Nov. 20, 2003

Complete Game Notes

GAME 10
No. 20 Northern Colorado (8-2) at UC Davis (6-3)

Davis, Calif.
Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 1:00 p.m.
Toomey Field (10,111) * Natural grass
KHTK (1140 AM) * KDVS (90.3 FM, www.kdvs.org) * KSRK (540 AM, Monterey)

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OPENING KICKOFF
UC DAVIS concludes its first season of transition from NCAA Division II to I-AA status facing NORTHERN COLORADO, another Division II team mirroring the Aggies' reclassification process.

The game is the first all-time meeting between the programs, but the teams have plans to meet in future seasons... As provisional members of Div. I-AA, neither UC Davis nor Northern Colorado are eligible for either the NCAA I-AA or II Playoffs.

The Aggies enter the weekend having clinched their 34th straight winning season, which is a Division II record and the fourth-longest active streak in all of collegiate football after one team above them (Central College, Iowa) did not extend its streak this during the 2003 season.

UC Davis is looking to win at least seven games for the eighth consecutive year... With a win this weekend, Aggie coach Bob Biggs will have 97 for his 11-year career, putting him to within three wins of being just the second coach in UC Davis history (Jim Sochor, 156) of reaching the century mark.

The Aggies continue to be among the leaders in the Division II rankings in rush defense, allowing just 87.6 ypg (9th), slightly lower than Northern Colorado which is at 88.7 ypg (16th).

UC Davis has won 26 of its last 30 regular-season games at Toomey Field... The Aggies are playing their fifth straight afternoon game, having gone 3-1 in the first four... No.20 Northern Colorado represents the first opponent this year ranked in The Sports Network/CSTV I-AA Top 25 poll.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BEARS
This week's game is the first all-time meeting between Northern Colorado and UC Davis, although the two schools have been quite familiar with each other throughout their Division II histories.

Northern Colorado advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs nine times, winning back-to-back national championships in 1996 and 1997... The Bears posted a 12-7 all-time record in Division II postseason games.

The Aggies and Bears have shared a recent common opponent in Grand Valley State... UC Davis has lost to the Lakers the last two seasons while Northern Colorado dropped a 44-7 game to Grand Valley State in last year's NCAA Semis.

HEAD COACHES
Aggie Head Coach Bob Biggs (UC Davis '73) is in his 11th year and owns an 96-33-1 (.742) overall record... He is the second-winningest coach in the history of the program and trails only Jim Sochor (156-41-5, .785) at UC Davis... Biggs entered the season tied as the seventh-winningest active coach in Division II - by percentage - and entered the year 23rd in total victories.

Biggs holds an impressive 33-8 (.805) record in games played during November, is 60-15-1 (.796) against Div. II teams, and entered the season 43-9-1 (.821) against teams on the 2003 schedule... Biggs is 2-0 against teams from Colorado (Mesa State, Western State)... Biggs is 57-14 (.803) since the start of the 1998 season and has posted five double-digit wins seasons in his last 10.

O. KAY DALTON (Colorado State '54) is 31-15 (.674) and in his fourth year as head coach of the Bears... He is 64-27 (.703) and in his ninth year overall... Dalton led the Bears to a 12-2 record last season and a berth in the NCAA Semifinals... He has coached in the NFL, CFL, at the NCAA Division I-A levels, and was offensive coordinator at Northern Colorado since 1989 before becoming head coach.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE BEARS
Northern Colorado has enjoyed a proficient season during its first year of reclassification from Div. II to Div. I-AA... The Bears have been strong on both sides of the ball, have won on the road at Montana State and Southern Utah and have only lost to Div. I-AA opponents... They are ranked nationally in total offense (7th), total defense (16th), rushing offense (18th), rushing defense (11th), passing offense (27th), scoring offense (11th), scoring defense (9th) and turnover margin (24th).

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears boast a trio of outstanding players... RB ADAM MATTHEWS has rushed for 1,489 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, has 10 straight 100-yard rushing games and is the first player in school history to go over 3,000 career yards (3,161).... WR VINCENT JACKSON has been just as impressive for the receiving corps, collecting 59 catches for 1,286 yards and 19 touchdowns, and is averaging 21.8 yards per catch... QB TONY CHRISTENSEN has orchestrated the offense, passing for 1,897 yards with a 145.97 efficiency rating.

The Bears are averaging 478.0 ypg in total offense, and are very well balanced with 220.4 ypg on the ground and 257.6 ypg through the air... Defensively, Northern Colorado is allowing just 277.0 ypg and is among the NCAA Div. II leaders in rushing defense at just 88.7 ypg... They're allowing just 15.2 ppg, while scoring at a 39.0 ppg clip.

DE PAUL HUBBARD is chasing the school record of 18 sacks, having already picked up 15.5 this season, including a trio of sacks in last week's win against Augustana... The Bears have 33 as a team... Hubbard is ranked first nationally in sacks per game (1.6) and is third in tackles-for-losses (2.1)... DB REED DOUGHTY has a team-high 81 tackles, DB Hassan RASHAD has two interceptions and 12 pass breakups... Northern Colorado has also forced 13 fumbles.

POINTS A PLENTY IN SECOND
UC Davis has scored 46 percent of its points (123 of 267) in the second quarter this season, making the quarter just before halftime the most productive part of the game for the Aggies... Three times UC Davis has scored at least 21 points, including 21 against both Saint Mary's and Central Washington, and 24 versus Western Oregon... It's also the only quarter UC Davis has not been shut out at least once... The next best quarter is the fourth with UC Davis scoring 56 down the homestretch.

FLANIGAN ENJOYS BANNER DAY
QB Ryan Flanigan, who missed all or part of at least three games before returning early against Saint Mary's on Nov. 1, enjoyed one of his best days against Central Washington... Flanigan, a preseason candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the top senior quarterback, completed 24 of 27 passes for a season-high 359 yards (28th on all-time best games list)... He completed 21 of his first 22 and was 17 of 18 for 229 yards and two touchdowns BEFORE halftime... It was his second career 300-yard game and fourth career game with at least three touchdown passes.

His efficiency rating for the game was an amazing 237.24 and jumped his season mark 17 points to 133.54... It also helped vault UC Davis to 34th in Div. II passing... He was named the I-AA Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Flanigan moved into 10th place in the Aggies' career list for passing yards last week, moving past current assistant coach Mike Moroski, who had 4,530... Flanigan is at 4,568.. His 35 career TD passes are ninth all-time.

AGGIES HAVING A BLOCK PARTY
What began as a mildly unusual occurrence - a blocked field goal and a blocked punt - during the first two games has evolved into a "kick watch" each week... Through its first nine games, the Aggies have blocked (or deflected) 10 punts, field goal attempts or extra-point attempts, with at least one occurring in each game... Two of them (blocked punts against Western Washington and Saint Mary's) have resulted in touchdowns... FS Ejiro Evero has three, while LB Tom Parisi & DE Aaron Latzke have two each... One of Latzke's was a punt attempt that still managed to tumble 34 yards before being downed.

The NCAA Division II record for blocked kicks in a season is 27 by Winston-Salem State (N.C.) in 1986 (16 punts, 7 FGs, 4 PATs). The I-AA record is 13 (6,4,3) by Davidson in 1999.

Here is a breakdown of the Aggies' blocks this season:

Date Opponent Block (by)
9/6 GRAND VALLEY 18 FGA (Tom Parisi)
9/13 at N.D. State Punt at ND35 (Tom Parisi)
9/20 at Texas State 27 FGA (Pila Fatukala)
10/4 at Sac State 47 FGA (Daniel Kim)
10/11 W. OREGON Punt at W14 (Aaron Latzke)*
10/18 W. WASH. 33 FGA (Ejiro Evero)
Punt at W40 (Aaron Latzke)
11/1 at Saint Mary's Punt at S30 (Ejiro Evero)*
11/8 CAL POLY XPA (Ejiro Evero)
11/15 C. WASH. 43 FGA (Jake Mossawir)
* - Resulted in TD.

VALAAU - AN ALL-AMERICAN YEAR
MLB Kelly Valaau has been a stalwart for the Aggies' defense this year and one of the main reasons UC Davis is 9th in Div. II against the rush (87.6 ypg)... Four times he has posted at least 11 tackles, including the last three games... His 80 tackles are 17 more than the next closest Aggie, he's tied for third with 2.5 sacks and is second with eight tackles-for-losses.

Date Opponent Total Tackles (solo)
9/6 GRAND VALLEY 11 (3); 1 TFL
9/13 at N.D. State 5 (1); 1 TFL
9/20 at Texas State 8 (5)
10/4 at Sac State 7 (2)
10/11 W. OREGON (7) 3; 1 TFL
10/18 W. WASH. 6 (5)
11/1 at Saint Mary's 13*(6); 3 TFL
11/8 CAL POLY 12 (9); 1 TFL
11/15 C. WASH. 11 (3), 1 TFL
*- Career high

LOVE OF THE LINE
UC Davis sports perhaps one of its best offensive lines ever with this year's experienced, talented - and very large - group... The five starters - which include bookend brothers Cory (6-6, 315) and Brad Lekkerkerker (6-7, 330) at tackle - average 312 pounds.

The remaining three starters - G Forest Vance (6-5, 302), G Eric Troglia (6-4, 315) and C Marc Manfredda (6-3, 300) have started a combined 104 games, including 47 straight by Vance, 34 by Troglia and 23 by Manfredda... In fact, Vance - a 2002 All-America - has started every game as an Aggie.

The Lekkerkerkers, by the way, were the focus of a short story in Sports Illustrated magazine last month... The piece was written by Ron Fimrite who visited the campus and attended the win against Western Washington... The article appeared in selected editions.

AGGIES TOUGH AGAINST RUSH
UC Davis has been among the top teams in the Division II rankings against the rush for the entire season... The Aggies have held opponents to less than 100 yards five times this season, including giving up just seven yards against Western Washington... They've done it 11 times the past two seasons.

The Aggies are currently ranked 9th (87.6 ypg.) against the rush among Div. II teams (Shaw is allowing just 66.5 ypg).

Below is a game-by-game total of the "Rushing Defense's Top 11" the last two years.

Date Opponent Rushes-Net Yds
10/19/02 HUMBOLDT ST. 26-2
11/16/02 at W. Washington 19-5
10/11/03 W. OREGON 22-7
11/8/03 CAL POLY 28-16
11/23/02 at C. Washington 18-30
9/28/02 at W. Oregon 31-37
9/14/02 ABILENE CHRISTIAN 38-49
11/1/03 at Saint Mary's 31-55
10/5/03 SACRAMENTO ST. 36-59
9/21/03 NORTH DAKOTA ST. 27-87
11/9/02 at C. Washington 40-97

RED HOT IN THE "RED ZONE"
UC Davis has been very proficient when getting into the opponents' 'red zone' (20-yd line or closer)...The Aggies are an impressive 29 of 33 (87.9%) with 18 touchdowns and 11 field goals... After going 5 of 8 against Saint Mary's and Cal Poly combined, UC Davis bounced back to go 3-for-3 against Central Washington... The proficiency has accounted for 158 points... Opponents, meanwhile, are 18 of 29 (62.1%) with Sac State going 4 of 4 (all TDs) for the most success against UC Davis... (Complete listing of "red zone stats are included in this notes package).

DUSTY KICKS WAY UP CHARTS
PK Dusty Apocotos continues to be one of the best kickers in the Div. II rankings (6th)... With two field goals last week against Central Washington, he now has 15 for the season, moving him past Rolf Benirschke (1976) for second on the single-season list... He needs just one more to tie Eddie Loretto (1985)... Apocotos' 22 career field goals are fifth on the career list... He also ranks on the season and career lists for field goal attempts, extra-point and extra-point attempts (see charts on next page).

Apocotos has kicked a field goal in every game except the loss to Cal Poly and has a pair of career-best 49-yarders, which are tied for seventh-longest in school history.

WHERE THE AGS RANK IN NCAA
A look at where the Aggies are in the Div. II stat rankings (Nov. 17): PASSING OFFENSE - 34th (244.1 ypg); RUSHING DEFENSE - 9th (87.6 ypg.); SCORING DEFENSE - 17th (16.6 ppg); FG PER GAME - Dusty Apocotos (6th, 1.7 pg); PUNTING - Chris Shibel (196th, 41.7 avg.).

MR. RIGHT-PLACE-AT-THE-RIGHT-TIME
MLB Justin Patterson has had a knack for being in the right place whenever a lose ball or passed ball has six points written all over it... His 31-yard fumble return for a TD at Texas State on Sept. 20 was the fifth defensive touchdown he has scored in his Aggie career... He has three fumble returns and two interceptions totalling 253 yards... While no official records are kept in that department, the total is believed to be the most in school history... His five career touchdowns are also the third-most among Aggies on this year's team.

Here is a look at "J.P.'s" five touchdowns:

* 23-yd int return vs. N.M. Highlands (2000)
* 67-yd fum return vs. Bloomsburg (2000)
* 66-yd int return at W. Oregon (2002)
* 66-yd fum return vs. Sac St. (2002)
* 31-yd fum return at Texas St. (2003)

AND THEY CALLED IT THE STREAK
With its 41-7 win against Central Washington last week, UC Davis posted its 34th consecutive winning season against arguably its toughest schedule... The Aggies hold the Div. II record for consecutive winning campaigns while passing West Chester (Pa.) this year for most consecutive 'non-losing' seasons as well... The streak is the longest active streak in Div. I-A, I-AA and II and - through the current 2003 season - is fourth-longest college football... Additionally, UC Davis is the only school in that "top three" that has held NCAA affiliation during its entire streak.

NDSU - which UC Davis beat earlier this season - had a streak of 26 consecutive winning seasons snapped last year after going 2-8.

Other streaks worth noting: UC Davis has not been shut out since losing 19-0 to Cal Poly in the fifth game of the 1990 season... The Aggies have gone 156 games without seeing a goose-egg, although a 14-2 loss to North Dakota in the 2001 NCAA Semis nearly ended that streak... UC Davis had its streak of 74 straight games with at least 10 points snapped against Grand Valley State... Before that, the last time was a 17-7 home loss to South Dakota State in 1997.

The Aggies were held without a TD against Grand Valley State for the first time since losing to North Dakota (14-2) in 2001 - a streak of 12 games - and the first time in a regular-season game since losing to Cal Poly (19-0) in 1990 - a streak of 127 games.

LOOKING BACK ON THE WILDCATS
A few notes from last week's win:
* UC Davis did not have a turnover after a combined nine turnovers in its previous two games.
* The Aggies scored on all five first-half possessions and only punted once in the game.
* WR Kevin Freeman's 57-yard TD catch was the team's longest scoring play of the year.
* The 562 yards of total offense marked the third time in the past four games the Aggies have surpassed 500 yards (WWU, Saint Mary's).
* 13 different receivers caught passes.
* RB O.J. Swanigan's three touchdowns are a career-best.

CAPTAINS, HONOR PARADE
UC Davis has four captains this season for the sixth consecutive year... The 2003 team captains are:

* SS Ejiro Evero (also a captain in '02)
* MLB Kelly Valaau
* OL Forest Vance
* QB Ryan Flanigan

The Aggies' coaches also select weekly players of the week: GRAND VALLEY STATE - Offense: OL Brad Lekkerkerker; Defense: MLB Kelly Valaau; Special Teams: PK Dusty Apocotos; Scout team off: Tim Plough; Scout team def.: James Amos.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE - Offense: RB O.J. Swanigan; Defense: DE Aaron Latzke; Special Teams: LB Dan Elbanna; Scout teamoff: RB BRYAN HARRISON; Scout team def.: LB Josh Yarbrough.

TEXAS STATE - Offense: TE DANIEL FELLS; Defense: FS Ejiro Evero; Special Teams: TE Nolan deGraaff; Scout team off: JOSH HOLLOWAY; Scout team def: Brandon Quinn.

SACRAMENTO STATE - Offense: RB Antar Mahasin & QB Jon Barragan; Defense: DE Jake Mossawir & MLB Kelly Valaau; Special Teams: Nolan deGraaff; Scout team off: TIM KEANE; Scout team def.: Naveen Daftari.

WESTERN OREGON - Offense: RB Antar Mahasin; Defense: CB Angelo Caffese; Special Teams: Aaron Plunkett; Scout off: Kale Turner; Scout def: CHRIS BUCK.

WESTERN WASHINGTON - Offense: QB Jon Barragan; Defense: DT John Downs; Special Teams: Nelson Doris; Scout off: TE Matt Gravette; Scout def: DE Anzania-Lin Jackson.

SAINT MARY'S - Offense: QB Ryan Flanigan; Defense: MLB Kelly Valaau; Special Teams: LUIS AMARAL; Scout off: OL STEVE GUNSCH; Scout def: DB Adam Cook.

CAL POLY - Offense - TE Nolan deGraaff; Defense - FS Ejiro Evero; Special Teams: Devin Cook: Scout off: OL SCOTT MALLERY; Scout def: LB Mike Calhoun.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON - Offense - QB Ryan Flanigan; Defense - Ejiro Evero; Special Teams - Ryan Payne, NEVAN BERGAN; Scout off: OL STEVE URUTTIA; Scout def: LB CHRIS CARTER.

QB Ryan Flanigan was named the Div. I-AA Independent Co-Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 359 yards on 24-of-27 passing against Central Washington last week... RB Antar Mahasin was named the Div. I-AA Independent Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 3 for the second time this year after posting 200 all-purpose yards (135 rush, 65 rec.) at Saint Mary's ... He also earned it after 163 rushing yards against Sacramento State on Oct. 4.

DIVISION I OR DIVISION II
With UC Davis' announcement that it is reclassifying to NCAA Division I, what will the Aggies' official NCAA status be during the four-year transition? Will it be Division I, Division II or somewhere in between?

The quick and easy answer is Division II.

UC Davis is already beginning to comply with many Division I rules and regulations and is required to begin full compliance next year. Additionally, the Aggies will be considered a Division I institution for scheduling purposes beginning in 2004-05. However, until full Division I certification in 2007-08, UC Davis will officiallly retain its Division II designation and continue to report its statistics and records to the NCAA as a member of that division.

However, some Division I-AA football media have already begun including UC Davis in their coverage, noting the Aggies' committment and transition to the new division.

ON THE AIR
UC Davis truly has an "Aggie Radio Network" for the first time with three stations carrying games throughout the year. KHTK (1140 AM) is the flagship station with Steve Buzzard handling play-by-play and Doug Kelly doing color for the eighth consecutive year. KTHK's feed will be supplied to KDVS (90.3 FM) and newcomer KSRK (540 AM) in Monterey... KDVS' coverage will be anchored by JOSH MISCHEL, who will host pregame, halftime and postgame shows on the station.