Oct. 26, 2006
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
OPENING KICKOFF
UC Davis completes the road portion of its 2006 season with a 2,770-mile roundtrip to Brookings, S.D., bringing the Aggies' frequent-flier program totals for the six trips to 13,738 miles. The road game is also the second straight for UC Davis against South Dakota State although the Aggies and Jackrabbits played in Sioux Falls last season. UC Davis last made a trip to Brookings, S.D. in 1998, winning 30-13. The Aggies are 2-3 in road games so far this year and have lost their last two, both to ranked foes. Like UC Davis, SDSU is in the process of moving its athletics program from NCAA Division II to Division I classification... The Aggies are in their fourth and final year of their move while the Jackrabbits are in their third year. UC Davis has won back-to-back games for the first time this year and the first time since winning three straight (SUU, NSDU, CP) last year; not including the wins over Northern Colorado to end last season and begin this year. WR Tony Kays continues to close in on the all-time receptions mark at UC Davis... The senior All-American has 180 total catches and needs just 15 to pass WR CHARLEY ENOS (194, 1998-2001). QB Jon Grant also continues to move up several career charts at UC Davis... He is currently No. 2 in passing attempts (1,012) and completions (598) and needs 59 and 71, respectively to take over the No. 1 spots from J.T. O'SULLIVAN (1998-2001). Grant is also No. 3 in passing yards (7,257) and total offense (7,515) and needs 345 yards and 182 yards, respectively, to move into the No. 2 slots in each and pass QB Kevin Daft (1995-98)... Grant is within striking distance for the regular-season marks in both categories. The Aggies are ranked No. 16 by The Sports Network (media) for the third time this year, tying its highest position in the poll... They are also No. 17 in the College Sports News (coaches) poll, one spot below their highest showing in that ranking. UC Davis continues to be the highest-ranked team in both polls with the fewest wins... No. 25/25 Delaware also has four wins. UC Davis has allowed a combined 80 rushing yards its last two games, lowering its season average to 100.6 yards... The mark would place the Aggies No. 14 in the I-AA stats, if they were able to be officially ranked... Four of the seven opponents this year have falled to crack the 50-yard mark in the rushing department. Overall, the Aggies' defense is No. 20 in total defense (271.0) while the offense's passing attack is No. 6 (274.3) and its total yards are 22nd (373.86). The Aggies miss in the "red-zone" last week was their first since beating Montana State in mid-September... UC Davis is 21-of-23 in the red-zone overall. UC Davis is in the mist of three consecutive GWFC games... Last year, the Aggies had four straight league games. The Aggies have gone just one game without a turnover (at Montana State) but have just two turnovers in their past two outings... Grant has gone 63 consecutive passes without an interception... His last pick in the third quarter at Cal Poly on Oct. 7. The "D" has gone just one game (UCA) without a sack.
WHAT'S IN A NAME
With the transition to Division I comes more attention from national media and, as a result, more media outlets referring to UC Davis in a number of different manners.Simply, the university is either "UC Davis" or "University of California, Davis". Incorrect references we have seen in media outlets: California-Davis, Cal-Davis, U.C. Davis, Cal St. Davis, Davis State and U.C.-Davis... A new one spotted last season was U-C Davis... An new moniker noticed on a luggage tag last week at Montana State was "U-C David"... Wow. The Aggies thank you for helping them make a new name for themselves on the field only.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Aggies and Jackrabbits are tied 2-2 in their all-time series which began at Toomey Field in 1997... UC Davis is 1-0 in Brookings but 1-1 overall in South Dakota after the Jackrabbits won 16-14 in Sioux Falls last season. K PARKER DOUGLASS kicked three field goals, including a 54-yarder, to lead SDSU which also got 141 yards rushing from CORY KOENIG. RB DeMario Warren had 114 rushing yards and 66 receiving yards to pace the Aggies, which scored 14 points in the fourth quarter but missed on a two-point conversion pass with 2:05 to go which would've tied the game. SDSU had just 70 yards after halftime. UC Davis won 30-13 in its only other visit to Brookings in 1998.
HEAD COACHES
Bob Biggs (UC Davis `73) is in his 14th season at the helm of the Aggies and his 29th with the program overall. He owns a 112-46-1 (.708) overall record and is 52-30 (.634) on the road, 45-12-0 (.789) in October and entered the year 33-14 (.702) against opponents on the 2006 schedule. Biggs is the second-winningest coach in the history of the UC Davis program. JOHN STIEGELMEIER (SDSU `79) is 58-46 (.558) and in his 10th year with the Jackrabbits and has led SDSU to four consecutive winning seasons. His third all-time at SDSU with 58 wins and owns a 41-14 record at home during his tenure. "Coach Stig" was the 1999 North Central Conference Coach of the Year.
BRIEF JACKRABBITS SCOUTING REPORT
SDSU is on a roll as of late, having won four straight games after an 0-3 start.. Included in that string is Saturday's 29-28 win at Cal Poly, a game which the Jackrabbits trailed 28-6 in the third quarter. A big reason for the comeback was the combination of QB ANDY KARDOES and WR JaRON HARRIS, who connected for TD passes of 14, 12 and 19 yards in the fourth quarter. Kardoes threw for 250 yards overall while Harris had three grabs for 133 yards. SDSU rushed for just 59 yards against the tough Cal Poly defense, well below its 140.9 average... RB CORY KOENIG leads the way with a 71.3 ypg average. KARDOES averages 154.4 ypg through the air, part of the Jackrabbits' 307 ypg. of total offense... WR MICAH JOHNSON has a team-high 26 receptions for 356 yards while Harris is 25-376 and has four scores. Defensively, SDSU is allowing 171.4 ypg on the ground, 97th in Div. I-AA... Their defensive unit, overall, is 61st. Opponents are averaging 160.3 passing ypg. and 331. 7 in total yards. The linebacking trio of JUSTIN KUBESH, MARTY KRANZ and ANDREW HOOGEVEEN lead in total tackles with 51, 41 and 41, respectively. Kubesh also has 2 interceptions, just one behind team leader BROCK GENTILE. ERIC SCHROEDER has 4.5 of SDSU's sack total of 13... MITCH PONTRELLI has 3.0 sacks. The Jackrabbits have one the nation's best placekickers in PARKER DOUGLASS, who is 11 of 13 in field goal attempts... He has a long of 48 yards and kicked four field goals against McNeese State.
NOTES FROM SOUTHERN UTAH
Upon further review, a reception was incorrectly credited and should've gone to WR Tony Kays bringing his totals to 7 catches for 87 yards. RB Marcus Nolan posted the program's first 100-yard game since RB Nelson Doris had 100 at Eastern Washington last season. Nolan's rushing yards were the most for an Aggie since 2003 when RB Antar Mahasin had 135 at Saint Mary's... Nolan's carries, catches and both sets of accompanying yards are career-highs... Mahasin was also the last 100-yard rusher with at least 29 carries when he was 34-163 at Sacramento State in 2003. Nolan's 12 receptions are tied for the third-most in a single game at UC Davis and are the most ever by a running back. K Emmanuel Benjamin's 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was a season-long and just a yard off his career-best... He has kicked a field goal in eight straight games dating back to last season. UC Davis did not score in the third quarter, ending a string of seven consecutive quarters of scoring... The Aggies have scored in eight of their last nine periods. QB Jon Grant had 26 completions for the second straight games and has at least 23 in four of his seven outings in 2006. TE Brad Bispo, son of former Aggie RB FRANK BISPO (1983-85), had his first career catch... Frank has the program's second-longest reception at 92 yards from current Boise State head coach CHRIS PETERSEN (vs. Humboldt St. in 1985). UC Davis forced Southern Utah to punt on 4 of 5 posssessions in the first half and intercepted the Thunderbirds in the other. The Aggies held a 19:44-10:16 time-of-possession advantage in the first half and held a 45-18 advantage in plays... Southern Utah had just 39 total yards before the break... UC Davis ran 35 more plays overall (77-42). UC Davis had 25 first downs to the Thunderbirds' 8... Only the Aggies' 29-8 advantage at Montana State was a larger margin. The Aggies ran the ball 42 times, compared to throwing it 36 times, the first time this season they ran more than passed. UC Davis was 9 of 11 on third down while holding Southern Utah to 3 of 11. LB Tyler Pringle's interception was the first of his career while CB Nevan Bergan had his 10th, tying him for No. 5 all-time. Saturday's attendance was 7,805 just 100 fans short of full capacity.
AGGIES SAW A LOT OF AMERICA TO START `06
UC Davis started the season with five straight games for the first time ever... (The schedule was set up with home games later in the slate in the hopes UC Davis would be able to play in its new stadium. Due to construction delays, that will not happen this year). The Aggies traveled 10,968 roundtrip miles during their first five games: Northern Colorado (1,832); TCU (2,850); Montana State (1,472); Youngstown State (4,346) and Cal Poly (468). Mix in a 2,770-mile roundtrip to South Dakota State this week and the Aggies will have covered 13,738 miles for 2006. The 2006 schedule also has UC Davis playing road games in each of the Pacific (Cal Poly), Mountain (MSU, UNC), Central (TCU, SDSU) and Eastern timezones (YSU).
36-YEAR WINNING STREAK
The Aggies enter the season with 36 consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak of any non-Division III school in the country. UC Davis has not had a losing record since a 3-7 mark in 1969. The streak has been in jeopardy heading into the final game of the season five times, but last year marked the first time the Aggies entered the season-finale with a .500 record and needed a victory to secure the winning record. Former coach JIM SOCHOR (1970-88) started the streak, it was continued by BOB FOSTER (1989-92) and has been extended by Bob Biggs (1993-present). UC Davis is 298-98-7 (.750) during the streak.
OTHER STREAKS OF NOTE
The Aggies' 36 straight winning seasons are synonymous with its football program, however, two other streaks are also intact in 2006. UC Davis has scored in 185 consecutive games... The last shutout was a 19-0 defeat to Cal Poly in 1990. The Aggies 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 406 games... UC Davis had 130 in that game.
STRONG CONFERENCE HISTORY
The Aggies' co-championship in the Great West Football Conference last season was their first league title since 1993... UC Davis was not affliliated from 1994-2003. UC Davis has won at least a share of a championship during 23 of its last 25 years of conference affiliation... The other two times it was second. Included in that run is a 20-year streak from 1971-1990 of at least a share of a conference title. Conference affiliation (1971-81, Far Western Conference; 1982-92, Northern California Athletic Conference; American West Conference, 1993; 2004-present, GWFC).
ALL-CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE RETURNS
UC Davis welcomes back 10 players who earned recognition on the All-Great West Football Conference teams last year, including six on the first team, three on the second and one honorable mention. Grant and Kays were named to the first team on offense with Grant also earning Co-Offensive Player of the Year accolades (with James Noble of Cal Poly). DE James Amos, DT John Faletoese, DE Mike Ng and FS Jonathan Barsi were named to the first-team defense. OT Elliot Vallejo and CB Nevan Bergan were voted to the second-team along with PK Emmanuel Benjamin. CB Adam Cook was selected honorable mention.
DEFENSE WAS A KEY TO `05 SUCCESS
UC Davis allowed just 87.5 rushing ypg. last season, a mark that would've ranked it No. 2 in I-AA had the Aggies been eligible to be officially ranked. The Aggies held seven of 11 opponents below 100 yards rushing, including ranked teams No. 16 North Dakota State (3 yards), No. 10 Cal Poly (50) and No. 7 New Hampshire (81), as well as Northern Colorado (31), Portland State (33), Stanford (74) and Sacramento State (99). The 87.5 avg is the second-lowest in school history behind 1983 (68.2). UC Davis allowed just seven rushing touchdowns, including just one during a six-game stretch in midseason. Four players who started last year on the front line - DE Mike Ng, DE James Amos, DT John Faletoese and DT Naveen Daftari - return this season. However, the starting `05 linebacking corps of WLB Ben Reece, MLB Dan Elbanna and SLB NOLAN DEGRAAF - all graduated...Reece and Elbanna were the top two tacklers last season, respectively. Sure, the rushing defense in 2005 was outstanding, but so was the defense overall... Consider these I-AA "unofficial, official" defensive rankings: Total defense (8th, 282,6), passing efficiency (4th, 96.03); 3rd-down conversion (2nd, .276); scoring (16.7) and sacks avg. (T10th, 2.91).
PRESEASON AND IN-SEASON HONORS PARADE
WR Tony Kays earned a pair of preseason second-team All-America honors by The Sports Network, Don Hansen's Football Gazette and by I-AA.org. QB Jon Grant was named a preseason second-team All-America by I-AA.org and a third-team by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Grant was named to the 16-player "watch list" for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top player in Div. I-AA. CB Nevan Bergan was named a preseason second-team All-America by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Four Aggies received mention by Matt Dougherty, Executive Director of I-AA Football for The Sports Network, as being among the top returning players at their positions... Those players are Kays (No. 3, wide receivers), Grant (No. 4, quarterbacks), Bergan (No. 8; cornerbacks) and John Faletoese (No. 9, defensive tackles). DE Mike Ng was named the GWFC Defensive Player of the Week after three sacks against Northern Colorado... He was also named National Player of the Week by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. QB Jon Grant was named the GWFC Offensive Co-Player of the Week and the Offensive Co-Player of the week by Don Hansen's Football Gazette after his performance against Montana State. WR CHRIS CARTER was named the GWFC Offensive Player of the Week after 7 catches for 127 yards and 2 TD's against Central Arkansas.
KAYS JUST 15 RECEPTIONS AWAY FROM MARK
WR Tony Kays suffered an ankle injury against Northern Colorado which sidelined him for most of the game and was hampered still against TCU... However he returned to form with a 10 rec., 143-yard performance with 3 TD's against Montana State. He added 6 catches for 111 yards against Cal Poly, giving him 10 games with at least 100 receiving yards... He also has six games with at least 10 catches. He has 180 career receptions and last weekend passed RANDY WILLIAMS who had 169 from 1982-85 for No. 4 on the all-time list... His 2,391 career receiving yards are No. 5 on the all-time list... He is 531 yards away from moving into the No. 4 position. He needs just 15 catches to pass CHARLEY ENOS (1998-2001) for the all-time lead... Enos had 194. After catching just 3 TD's last year, Kays has SIX in his last FIVE games... He scored in four straight games this season for the first time in his career, surpassing a series of games against Northern Colorado, Western Oregon and Stephen F. Austin in 2004 when he scored a touchdowns. His 93 total catches in 2005 broke the previous school record of 75 by Michael Oliva (2001) for an overall season and 55 for a regular season by Charley Enos (2000). The 93 were also most among Div. I-AA receivers. His 1,213 yards last year are most for a regular season at UC Davis. Kays tied the school record for single-game catches with 12 in the opener against New Hampshire and then broke it with 15 a week later against Portland State. He had six games with at least 115 receiving yards, including 212 (on 13 receptions) versus Cal Poly. He was named All-American by Associated Press (2nd), The Sports Network (3rd) and Don Hansen's Football Gazette (2nd). He left the UNC game without a catch in this year's opener, ending a streak of 19 straight games with at least one grab... Kays only has gone catchless just four times in 33 career games. Kays was especially prolific against Cal Poly, ending his career with 439 receiving yards against the Mustangs in three games.
GRANT MOVES UP PASSING LISTS AT UC DAVIS
QB Jon Grant is on track to become the Aggies' first three-year starter since J.T. O'SULLIVAN (1999-2001) and only the third - along with former New York Jets QB KEN O'BRIEN (1980-82) - in the past 25 years. His 324-yard performance at Montana State only enhanced an already outstanding Aggie career. He now has seven career 300-yard efforts with a career-best 393 at Cal Poly in `04... Grant has 700 yds vs. Poly in `05 & `06... Grant nearly had another 300-yard game, just missing with 291 vs. Central Arkansas. His 5 TD strikes against Montana State surpassed his previous career-best of four against South Dakota State and were one off the school record. Statistically, he ranks in the top 10 nationally for total passing yards (5th), passing yards per game (6th), total offense (7th) and completions per game (5th)... Grant is also T15th for `points-responsible-for. His 28 completions against Youngstown State were a season-high and the second-most of his career. Grant had four 300-yard passing games last season, including 373 at Stephen F. Austin... He had 307 a week earlier against Cal Poly. Grant also rushed for a team-high six touchdowns in 2005, and has two more so far this season. His 23.55 completions/game last year would've ranked No. 8 nationally, his passing yards (261.2) would've been 14th and his total offense (273.3) 16th. He is a two-time first-team All-GWFC quarterback is No. 3 on the career passing yards chart at UC Davis with 7,257.
BERGAN BREAKS DOUBLE DIGITS IN PICKS
CB Nevan Bergan had a breakout year in 2005 after entering the year with just one career interception. He had seven picks last year, including two each against New Hampshire and North Dakota State, which tied him for second-most in a single season at UC Davis. His average of 0.64 int/game was third-best among I-AA players. Bergan led the GWFC in interceptions and had 17 passes defended (interceptions & breakups combined), which put him fifth nationally. He added another pick with his 27-yard return at Montana State and had his 10th career interception against Southern Utah. Bergan is tied JEFF ALLEN (1977-79) for No. 5 on the program's all-time list.
OFFENSIVE LINE CONTINUITY IS A PLUS
Five players who started last season return for the Aggies in 2006 as the team looks to improve its rushing average of 99.5 ypg. LT Kyle Skierski and RT Elliot Vallejo anchor the line from the outside, each having started the past 28 games.. Skierski split time between guard and tackle, playing the last five at the latter. C Timothy Keane enters the season having started all of last season and is working on 17 straight starts. RG Jonathan Compas started the first six games of last season before being sidelined by injury while LG MARIO GONZALES started the last five games of the year. The group is playing well again 2006, having allowed just eight sacks in 254 passing plays.
LEADING RUSHER IN `05 REDSHIRTING IN `06
RB Nelson Doris, who led the Aggies in rushing last year with 328 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns in the upset of Stanford, is redshirting this season while continuing to recover from a foot injury. RB Marcus Nolan returned this year after missing most of last season with a knee injury... He takes over the top spot on the depth chart after a knee injury to RB Alex Garfio against Central Arkansas. Nolan had a career-high 134 rushing yard (on 29 carries) and a career-best 12 catches for 71 yards.
CAREER STAT UPDATES
Aggies making their way up the career charts: QB Jon Grant is No. 2 in passing yardage (7,257), having moved passed FIVE other Aggie QB's already this season... He's become the third QB in Aggie history to surpass 7,000 career yards. Grant is No. 3 in total offense (7,515 yards) and needs 182 yards to become No. 2... Grant is also No. 2 in attempts (1,012) and 59 tries from becoming No. 1, and is No. 3 in completions (598), 72 from assuming that top spot. WR Tony Kays has 180 career catches and is No. 4... He needs 15 to break CHARLEY ENOS' (1998-2001) mark of 194. Kays is No. 6 with 2,391 career yards and is the sixth receiver in school history with 2,000 career yards. CB Nevan Bergan is tied for No. 5 with 10 career interceptions... ADAM WILLIAMS (1972-73, `75) is No. 1 with 15 career picks. PK Emmanuel Benjamin is 5th in career field goals (24) and is No. 6 in PAT's (76)... He is No. 7 in field goal attempts (39) and No. 6 in PAT tries (80).
SHARING A NAME
It's not unsual for teams to have players with the same last name, many times the players being brothers... But UC Davis has two players named Chris Carter... And, no, it's not a George Foreman thing where the two are brothers but have the same name. Chris L. Carter and Chris J. Carter are both active players on this year's team... The former is a WR this season while the latter is a LB... Both are making contributions and while the stat sheet lists their middle initials to help the computer stat program from getting a short circuit, media can drop the middle initials when referring to either player. For the record, UC Davis has three players with the last name of "Brown", two with "Grant", two with "Cook", two with "Doris" and two with "Rice". Only the two Doris's are related... The others have no relation. There is one Faletoese.
AGGIES ELECT TEAM CAPTAINS
UC Davis players vote for their team captains at the conclusion of the previous season. The 2006 captains are QB Jon Grant, WR Tony Kays, DE James Amos and CB Nevan Bergan. Kays is a captain for the second straight year.
AGGIES STAFF ARE NO STRANGERS
A key to any successful football program is a continuity in the coaching staff... UC Davis has that one nailed. Five members of the staff enter the season with a combined 128 "coaching years" after having been together as a quintet the past 17 years. Bob Biggs (28 years total, 13 as head coach); Assistant head coach Fred Arp (39 years); defensive coordinator LOU BRONZAN (22 years); offensive coordinator Mike Moroski (18 years) and running backs/special teams coach Greg Chapla (17 years). For good measure, they're all graduates of UC Davis. Arp coached his 400th career game last season.
NEW STADIUM ON THE WAY
UC Davis will play its final season this year at venerable Toomey Field - its home since 1949 -before moving into new digs across campus at its new stadium currently being constructed. The 10,000-12,000-seat stadium sits below grade and is expected to be ready for occupancy in early 2007... The UC Davis women's lacrosse team will be the first Aggie team to compete in the stadium. The stadium is being constructed on a 27-acre area known as "The Triangle" on the west side of campus... It was approved by students as part of the Facilities and Campus Enhancement Initiative (FACE) in 1999. The first phase of construction also includes lockerrooms, a press box, a scoreboard with video display board, and another amenities. As of this week (Oct. 14), the goal posts have been placed and the artificial turf has been put in. The stadium has yet to be named but as the bumper stickers say, "Ask me how!"
FAREWELL TO TOOMEY
UC Davis is playing its final season in Toomey Field after calling the venerable stadium "home" since playing its first game there at the end of the 1949 season. UC Davis has compiled a 190-85-7 (.686) record at Toomey Field during that time. The Aggies have enjoyed 14 undefeated home seasons, most recently in 2002 when it went 4-0. UC Davis has a 10-11 record in NCAA Division II playoff games at Toomey Field. Toomey Field is named after Irving F. "Crip" Toomey, a coach, athletic adminstrator and teacher from 1928-61.
AGGIES IN THE PROS
There are three former UC Davis players were on preseason NFL training camp rosters, with two of them earning spots this year on NFL rosters. OT Cory Lekkerkerker (2003-04) started the 2006 season as a backup tackle with the San Diego Chargers. TE Daniel Fells (2002-05) is with the Atlanta Falcons... He and Lekkerkerker were free agent signees out of UC Davis a year apart. QB J.T. O'SULLIVAN (1998-2001), the all-time passing leader at UC Davis, played with the Minnesota Vikings during the preseason but was waived... He signed with New England's practice squad last week... He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round in 2002. Cory's brother, Brad, retired this summer from the Oakland Raiders after spending time on their practice squad. Former QB's KHARI JONES (1991-93) and MARK GRIEB (1994-96) have been standouts in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League, respectively, and are former league MVP's.
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 college or pro coaching careers, including: - MIKE BELLOTTI (Oregon, head coach), who played for Sochor in 1969-72 and was a subsequent assistant coach. - BOB FOSTER (California, LB coach) was an assistant coach under Sochor before taking over as head coach from 1989-92... He later was an assistant at Oregon with Bellotti, assisted Hawkins when he was at Willamette (Ore.) and is now with Cal. - PAUL HACKETT (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, QB coach), who played from 1966-68, and was an assistant at UC Davis as well a head coach at USC, Pittsburgh and an assistant with the New York Jets... His son, Nathaniel, played for UC Davis from 1999-2002 and is also on the statf at Tampa Bay. - DAN HAWKINS (Colorado, head coach), who played for the Aggies in 1981-82 and was later an assistant... He went to Colorado from Boise State this year. - CHRIS PETERSEN (Boise State, head coach), who played for UC Davis in 1985-86 and was also an assistant.
