biggest comeback for a win since trailing 27-14 in the third quarter gainst visiting Northern Colorado in 2008 (W, 34-30).

• The Aggies last played on Halloween in 1998, edging host Grand Valley State 40-38... They are 5-0 on the scary holiday since 1961.

• QB Austin Heyworth, playing in just his third game, relieved injured starter QB Greg Denham and threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD's at Portland State, earning GWC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

• K Sean Kelley, helped deliver the win with a 38--yard FG late in the game and was named the league's Special Teams Player of the Week... UC Davis has won the last three GWC weekly awards for special teams play.

• The Aggies have owned the time-of-possession advantage in five of its seven games this year and are ranked 26th nationally at 31:56 per game.

• UC Davis' defense allowed just 17 total yards to Portland State in the second half after the Vikings rolled up 220 over the first two quarters... Portland State's only score after a 21-point first half was a fourth-quarter FG that came after it was unable to score a TD off a turnover just outside the Aggies' 10.

• The Aggies' opponents so far this season own a 28-23 record... Included are two 7-0 teams (Montana, Boise State)... The rest of the schedule is 12-16 but has two teams ranked (Cal Poly) or receiving votes (Southern Utah).

 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
• UC Davis leads the Thunderbirds 10-3 in the all-time series, all of the games coming during the tenure of head coach Bob Biggs... The teams first met in 1993.

• The Aggies have won the past four matchups and are 7-0 at home and 3-3 on the road against Southern Utah.

• The Thunderbirds last beat UC Davis in 2004, scoring a 19-15 win at Eccles Coliseum... The Aggies have outscored Southern Utah an average of 37.5-18.8 ppg since then, including 41-21 (2007) and 49-26 (2008) each of the past two seasons, both at Aggie Stadium.

• QB Greg Denham threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns last year while RB Brandon Tucker, WR Bakari Grant and WR Brandon Rice each scored twice.. WR TYSSON POOTS had eight catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns for the Thunderbirds.

 

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 128-64-1 (.666) overall record and is 57-43-0 (.570) against NCAA Div. I teams... Biggs is also 53-17 (.757) in the month of October and 57-42 (.576) on the road... He is 10-3 against Southern Utah.

• 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.

• ED LAMB (BYU `96) is 7-11 and in his second year at BYU after going 4-7 during his first season in 2008.

• Lamb previously coached at the University of Redlands, BYU, Idaho and, most recently, at the University of San Diego (2005-07) where was special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach.

 

BRIEF SOUTHERN UTAH SCOUTING REPORT
• Southern Utah has proven effective with both its rushing (133.1 ypg) and passing (273.0 ypg; 14th in the FCS) attacks which have helped lead it to scoring an average of 32.0 ppg.

• Overall, they're averaging 406.1 ypg. of offense (19th in the FCS), just slightly more than the 401.3 ypg. it's allowing which is 103rd nationally.

• QB CADE COOPER has been enjoying an outstanding year, completely nearly 64 percent of his passes for 1,833 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions... He's averaging 261.9 passing ypg. and 274.1 ypg of total offense (T-14th in FCS)

• Cooper was particularly effective against North Dakota last Saturday, finishing 31 of 45 for 295 yards and four touchdowns... He threw two scores to WR TYSSON POOTS (7, 9 yds).

• His passing yards picked up a big boost on Sept. 19 when he threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns against Northern Arizona, sixth-most for an FCS game this year... Cooper has 17 TD passes in his past five games.

• He's got a couple of big threats in WR FESI SITAKE (49 rec., 507 yds, 7 TD's) and Poots (42-527, 6 TD's) with five receivers overall hauling in double-digit passes this season... Sitake is T-9th in the FCS at 7.0 catches per game.

• RB AUSTIN MINEFEE is averaging a team-high (among regulars) 5.4 yards per carry and has 429 yards while RB MAJOR GRAY has 318 yards and a 4.0 average... Despite its 133.1 rushing ypg. average, Southern Utah has scored just four times on the ground.

• Conversely, the Thunderbirds have allowed 17 rushing touchdowns and 193.1 rushing ypg... Their last five opponents have rushed for at least 200 yards, scoring six times.

• They've proven tougher against the pass, allowing just 208.1 ypg. and only seven touchdowns on the year... Southern Utah limited North Dakota to just 126 passing yards on 10-of-25 passing.

• The Thunderbirds also picked off a pair of passes including one by CB ERRON VONNER which he returned 12 yards for a touchdown, helping him earn GWC Defensive Player of the Week.

• LB ROB TAKENO has a team-best 56 tackles while CB DION TURNER and Vonner each have 43... The defense has just six sacks this season with no player owning more than 1.5.

•  Southern Utah has done a good job in turnovers, gaining 13 fumbles with four interceptions for a plus-4 in the giveaway/takeway department.

• K RYAN GRIFFITH has helped pace the special teams, making 12 of 14 field goal attempts, (T-4th nationally at 1.7 pg), including a 3-for-3 mark from between 40-49 yards... He has a season-long 49-yarder (vs. San Diego State)... He made his first 11 attempts of the year and has made at least one in each game except the most recent.

• P TREVOR WARD has also been strong with his leg, averaging 46.9 yards per punt... He's been helped by six boots of at least 50 yards including a 61-yarder against San Diego State... The Thunderbirds' 43.2 net average is tops among all FCS teams.

 

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE VIKINGS GAME
• UC Davis' first-half effectiveness was helped by strong play on third down... The Aggies were 7 of 8 in those situations, finishing 8 of 14 for the game.

• Portland State scored on each of its first three possessions, including drives of 80, 46 and 77 yards... Conversely, in the second half, the Vikings' last five drives of the game totaled 16 plays for minus-15 yards.

• Ten different Aggie receivers caught passes in the game, led by WR Chris Carter who had nine for 83 yards... TE Dean Rogers, TE Luke McDonough and RB Josh Reese each had three catches.

• Reese's 84 rushing yards were the second-most of his career, trailing only his 99-yard effort (17 carries) against Iona last season.

• Reese also contributed a 38-yard kickoff return while WR Joseph Gray had a 40-yarder.

• UC Davis had a season-high 484 yards of total offense, breaking the 440-yard mark for the second time in the past three games.

• The Aggies' three fumbles - and three overall turnovers - were both season-highs.

• DT Jacob Maxson, DE Patrick Michelier and DE Eric Sobotka each had sacks while SS Byron Gruendl and FS Kevyn Lewis each had a half-sack... Five different players broke up passes.

• Portland State and UC Davis traded touchdowns on five consecutive series during the first half.

• Saturday's game marked the first time this season the Aggies have trailed after each of the first three quarters before winning.

• UC Davis' 17 points in the fourth quarter easily surpassed the 12 total points it had scored in that period entering the game... Portland State was the first Aggie opponent to score in each quarter and lose since Northern Colorado in 2008.

• UC Davis had a season-low three penalties... Its 34 penalized yards are second-fewest for a game this year.

• The Aggies' punted just twice, their lowest total of the season... They've only punted 10 times over the last three games.

 

TURNOVERS MOVE INTO AGGIES' FAVOR
• UC Davis was ranked T-106th of 118 teams in turnover margin last year at -1.00 per game... That included a T-85th mark in giveaways (26) and a T-106th (13) in takeaways.

• Despite losing three fumbles at Portland State on Oct. 24, the Aggies are still in the plus column, tying for 36th in turnovers lost (11) and tying for 55th in turnovers gained (13)... It's added up to a turnover margin of 0.29, tying UC Davis for 43rd.

• They've had more turnovers than their opponents in three games so far but have been helped by a 5-to-1 advantage against Winston-Salem State and no turnovers at Boise State.

 

TRICK OR TREAT? AGGIES 5-0 SINCE 1961
• UC Davis is 5-0 on Halloween since 1961, enjoying a 3-0 mark on the road... The Aggies have outscored opponents an average of 33.0-24.6 on Halloween.

• Here are the Aggies' other games on the scary holiday:

   - W,40-38 at Grand Valley State (1998)

   - W,44-37 vs. Chico State (1992)

   - W,25-14 at Sonoma State (1987)

   - W,21-17 at Santa Clara (1981)

   - W,35-17 vs. Nevada (1970)

• Dates for games prior to 1961 have not been researched.

 

DEFENSE SACKS RAMS AND VIKINGS
• UC Davis has nine sacks over its past two games, five of them against Winston-Salem State.

• The past two games have been the most productive for the Aggies in sacks since they racked up nine (5 vs. Iona, 4 vs. North Dakota) midseason last year.

• The Aggies' opened the 2007 season with 11 (2 vs. Western Washington, 9 at Portland St.) and had 10 combined in games against North Dakota State (4) and Cal Poly (6) in 2005.

• UC Davis' recent surge has netted 71 yards in losses.

 

OCTOBER IS TRAVELING MONTH FOR AGGIES
• Outside of a home game against Winston-Salem State on Oct. 17, UC Davis will have been on the road four times during the month, covering 5,488 miles. 

• Broken down by trip: Boise State (906), South Dakota (2,662), Portland State (968) and Southern Utah (952).

• While it's been a busy frequent-flier kind of October, it still seems pedestrian to the nearly 11,000 miles the Aggies traveled during the first five games of the 2006 season.

 

RUSHING GETS BOOST AT PORTLAND STATE
• The Aggies' running game received a major boost at Portland State, surpassing 100 yards for the first time this year when it gained 143 on 35 attempts, both season-highs.

• It was just their sixth game over the 100-yard mark in their past 19 outings.

• Both RB Joshua Reese (84 yds) and RB Joe Trombetta (60 yds) had more yards than the previous-best individual effort by an Aggie which came with Trombetta's 47 yards at South Dakota.

• Reese's total was helped by runs of 38 and 31 yards during the Aggies' fourth-quarter rally.

• UC Davis has increased its average per attempt each of the last three games, capped by a 4.1 average at Portland State, nearly twice as large as its previous best of 2.1 against Winston-Salem State.

 

LONGEST PLAYS/SINGLE-GAME HIGHS UPDATE
• 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.

 

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, yes, they are also a school record, breaking the previous mark of 15 established by WR Tony Kays in 2005.

 

MORALES TACKLING HIS WAY UP AGGIE LISTS
• LB Mike Morales leads UC Davis in solo (26), assisted (23) and total (49) tackles, three areas where he is moving up among the Aggies' all-time leaders.

• He currently ranks fifth in career solo tackles (117), eighth in assisted stops (112) and fifth in total tackles (229)... 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.

 

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR KELLEY
• 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.

• His sophomore season is setting up to be just as productive having already made nine field goals and 17 of 19 PAT's... After entering the year with a long FG of 36 yards, he has already made three from beyond 40 yards (46 vs. Western Oregon, 48 at Boise State, 44 vs. Winston-Salem State).

• For his career, he has 19 field goals (8th all-time), 25 FG attempts (10th) and 59 PATs (7th)... He is 59 of 61 in PATs overall.

SEVEN HONORED BY GREAT WEST IN 2009
• UC Davis has enjoyed seven Great West Conference Players of the Week so far in 2009, three 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... Backup QB Austin Heyworth, relieving an injured Denham at Portland State, threw a pair of key TD passes for the award on Oct. 25.

• 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 while K Sean Kelley had two FG's - including a game-winner - at Portland State to give the Aggies' three straight winners of the award.

• 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 476-354-33 (.571) 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 MAKING MOVE ON SCHOOL RECORD
• 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 185, putting him fifth all-time at UC Davis and just 23 away from breaking the record of 207 held by WR Tony Kays (2003-2006)... Next up are Michael Oliva (1999-2002) and JOHN SHOEMAKER (1996-99) who are tied for third with 192... Carter has 2,181 career yards and is sixth 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 single-season 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 game last month, also reaching the plateau with 189 at Central Arkansas and 104 against Sacramento State (2008) last season, 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 CONTINUES TO COMPILE BIG YARDS
• 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)

• Denham is currently 10th for all-time yards (5,343), 10th for total offense (5,124), 8th in touchdowns (38), 8th for attempts (744) and 5th for completions (474) with more movement up the charts this season within reach.

 

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 30 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.

 

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 106 home games. (includes "home" games at Hughes Stadium during Causeway Classic).

• 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 439 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.

 

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 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 WFL. 

 

UC Davis Aggies Football

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