April 5, 2005

DAVIS, Calif. - A Sept. 17 matchup at Stanford, games against NCAA Division I-AA Playoff participants New Hampshire and Eastern Washington, as well as five Great West Football Conference games and the 52nd annual Causeway Classic, highlight the 11-game UC Davis football schedule for 2005, released on Tuesday.

UC Davis, which this fall begins its third year of a four-year reclassification from NCAA Division II to Division I-AA status, will play six games on the road and five at home during what's being considered its toughest schedule ever. The Aggies, who finished 6-4 overall and 3-2 in conference action, will be in their second season in the GWFC and are coming off their 35th consecutive winning season.

UC Davis and Stanford have met only once, that coming in 1932 when the Cardinal won 59-0. The programs, however, have met recently, scrimmaging at Stanford just prior to the 2003 season. The game will be UC Davis' first against a Div. I-A program since a 44-14 loss at Idaho in 1997.

The schedule also features a pair of first-time opponents with New Hampshire and Eastern Washington, both of which advanced to the 2004 Div. I-AA quarterfinals. UC Davis will host New Hampshire on Sept. 3, facing a Wildcats team that finished 10-3 last year which included a 27-23 win at Georgia Southern in the first round of the playoffs. New Hampshire was defeated by Montana, 47-17, in the quarterfinals, finishing ranked No.6 in The Sports Network Top 25 poll.

Eastern Washington, a member of the Big Sky Conference, finished 9-4 last season, advancing to the Div. I-AA Playoffs where the Eagles upset top-ranked Southern Illinois 35-31 in the first round before losing 35-34 to Sam Houston State in the national quarterfinals. Eastern Washington, which was ranked No.9 in the final top 25 poll, will host UC Davis on Nov. 19.

The Aggies will be looking for their sixth consecutive win against Sacramento State when they visit Hornet Staidum on Sept. 24 for the 52nd annual Causeway Classic. UC Davis, which won 58-23 at Toomey Field last season, holds a 36-16 lead in the series (the teams also met in the 1988 NCAA Playoffs).

Sacramento State is one of three Big Sky Conference teams on the 2005 schedule, which also includes Portland State on Sept. 10 at Davis. UC Davis' other nonconference matchup is a Nov. 5 contest at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The Aggies will open conference action with an Oct. 8 game at South Dakota State, one of just two GWFC road games for UC Davis which will also visit North Dakota State on Oct. 22. The home conference schedule includes matchups against Southern Utah (Oct. 15), Cal Poly (Oct. 29) and Northern Colorado (Nov. 26). The Aggies finished in second place in the GWFC last year.

The 2005 season is set to be the final one at Toomey Field with UC Davis scheduled to open the 2006 campaign in a new stadium on the west side of campus. Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in late spring.