Game Notes: UC Davis | Stanford
Weekly Release: Big Sky | Pac-12

TV - Pac-12 Network
Radio - KHTK (1140 AM) • Pregame begins at 12:30 pm

KDVS (90.3 FM)

OPENING KICKOFF

UC Davis begins its 96th season of football, and its second under head coach Ron Gould when the Aggies return to face Stanford for the first time since 2005... The Aggies' last visit to The Farm produced the biggest win in school history, a stunning 20-17 win during UC Davis' reclassification period from NCAA Div. I to Div. II... UC Davis is 41-49-5 (.457) in season openers overall and 14-21-2 (.405) on the road since 1947 when game locations were first kept in the Aggies' annals... The Aggies also embark on their toughest schedule ever which features two FBS programs (Stanford, Colorado State) and four teams ranked in the FCS top 25 (No. 1 Eastern Washington, No. 5 Montana, No. 18 Montana State, No. 23 Northern Arizona)... UC Davis is picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky Conference by the media and sports information directors, and ninth by the league's head coaches... It returns 18 starters (8 off., 6 def., 4 spec.) from last year's team which rebounded from an 0-4 start to finish 5-7 and tie for fourth in the Big Sky... Nine players who earned All-Big Sky recognition - including RB Gabe Manzanares, the conference's Newcomer of the Year - return to the lineup... Manzanares joins K Brady Stuart on the Preseason All-Big Sky team... FB Dalton Turay helps headline some of the preseason honors as well with his third-team selection by The Sports Network.

Saturday's game will be aired on KHTK-Radio (1140 AM) with UC Davis alum SCOTT MARSH (play-by-play) and DOUG KELLY (analyst) in the booth... The pregame show begins at 12:30 pm (Pacific) and will be streamed (free) on www.ucdavisaggies.com... KHTK's call will be simulcast on www.ucdavisaggies.com... Student station KDVS-Radio (90.3) will also broadcast Saturday's game with GREG WONG (play-by-play) and SEAN STEIMEL (analyst) on the call.

The Pac-12 Network will televise Saturday's game to a national audience... ROXY BERNSTEIN (play-by-play), YOGI ROTH (analyst) and ASHLEY ADAMSON (sidelines) will broadcast the game which is the first of four televised UC Davis games this season.

The Aggies and Cardinal are tied 1-1 in a series which was separated by a mere 66 years between the first two matchups... Stanford won 59-0 in 1932... UC Davis returned the favor in 2005 when it rebounded from a 17-0 second-quarter deficit with 20 unanswered points, capped by QB JON GRANT's three-yard TD pass to WR Blaise Smith at the right pylon with just eight seconds remaining... UC Davis had more rushing (110-74), passing (251-118) and total yardage (361-192) while also posting more first downs (20-12)... The defense recorded three sacks and the offense held on to the ball for 35:34 of the clock... WR TONY KAYS had 10 catches for 115 yards and DE James Amos had half of the Aggies' sack total... RB Nelson Doris had touchdown runs of one and three yards, respectively, to help the comeback bid.

The Cardinal have been one of the most successful collegiate programs in the country the past four years, earning four consecutive BCS bowl appearances... It enters this season ranked 11th in the two major polls and is picked by the media to finish second in the Pac-12 North Division... Stanford is coming off an 11-3 season in which it tied for first in the Pac-12 North with a 7-2 record... The Cardinal advanced to the Rose Bowl where it lost to Michigan State, 24-20... Stanford returns 49 letterwinners, including 14 starters... Among the top players back is preseason All-America first-team member WR TY MONTGOMERY, who last year had 61 catches for 958 yards and finished with 2,208 all-purpose yards... QB KEVIN HOGAN enters his third year as the starter and has a 16-3 record during that run... ILB A.J. TARPLEY (93 tackles) is a preseason second-team All-American, OLB JAMES VAUGHTERS (36 tackles) is on the Butkus Award watch list, and DE HENRY ANDERSON is on watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Nagurski Award and Outland Trophy.... The Cardinal averaged 207.4 rushing ypg. last season, 405.4 ypg overall and allowed just 343.1.

The Aggies complete their first decade of playing "up" with both Stanford and Colorado State on this year's schedule... They've posted a 2-9 record during that span, picking up wins over Stanford (20-17 in `05) and San Jose State (14-13 in `10)... UC Davis has also faced TCU, Arizona State, Hawai'i, Cal and Fresno State... Among their FBS losses in the recent run was a respectable 34-16 defeat in 2009 at No. 5 Boise State - the highest ranked FBS opponent for UC Davis... The Broncos, who finished 14-0 and won the Fiesta Bowl, led just 27-16 early in the fourth quarter before scoring a touchdown in the last minute for the final margin... UC Davis also had a memorable upset against (then-called) Div. I-A Pacific in 1986, beating the Tigers 46-41... Among UC Davis' FBS opponents over the next two years are games at Nevada (2015) and Oregon (2016).

QB Ben Scott and QB London Lacy are listed atop the depth chart entering the week... Scott is a sophomore who has yet to see game action while Lacy has appeared in just eight career games and thrown only 21 passes, but has not played in a game since 2012... One of them will get the call against Pac-12 opponent Stanford... It marks a similar situation to the player they're replacing, QB Randy Wright... Wright made his debut, also against a Pac-12 team, when he faced Cal (L,52-3) in 2010 as the first Aggie freshman to start the season at quarterback in more than a decade... Wright went onto to start during all four years of his career and finished with 8,799 yards passing and 55 touchdowns, ranking second and third, respectively, all-time at UC Davis.

RB Gabe Manzanares was a walk-on when he joined the UC Davis program in summer 2013 but quickly moved to the top of the depth chart to start the season opener at South Dakota (18 att., 91 yds, TD)... He picked up a full head of steam in the fifth game, rushing for 208 yards against Idaho State and following with a 175 at Southern Utah the next week... Manzanares' combined 383 yards are the seventh-best back-to-back efforts in school history... He went on to post seven 100-yard games, finished with 1,285 yards (third all-time) and 10 touchdowns, and ranked nationally in both rushing ypg (116.8) and all-purpose ypg. (151.8)... Manzanares capped his year by being named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Big Sky third team... He helped UC Davis average 152.1 ypg., its best since 2002 when it averaged 178.6 ypg.

RB Colton Silveria, the Aggies' leading rusher in 2011 (570 yds) and 2012 (590 yds) was a backup at the position last year while excelling on special teams... Manzanares is not currently on the depth chart due to injury, opening the door for Silveria who needs just 258 yards to move into the Aggies' career top 10 (he currently has 1,174 yards)... He'll be backed up by redshirt freshman RB Justin Williams who rushed for 3,660 yards at El Camino HS in southern California... Sophomore RB Manusamoa Luuga, the second-leading rusher last season (227 yds) has also not seen action this summer due to injury.

Several Aggies have been recognized on preseason teams and watch lists... RB Gabe Manzanares and K Brady Stuart are both on the All-Big Sky teams... FB Dalton Turay is a preseason Sports Network third-team preseason All-American... Stuart is on the Fred Mitchell Award watch list, given to a kicker from any level besides FBS that displays the best combination of athletics and community service... Several Aggies have been named to watch lists by College Football Performance Awards which uses primarily objective criteria: Manzanares (running backs and all-purpose), Stuart (kickers), P Colby Wadman (punters) and CB Shamawn Wright (cornerbacks).

2013 POSTSEASON HONOR PARADE
The Big Sky honored 13 UC Davis players on its postseason awards list last fall with nine of them returning to this year's team... RB Gabe Manzanares, as mentioned, was selected the Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Big Sky third team, while Stuart was also a third-team pick... Earning honorable mention accolades were C Jay Luchetti, T Ian Joseph, FB Dalton Turay, S Charles Boyett (as a return specialist), LB Steven Pitts, Wright and Wadman... DE Nick King was a second-team pick while CB JONATHON PERKINS was picked to the third team... Both graduated along with WR Tom Hemmingsen and TE Taylor Sloat, who were also honorable mention... Returners Manzanares and Turay, T Christian Schneider and TE Mark Martindale were recognized for distinction in the classroom, earning All-Academic honors from the Big Sky after posting GPAs of at least 3.20 while playing in at least half of the games.

K Brady Stuart has already established himself as one of the top kickers in school history after just two seasons... The All-Big Sky third-team pick set a school record last year with 17 field goals in 25 attempts, breaking records held by EDDIE LORETTO (16 of 21 in `85)... Stuart shared the attempts mark after trying 21 as a redshirt freshman in 2012... He is currently third all-time with 32 field goals... Stuart needs 13 to surpass Sean Kelley (44 from 2008-11) for second and 16 to take over the top spot held by Loretto (48 from 1985-88)... Stuart had a long of 47 last year (vs. Portland State), was 8 for 11 from 30-39 yards and enjoyed a streak of 10 consecutive made over the final four games of the season... He had four field goals against North Dakota (18, 29, 35, 32).

Under coach Jeff Copp, the Aggies have boasted three special teams areas among the best in the FCS over the last two seasons... In 2012, UC Davis ranked No. 1 in both net punting (41.4 avg.) and kickoff returns (26.4 avg.) and last year added punt return defense to its elite status... The Aggies allowed an average of just 1.7 yards over 19 returns, ranking second in FCS... Altogether, opposing punt returners managed a total of just 32 yards in 2013... A big reason was the foot of true freshman P Colby Wadman who took over for 2012 All-Big Sky first-team pick Colton Schmidt who has spent the last two preseasons with the San Francisco 49ers... Wadman averaged 38.4 yards on 71 kicks last season, posting a long of 55 yards while forcing 19 fair catches and putting 22 inside the 20... He didn't have a punt blocked last year... Wadman went on to earn All-Big Sky honorable mention.

S Charles Boyett and LB Steven Pitts are welcomed returners to the Aggie defense after combining for 160 total tackles in 2013... Boyett, whose brother, John, is currently a defensive back on the Denver Broncos' roster, has been called a "coach on the field" by head coach Ron Gould... His numbers back up his worth... Boyett led UC Davis with 51 solo and 86 total tackles while tying Pitts with 35 assisted... Boyett had a career-high 14 tackles (11 solo) against Cal Poly last season and had three games with eight stops... He also forced a team-high two fumbles... Pitts, one of the team's fiercest hitters, had 74 tackles but 11.5 of them were for losses totaling 46 yards... Among his TFLs were four sacks - second-best on the team- for 35 yards...Pitts had double-figure stops in two games, posting a season-high 13 against rival Sacramento State in the finale and picking up 11 at FBS member Nevada early in the campaign.

There's depth and then there's Aggie linebacker depth... UC Davis returns all three of its starting linebackers from 2013 - Ryan Dimino, Steven Pitts and Jonathan Bias - as well as reserves Russell Reeder, Brady Stibi, Ryan Bua and Artice Nelson... The seven combined for 225 tackles last year, including 74 from Pitts, 53 by Dimino and 46 from Bias... Added to the mix are talented redshirt freshmen Xavier Griggs and Erik Holmer... Travon Brooks, who redshirted at the University of Washington, before earning All-Bay Valley honors at Contra Costa College, joined the team last winter and is listed - with Stibi - at the top of the depth chart at middle linebacker... In other words, UC Davis had no seniors in last year's linebacker room.

It's no secret that Ron Gould has been called one of the, if not the, best running backs coaches in the country... His success with the Bears' ground attack and the NFL-caliber players that excelled under his tutelage have been well-documented... In 2004 he oversaw Cal's best rushing average in more than 50 years at 256.8 ypg which ranked it sixth nationally and helped standout J.J. Arrington finish eighth in the 2004 Heisman Trophy balloting... Several Gould's players went on to the NFL... Jahvid Best (2008) was one of three protegès to lead the Pac-10 in rushing, a trio that also featured Arrington (2004) and Marshawn Lynch (2006)... The list of players that are or have recently been on NFL rosters include: C.J. Anderson (Denver Broncos), Eric Stevens (St. Louis Rams), Justin Forsett, (Baltimore Ravens), Shane Vereen (New England Patriots), Marshawn Lynch (Seattle Seahawks), Jahvid Best (Detroit Lions) and Will Ta'ufo'ou (Jacksonville Jaguars).

The Aggies will appear on television four times in 2014, including in back-to-back weeks on ROOT Sports as part of the Big Sky's game of the week... UC Davis opens with Stanford (Pac-12 Network) and will later appear on ROOT against Montana State and at Portland State... The Aggies will cap the year with the Causeway Classic against rival Sacramento State on Comcast Sportsnet California... All UC Davis games during the Big Sky season are available via the internet (including mobile devices) through "Watch Big Sky"... Visit www.bigskyconf.com for information and links to download mobile phone apps.

The opener at Stanford is just the fourth time that UC Davis has played a game in August with all of them coming since 2008... This is the third time, that the August game has fallen on Aug. 30 with the Aggies going 1-1 in previous matchups... San Jose State edged UC Davis 13-10 in 2008 while Azusa Pacific fell 41-3 to the Aggies in 2012.

Ron Gould spent 16 seasons on the staff at nearby Cal, developing some of the nation's top collegiate - and now professional - running backs while also rising to associate head coach status... It's not surprising then that his Aggie coaching staff has a decidedly "Golden Bear" flavor... Five members of Gould's coaching and support staff have spent time in Berkeley, including offensive coordinator - and Aggie alum - Kevin Daft who worked alongside Gould for seven seasons as wide receivers and quarterbacks coach... Others include defensive coordinator Bert Watts (2 years as def. asst.), defensive quality control staff member Robert Haney (1 year as quality control asst.) and director of operations Denis Hallin (9 years as admin. asst.).

UC Davis welcomed two new assistant coaches and a new offensive quality control coach to its staff this winter... Dan Finn, who was most recently the offensive line coach at Utah, will direct the Aggies' big fellas... He has also coached at San Diego State and Idaho after earning All-Big Sky honors at Northern Arizona... Finn played professionally in NFL Europe after spending a year with the Denver Broncos in 1998... Paul Creighton came to the Aggie staff from Colorado State-Pueblo where he coached the defensive line... He moves to the other side of the ball with UC Davis, overseeing the tight ends and serving as recruiting coordinator... Creighton was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Auburn when the Tigers won the national championship in 2010... Also joining the staff is former wide receiver Anthony Soto who will serve as quality control for the offense... Soto played for UC Davis from 2009-12, catching 107 passes for 1,269 career yards and 10 touchdowns.

Former head coach JIM SOCHOR, still a highly visible member of the Aggie community after bringing great success to UC Davis from 1970-88, helped spawn the coaching careers of several prominent collegiate and professional coaches... CHRIS PETERSEN (Washington) is an alum of UC Davis who quarterbacked the Aggies in the 1980s, GARY PATTERSON (TCU) is a former coach under Sochor, DAN HAWKINS is another Aggie alum who most notably coached at Boise State and Colorado, Aggie player MIKE BELLOTTI (Oregon) was a highly successful collegiate coach, former player NICK ALIOTTI was longtime defensive coordinator at Oregon, and PAUL HACKETT played for UC Davis before a prominent NFL and collegiate coaching career... And proving the apple doesn't fall far from the Hackett tree, former UC Davis LB Nathaniel Hackett (1999-2002), son of Paul, is currently the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills... The younger Hackett's teammate, S Ejiro Evero, is an offensive assistant with the San Francisco 49ers... A pair of playing alums - QB MARK GRIEB and DB Keith Buckley - are head coaches at the Div. III level.

UC Davis is in its third season of membership in the Big Sky Conference, joining as an affiliated member for the 2012 season... It's the Aggies' fifth league since beginning football in 1915... Other conferences:

UC Davis has won or shared 30 conference championships in its 95-year history, including 20 straight between 1971-90... The Aggies' most recent title came when it won the 2009 Great West title.

Besides 20 consecutive league titles, UC Davis has enjoyed other notable streaks:

442 - Consecutive games with at least 200 yds of offense. (Began in 1969; ended vs. Cal in 2010; 81 yds)
212 - Consecutive games without being shut out. (ended vs. Fresno State, 51-0, in 2009)

37 - Consecutive winning seasons (1970-2006).

35 - Consecutive winning Div. II seasons (1970-2004). (NCAA Div.II record)

The Aggies' 2014 home schedule will make its debut next week when UC Davis hosts Fort Lewis (Colo.) on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.... It's the first-ever meeting between the programs.