Mustangs Visit For Battle For The Golden Horseshoe - UC Davis Official Athletic Site

Mustangs Visit For Battle For The Golden Horseshoe

UC Davis and Cal Poly renew rivalry on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Aggie Stadium

	Defensive end Pat Michelier will help anchor the Aggies' defense against visiting Cal Poly on Saturday. (Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise)

Nov. 3, 2009

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Cal Poly (4-4, 1-1)

UC Davis (4-4, 1-1)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

1 p.m. • Davis, Calif.

Aggie Stadium (10,849) • Artificial grass (Sportexe)

OPENING KICKOFF

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

• UC Davis and Cal Poly square off in the 35th edition of their rivalry which in recent years has become known as the "Battle for the Golden Horshoe".

• Both teams, along with Southern Utah and North Dakota, still have eyes on the Great West Conference championship... Each team has just one league loss so far.. SUU and UND, have a half-game advantage, however, due to their two wins each... The Aggies are looking for their first conference title since 2005 while Cal Poly is trying for its second straight.

• The Aggies are home for two straight games and a relatively short "road" game at Sacramento State later after traveling nearly 5,500 miles in October to South Dakota, Oregon and Utah.

• UC Davis is also looking for its third straight home win and its 10th all-time victory at Aggie Stadium... The Aggies are 2-1 at home this year and have won eight of their past 10 on their own turf.

• Cal Poly has polar-opposite success for its home and road games this year, owning a spotless 4-0 mark in San Luis Obispo but struggling to an 0-4 record while out of town.

• WR Chris Carter, whose 18 catches against Montana on Sept. 12 still lead NCAA Div. I FCS receivers this season, continues his quest toward the Aggies' career reception record... He is T-3rd with 192, needs three more to take over second place and is 16 away from breaking TONY KAY's (2003-06) record of 207.

• The Aggies have been putting the pedal to the offensive floor over their past four games, averaging 427.8 ypg while eclipsing the 400-yard mark three times... It's also been reflected in their scoring... After averaging 13.7 ppg over the first four matchups, UC Davis has averaged 34.5 ppg in the last four.

• It's found more balance between the run and pass more during the last month... After not having rushed more than 38 percent of the time in any of its first four games, UC Davis has not rushed less than 43 percent of the time since.

• The Aggies rushed for 244 yards at Southern Utah last weekend, their second straight triple-digit rushing game and only second of the year... It was their highest total since picking up 295 against Iona last year.

• RB Josh Reese had 101 of last week's yards, the Aggies' first 100-yard game of the season... Reese is averaging 5.9 yards a carry for the Aggies who have pushed their season average to 3.0 yards for the first time this year.

• FS Danny Hart, who entered the year with a single-game career-high of two tackles, posted 13 stops against the Thunderbirds for his second double-digit effort of the season... He had 14 at Boise State for his career-best.

• UC Davis has been getting it done inside the `red-zone' over its last three games, converting 11 of 12 opportunities into 73 points (10 TDs, 1 FG)... For the season, the Aggies have converted 61 percent (17 of 28) of their `red-zone' opportunities into touchdowns.

• The Aggies have five players with at least 19 receptions, including Carter (64), WR Bakari Grant (34) and WR Sean Creadick (32).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CAL POLY

• UC Davis and Cal Poly are knotted 16-16-2 in their all-time series which was first played 70 years ago in 1939 (UCD, 28-0).

• The Aggies won five straight from 1982-86 while Cal Poly has won three straight twice, including a current streak that began in 2006... The other was 1979-81.

• Both teams have 63-28 victories in the series since 2000... UC Davis picked up its win by that score in San Luis Obispo that year while Cal Poly returned the favor in Davis in 2007.

• The Aggies' last win came in 2005 when it captured a 20-13 victory at Toomey Field, a game which helped it secure a share of the Great West title with the Mustangs.

• UC Davis' 19-0 loss to Cal Poly in 1990 marked the last time it was shut out in a game until Fresno State won 51-0 this year, a span of 212 games.

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 128-65-1 (.662) overall record and is 57-44-0 (.564) against NCAA Div. I teams... Biggs is also 38-17 (.691) in the month of November and 69-22-1 (.755) on the road... He is 9-7 against Cal Poly including a 4-4 mark at home.

• 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.

• TIM WALSH (UC Riverside `77) is 4-4 and in his first year at Cal Poly... He is 121-86 (.585) and in his 19th year of coaching overall.

• He was the head coach at Portland State from 1993-2006 where he was 4-0 against UC Davis... Walsh also coached at Sonoma State from 1989-92 where he was 1-3 against the Aggies.

BRIEF CAL POLY SCOUTING REPORT

• The Mustangs, who advanced to the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2005 and 2008, are defending Great West Conference champions.

• Cal Poly has been a mainstay in the national rankings before falling into "others receiving votes" this week.

• The Mustangs feature a rushing attack that is ranked 14th nationally (188.8 ypg.) including a team-high 63.5 ypg. from FB JORDAN YOCUM.

• QB TONY SMITH is averaging just 115 ypg. through the air but has rushed for five touchdowns, most on the team.

• Cal Poly has favored running the ball this year, rushing it 66 percent of the time.

• WR DOMINIQUE JACKSON leads the receiving corps in both catches (25) and yards (425); both totals are well above any other Mustang player.

• Cal Poly, which has had three winners of the Buck Buchanan Award for the top FCS defensive player, is led on that side of the ball by LB MARTY MOHAMED who has 69 total tackles, including 38 solo.

• LB CARLTON GILLESPIE and DE RYAN SHOTWELL - brother of current Cal Poly assistant coach and Buchanan Award winner KYLE SHOTWELL - each have four sacks.

• Cal Poly is ranked seventh nationally in turnover margin at 1.38 pg including having recovered 11 fumbles and intercepted 13 passes.

• S SCOTTIE CORDIER has four picks for Cal Poly which has returned two for touchdowns.

• CB ASA JACKSON is one of the best punt returners in the FCS, ranking fifth with an average of 17.2 yards... He has a long return of 59 yards.

• PK CHRIS PINTO has made 7 of 10 field goals including 4 of 5 from 30-39 yards... He has a long of 42 yards.

• The Mustangs handed current No. 9 South Dakota State its only loss when it beat the Jackrabbits 21-14 on Oct. 3... They also own wins over Sacramento State (38-19), Southern Utah (24-23) and Dixie State (44-14).

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE SO. UTAH GAME

• UC Davis raced to a quick 7-0 lead less than three minutes in but fell behind 21-7 at the end of the first quarter... Southern Utah scored 28 unanswered points over the middle two quarters to take control of the game after UC Davis knotted the game 21-21.

• The Thunderbirds' 56 points are the most for an opponent since Cal Poly's 63-28 win in 2007.

• TE Brad Bispo caught a 29-yard TD pass from QB Greg Denham... His last two catches have been for touchdowns while three of his six catches this year have resulted in scores.

• WR FESI SITAKE's 61-yard punt return for a touchdown was the first by an Aggie opponent since Sacramento State's FRED AMEY ran one back 90 yards in the 2002 Causeway Classic.

• Southern Utah's RB MAJOR GRAY scored four rushing touchdowns, marking the second straight year a Thunderbird scored four times against UC Davis... WR TYSSON POOTS, who had a 13-yd TD reception last week, caught four TD's last year.

• P Colton Schmidt had a long punt of 51 yards, his third boot of at least 50 yards this season.

• WR Bakari Grant tied WR Chris Carter with a team-high seven catches... The total tied his season high (also at Boise State) and was just one off his career-best.

• Southern Utah recorded four sacks, tying Winston-Salem State and South Dakota for most by an opponent this season.

• RB Josh Reese's 101 yards were a career-high, surpassing the 99 he had on 17 carries against Iona last year.

• UC Davis had three turnovers for the second straight week and the third time this year, tying a single-game high.

• The Aggies rushed the hall 25 times and passed just 12 times during the first half... They rushed for 153 yards before intermission while passing for 73.

• UC Davis was 3 for 4 on fourth down and is now 6 for 7 on the critical play over the last five games.

OCTOBER WAS TRAVELING MONTH FOR AGGIES

• Outside of a home game against Winston-Salem State on Oct. 17, UC Davis was 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.

GRANT MOVES INTO TOP 10 RECEIVING CHARTS

• Like teammate WR Chris Carter, WR Bakari Grant is also making his way up the list of UC Davis' greatest wide receivers.

• With 34 catches for 408 yards, Grant is now eighth on the all-time receptions list with 143, just 10 behind No. 7 TAY THOMPSON (1970-72).

• Grant needs just 130 more receiving yards to move into that top 10 list and, with 17 career touchdowns, is one score away from cracking that list.

WHAT'S NEW WILDCAT, WHAT'S NEW?

• Throwing a wrinkle into their offensive attack, UC Davis utilized the Wildcat formation during last week's game at Southern Utah.

• FS Nick Aprile, who played quarterback at Escalon HS, effectively directed the attack, rushing eight times for 56 yards and a five-yard score.

• He also completed his lone pass, a six-yard TD toss to TE Dean Rogers.

• His high school resumè prepped him well... The Aggies' redshirt freshman rushed for 975 yards and passed for 540 during his senior year at Escalon, a year after amassing totals of 879 and 427, respectively.

AGGIES WINNING BATTLE OF TIME

• UC Davis is ranked 23rd among FCS in time of possession, averaging 32 minutes, 3 seconds through its first eight games.

• The Aggies have held the ball longer than their opponents five times this year, including the last four games.

• The high-water mark came against Montana when UC Davis was on offense for 37:24.

• The Aggies have also had six quarters with at least 10 minutes of possession time including 12-minute efforts against Montana and South Dakota... Both of those came in the first quarter.

UC DAVIS CHARTER MEMBERS OF GREAT WEST

• The Aggies, one of three original members of the Great West Conference still competing in the league, are in their sixth year in the league, looking for their first title since 2005 when they tied with Cal Poly.

• UC Davis is 13-11 (.542) all-time in the GWC, having also finished second in 2004 and 2008 in addition to their lone title.

• The Aggies are no strangers to conference success, having won outright or shared 20 consecutive titles from 1971-1990 in the Far Western Conference and Northern California Athletic Conference.

• UC Davis also tied for the title in its only year of membership in the American West Conference.

ATTENDANCE MARKS COULD FALL IN 2009

• UC Davis is on pace to setting attendance records for home games, road games and all games, thanks to spacious Aggie Stadium and high-profile opponents such as Fresno State and Boise State.

• UC Davis is averaging 9,818 fans through its first three home games, and with sellouts in its final two, will eclipse the previous best average of 10,071 set in 1982.

• A new record for road games is assured... The Aggies are averaging 17,573 fans for its first five road games and - regardless of what happens in its last game at Sacramento State - will beat the previous best of 13,878 in 2006.

• UC Davis is averaging 14,664 fans overall in 2009 and will finish above the record 10,766 fans it averaged over 11 games in 2006.

• In addition, the 37,267 fans at Fresno State represented the largest ever to watch the Aggies play while the 32,497 at Boise State are second.

• UC Davis has twice surpassed 10,000 spectators at Aggie Stadium (Western Oregon, Winston-Salem State)... The Aggies have gone over that barrier five times in the stadium's three-season history.

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 (29), assisted (26) and total (55) tackles, three areas where he is moving up among the Aggies' all-time leaders.

• He currently ranks fifth in career solo tackles (120), eighth in assisted stops (115) and fifth in total tackles (235)... 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 476-355-33 (.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 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 192, putting him in a tie for third all-time at UC Davis and just 16 away from breaking the record of 207 held by WR Tony Kays (2003-2006)... He is tied with Michael Oliva (1999-2002) and JOHN SHOEMAKER (1996-99)... Carter has 2,228 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.

• Carter 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... He 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 31 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 440 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.