UC DAVIS FOOTBALL GAME NOTES - Game 1 at Nevada
Thu., Sept. 3 • 7 p.m.
Reno, Nev. • Mackay Stadium (30,000)

Notes: UC Davis | Nevada | Big Sky | Mountain West
Gameday links: Audio | Video | | Twitter (in-game updates)

Aggie Information Guide

OPENING KICKOFF
• UC Davis begins its 97th season of football, its third in the Big Sky Conference and its third under head coach Ron Gould... The Aggies face Nevada for the second time in the past three seasons and 53rd time overall... UC Davis is 41-50-3 (.453) in season openers, including 14-22-1 (.392) on the road.
• The Aggies' schedule starts with an FBS opponent for the second straight year and the sixth time since 2008... Nevada represents the first of two (Hawai'i on Sept. 19) Mountain West opponents this year.
• 2015 marks the 11th straight year that UC Davis has faced an FBS opponent... It's 2-11 (.154) in that span with its last win coming 14-13 at San Jose State in 2010... The other victory came at Stanford (20-17) in 2005... The Aggies are 1-7 against the MWC since 2007.
• UC Davis returns 66 letterwinners, including 19 starters (9 off., 5 def., 4 spec.), from last year's team that finished 2-9 overall and 1-7 (13th) in the Big Sky... Included are four players (QB Ben Scott, OL Parker Smith, WR Ramon Vargas, P Colby Wadman) who earned All-Big Sky honorable mention last season.
• Scott, who started the final six games of the season, returns to the QB position after throwing for 1,734 yds and 19 TDs while completing 64.2 pct. of his passes... Scott had 379 yds and 4 TDs against Montana State in his starting debut, threw for 301 yds vs. Northern Colorado and nearly hit the high-water mark again with 298 yds (3 TDs) at Cal Poly.
• His favorite target was WR Ramon Vargas, who didn't crack the lineup until the fifth game (vs. Portland State) but then hit his stride with three straight 100-yard games (25-392, 5 TDs), beginning with the sixth game... Vargas finished 41-665 and 8 TDs, scoring in five straight games during the final six.
• Smith (6-4, 290, Sr.) moves from center to left tackle, completing the cycle of having played every position on the offensive line... He replaces All-Big Sky selection Ian Joseph who started all 45 games of his Aggie career.
• S Keleen Culberson (73 TT, 1 int, 5 PBUs) leads a UC Davis defense that returns its top three, and eight of its top nine, tacklers... DE Zak Pettit (6.5 TFLs) and DT Kyle DeVaughn (6.5 TFLs, 4 sacks) are also back.
• The Aggies will try and replace graduated RB GABE MANZANERES who gained 2,116 yards in his two-year career and twice earned All-Big Sky third-team recognition... He rushed for 831 yds (5.6 avg.) and 5 TDs in 2014.

LAST MEETING
• Nevada scored the first 20 points, led 20-7 at halftime and went on to beat UC Davis 36-7 in Reno in the most recent matchup between the programs on Sept. 7, 2013.
• It was the first meeting between the schools since the Aggies beat the Wolf Pack, 24-17, in 1989.
• RB Manusamoa Luuga led UC Davis with 81 yds on 14 carries, ripping off a career-best 46-yard run on his first collegiate rush during his true freshman season... WR ALEX CANNON hauled in a career-long 59-yard catch early in the second quarter, his only grab of the season.
• LB Jonathan Bias led the defense with 11 tackles (3 solo) while P Colby Wadman had a 55-yard boot while punting seven times.
• RB KENDALL BROCK rushed for 116 yds and 2 TDs on 27 carries for Nevada while WR RICHY TURNER (6-136, 1 TD) and QB CODY FAJARDO (239 yds, 2 TDs) also helped pace the offense.

VARGAS MAKES RUN
• WR Ramon Vargas strung together three straight 100-yard receiving games (141 vs. MSU, 129 vs. Montana, 122 vs. UNC) last season, coming within one of tying the school record held by Sean Creadick (2010), TONY KAYS (2005) and Michael Oliva (2001)... He missed it by just eight yards after gaining 92 at Northern Arizona in Week 9.

GREAT SCOTT! WHAT A START
• QB Ben Scott had one game and five career passes prior to starting his first game when the Aggies hosted Montana State last season.
• All he did was go 27 of 46 for 379 yds and 4 TDs... They were the most yards by a UC Davis QB in their debut start and tied for 23rd most in a game... Scott also had a 31-yard run, the longest by an Aggie since J.T. O'Sullivan in 2001.
• Scott's passing yardage tied him with former Aggie QB and current offensive coordinator Kevin Daft (vs. Sac State in 1997).

SMITH GETS 0-LINE CYCLE
• OL Parker Smith played both right and left guard earlier during his Aggie career before starting last season at right tackle for injured teammate Christian Schneider.
• Another injury to former OL Jay Luchetti moved him over to center for the balance of 2014 where he earned All-Big Sky honorable mention.
• Smith completes the cycle in 2015 by taking his talents to left tackle where he'll face the opponent's top rusher while protecting QB BEN SCOTT's blindside... Smith, called the Aggies' best lineman by head coach Ron Gould, replaces Ian Joseph who started all 45 games of his UC Davis career prior to graduating.

CULBERSON BREAKS OUT
• S Keleen Culberson flew under the radar with a redshirt year in 2012 and a injury depleted campaign in 2013... But, 2014 proved to be his coming-out party after the junior posted a team-high 73 tackles... He also led the team in solo stops (47) and assisted tackles (26).
• His 13 tackles (10 solo) helped key a 48-35 win at Cal Poly in the "Battle for the Golden Horseshoe" and were second-most on the team last year... Culberson averaged 9.5 tackles during a four-game stretch late in the year.

CANNON GETS 6TH YEAR
• WR ALEX CANNON may be the fastest player on the Aggies and he'll get a chance to prove it one more year after receiving a clock extension from the NCAA for a sixth year.
• Cannon received medical hardship waivers after suffering season-ending injuries for the 2011 and 2013 seasons, leading to the successful petition for another season of eligibility.
• He enters the 2015 campaign with 28 catches for 484 yards and a touchdown in his career.

WADMAN A TOP PUNTER
• P Colby Wadman has followed a tough act with a tough one of his own... He replaced All-Big Sky punter Colton Schmidt (now starting for the Buffalo Bills) and has averaged 40.0 yds through 125 punts over two seasons.
• His 42.3 average (rounded from 42.26) last year is fourth-best for a season, barely trailing BILL INGRAM (42.28)... Schmidt (44.5, 42.3) is 1-2 on the single-season list.
• Wadman is on pace to become just the third Aggie to average 40.0 yds for a career... He ranked fifth in the Big Sky, which is loaded with good punters, and 14th in FCS.
• Wadman put a third of his 54 punts inside the 20 in 2014, had 13 fair-caught and posted a long of 65 yards... He earned Big Sky honorable mention for the second straight year.

WRIGHT GOES LONG
• KR Shamawn Wright ranked 24th in FCS last year with a 24.0-yd kick return average... He had an 89-yard TD against Ft. Lewis, the Aggies' first since 2012... Wright ranked 27th nationally for average while his score tied him for fourth.

STAFF GETS NEW SMILES
• Head coach Ron Gould welcomed three new faces to the coaching staff photo and five new smiles overall with the addition of WES NURSE (cornerbacks), JIM CHAPIN (running backs) and David Braun (def. line) during the winter.
• Nurse was on the Aggie staff in 2011 before leaving and returning, Chapin was most recently at Indiana Univ. (Pennsylvania), and Braun spent the last four years at his alma mater of Winona State (Minn.).
• Also joining the Aggies are Matt Ulrich (def. quality control) and Darren Ervin (spec. teams quality control; dir. of player personnel).

'14 POSTSEASON HONORS
• UC Davis had 10 Aggies recognized by the Big Sky on its postseason honor roll... OL Ian Joseph (1st team) and RB Gabe Manzanares (2nd team) are both graduated... FS CHARLES BOYETT, TE Mark Martindale, LB Steven Pitts and FB Dalton Turay are departed seniors who were each honorable mention.
• OL Parker Smith, QB Ben Scott, WR Ramon Vargas and P Colby Wadman are returners that picked up honorable mention accolades.

PRESEASON POLLS
• UC Davis was voted selected 12th by the head coaches and 11th by the media in the Big Sky's preseason polls.
• Montana State edged defending champion Eastern Washington for the No. 1 spot from the coaches while the order was reversed in a close media vote.
• No Aggies were selected to the 30-play Preseason All-Big Sky team.

INSTANT REPLAY IS HERE
• The Big Sky has joined a growing number of FCS conferences by adding instant replay to its league games.
• Notable items: All plays will be reviewed by a replay official in the booth but play will not be stopped unless necessary... The game will not be stopped by the replay official if it does not effect the "competitive balance" of the game (although coaches may still challenge the call).
• The presumption is the on-field call is correct and only indisputable video evidence can overturn it.
• Head coaches receive one challenge per game but will get a second one if he is successful on the first... If they lose a challenge, the team will be charged a timeout.

CLASSROOM EXCELLENCE
• The Aggies posted an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 974 to lead the Big Sky Conference for the third consecutive year... The distinction earned them an APR Award from the FCS Athletics Directors Assocition for the third straight year as well.
• UC Davis has increased its APR each year during the impressive run and owns the second-longest active streak of APR Awards. (Bryant University has won four straight).
• The APR measures student-athlete retention and eligibility and helps provide a real-time mark of classroom performance.

NEW STADIUM TURF
• Aggie Stadium opened for business in 2007 and has new artificial turf for the first time since... Shaw Sports Turf was installed over the summer, providing a marked difference to the FieldTurf that preceded it.
• Most notably, the new turf is 3/4-inch shorter (2" vs. 2.75") while the turf inlay is equal parts sand and rubber, compared to the all-rubber inlay previously.
• Visually, the turf alternates shades of green every five yards, except for a 10-yard stretch of dark green at midfield that serves as the background for the traditional Mustang C logo.
• The endzones are blue with "Vegas gold" lettering... The campus' official UC Davis wordmark is in the south endzone while "Aggies" is in the north.
• The 105,000-square foot playing surface, which is also home to the Aggies' women's lacrosse team and features its playing lines, was installed by ProSpectra Contract Flooring and was funded through the Facilities And Campus Enhancement Initiative (F.A.C.E.) passed by undergraduates in 1999.

GOULD PRODUCES RBs
• Head coach Ron Gould turned out a bevy of outstanding running backs during his 16-year career as an assistant/associate head coach at Cal prior to joining UC Davis in 2012.
• Currently, his former players form a 'who's who' of NFL standouts: Marshawn Lynch (Seattle), Shane Vereen (New England), Justin Forsett (Baltimore) and C.J. Anderson (Denver)... FB Will Ta'ufo'ou was most recently with Jacksonville... Retired RB Jahvid Best (Detroit) was another outstanding Cal player.
• Gould brought his expertise to UC Davis where he's already turned out one of the Aggies' all-time best with former RB Gabe Manzanares who gained 2,116 career yards, was named the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year in 2014 and twice earned all-conference recognition in 2013-14.

LOOKING TO KICK BACK
• Senior K Brady Stuart needs seven field goals to tie Sean Kelley (44, 2008-11) for No. 2 on the Aggies' career list and is 10 away from leader EDDIE LORETTO (47, 1985-88).
• Stuart was well on his way to both after making a school-record 17 in 2013 and earning All-Big Sky third-team honors... He was just 5 of 11 last year while also moving up on career attempts (3rd, 57), PATs (7th, 92) and PAT attempts (7th, 96).
• The end of the 2014 season provided renewed optimism with Stuart making his final three attempts (28, 24 vs. CP; 32 vs. Sac St.).

ROOT FOR THE AGGIES
• UC Davis will be featured on ROOT SPORTS for the fourth consecutive year as part of the DirecTV regional network's partnership with the Big Sky... In all, 10 league games will be showcased throughout the 2015 season.
• The Aggies will host Montana on Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. as part of the package... UC Davis also hosted ROOT SPORTS games against Montana (2013) and Montana State (2012, 2014) and were shown last season at Portland State as well... UC Davis is 0-5 in ROOT SPORTS games.

COACHING TREE
• JIM SOCHOR, the winningest coach (156 wins) in school history, helped spawn the careers of several notable current head coaches including CHRIS PETERSEN (Washington) and GARY PATTERSON (TCU) who were both on staff... Additionally, Petersen was a QB for UC Davis in the mid-1980s... Former coaches to move through the Aggies as players and/or coaches include MIKE BELLOTTI (Oregon), NICK ALIOTTI (Oregon def. coord.) and PAUL HACKETT (NFL, college).
• Hackett's son, Nathaniel, played for UC Davis from 1999-2002 before moving on to a successful coaching career as the offensive coordinator at Syracuse and the Buffalo Bills... He's currently the QB coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
• The Aggies request media properly refer to the school's name when referencing the university... The correct name is "UC Davis"... Please note the refreshing lack of hyphens and periods... "California-Davis", "Cal-Davis", "U.C. Davis", "UC-Davis" and similar combinations of letters and punctuation are also incorrect.
• Did we say 'thank you'? Consider it said.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The Aggies host South Dakota in their home opener on Sept. 12... It'll mark the first meeting since head coach RON GOULD's debut game in 2013, won by the Coyotes, 10-7.