Saturday's contest between No. 22/22 UC Davis and No. 4/5 Weber State marks the first and only meeting between 2018 Big Sky Conference tri-champions, as Eastern Washington does not play either opponent this season... The Aggies, Wildcats and Eagles each finished with 7-1 conference marks a year ago.
The game also features the 10th running of Brewfest, which helps commemorate UC Davis as the top academic brewing program in North America... Furthermore, the cheer and dance teams hosted a pregame clinic for kids ages 5-13, with a special performance on the schedule during the halftime break... And of course, UC Davis will honor All-American safety, NFL All-Pro, acclaimed actor and new author Bo Eason with his inclusion on the Aggie Pride Wall.
Who: Weber State
When: Saturday, October 26 • 4 p.m.
Where: Davis, Calif.
Venue: UC Davis Health Center (10,743)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast (http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=268887)
Listen: Money 105.5 on TuneIn app (https://tunein.com/radio/Money-Sacramento-1055-s26439/)
Watch: Eleven Sports (https://pluto.tv/tv/uc-davis)
Saturday's game is televised by Eleven Sports, which is available through several carriers (e.g. DirecTV, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse) and streaming media (e.g. fuboTV and Twitch)... Aggie fans can also find it online at Pluto TV... Note also that the radio broadcast will be aired on Money 105.5 rather than the usual Sports 1140... This is an update from the previous programming change, which had the game airing on 1380 The Answer.
10th Annual Brewfest: Event Info | Tickets
Aggiette Cheer & Dance Clinic: Event Info | Tickets
UC DAVIS-WEBER STATE SERIES
The Wildcats hold a 4-1 edge in the five previous meetings in the series, which dates back only to 2010... The lone win, a 37-13 victory on Sept. 29, 2012, also stands as UC Davis' first-ever Big Sky Conference win (the Aggies previously‑ played in the Great West Conference or GWFC),
BATTLE OF THE CHAMPS
As stated above, Saturday marks the only meeting of the three 2018 Big Sky Conference champions, as EWU does not have either UC Davis or Weber State on its schedule... For that matter, it is the fourth of six total meetings between defending conference tri- or co-champs this year:
Sept. 28: Furman 17, ETSU 10 (Southern)
Oct. 5: Wofford 35, ETSU 17 (Southern)
Oct. 19: Duquesne 20, Sacred Heart 6 (NEC)
Oct. 26: Weber State at UC Davis (Big Sky)
Nov. 2: Nicholls at Incarnate Word (Southland)
Nov. 16: Furman at Wofford (Southern)
UC DAVIS LAST WEEK
For the second straight week, UC Davis exploded for a hot start then halted its opponent's second-half comeback effort... The Aggies, who scored 34 unanswered to begin the Oct. 12 win against Cal Poly, ran out to a 26-0 lead through the first 28 minutes at Southern Utah last weekend... A Niko Harris 4-yard TD run made it 33-7 with 4:28 left in the third before the T-Birds managed 18 straight points to cut the margin to a 33-25 final...
Senior QB Jake Maier highlighted the victory by becoming just the second player in school history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards... His 34-yard pass to TE Wes Preece put him over that threshold (Maier entered the contest with 9,843)... For more on Maier's record pursuits, see the section below or visit page 19 of the official game notes.
HIGHS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Also for the second straight week, UC Davis assembled a win thanks to a wide variety of contributions, including a few firsts and/or career-high performances... For starters (literally), the Aggies began the game with two tight ends – seniors Wes Preece and Matt Hyman – rather than their more common configuration of three receivers.
• Sophomore Niko Harris enjoyed something of a breakout game, posting overall highs for rushing attempts (6), rushing yards (39) and receiving (2-for-13)... The managerial econ major arrived at UC Davis in 2017 as an accomplished QB for Sierra Canyon HS, then converted to WR for 2019... However, with injuries depleting the RB crew throughout the year, he has earned reps in the Aggie backfield as of late... Harris ran for a 10-yard scamper to set up 4th-and-1 on the SUU 4-yard line, then converted the fourth down for his first collegiate TD in the third quarter... He later posted a career-long 21-yard run in the fourth.
• Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. carried the ball a career-high 28 yards, perhaps in part to the breezy weather conditions at Eccles Stadium... The 2018 Freshman All-American enjoyed his fifth career 100-yard rushing game (140) and his third straight contest with at least 100 combined yards from scrimmage... Gilliam raised his career rushing totals to 1,723 yards and 20 TDs... That 20th TD – at 8:57 in the second quarter – puts him in a three-way tie for ninth in school history, along with Shola Adeyemo (1987-90) and Manusamoa Luuga (2013-16)... Gilliam needs less than 100 yards to catch former Dan Hawkins teammate Shawn Rogers (1.812 from 1981-83) for 10th, with Matt Massari (1,814, 2001-02) not far ahead in 9th.
• RB Christoph Hirota, who previously appeared on kick returns, had consecutive runs of 10, 6 and 3 yards in a first-quarter series for his first Aggie rushing stats... That set up a TD pass from Maier to WR Lance Babb II, marking the latter's first score since hauling in a touchdown in last year's NCAA quarterfinal at Eastern Washington... DB Jaylin White recorded his first career interception, the game's only turnover by either team... NT Josiah Suani earned his first collegiate sack, or share of it, when he combined with Brandon Jamison for a 7-yard takedown of Chris Helbig in the final minutes... LB Connor Airey (8), LB Eric Flowers (8), LB James Scharetg (4) and DL Doug Drakeley (4) each posted career bests for solo tackles... Finally, DB Josh Januska hit Helbig for a 4-yard sack near the end of the third for his first collegiate sack and TFL... Impressively, Januska had sat out the entire preseason camp due to injury, and hoped to be back for the last few games of the 2019 schedule.
• Finally, due to technical difficulties, UC Davis and SUU played the entire game without a visible clock or scoreboard... According to Tim Ornelas, the Aggies' award-winning video coordinator, this marks the second time in as many years that UC Davis has posted a win under such conditions: the same took place in the team's 52-10 road win at Cal Poly almost exactly one year prior (Oct. 20, 2018).
JAKE MAIER RECORD WATCH
With the aforementioned milestone behind him, Jake Maier now has 10,114 career passing yards, 631 behind J.T. O'Sullivan's school benchmark set in 2001... His 14 touchdowns in the last four games has also vaulted him within striking range of O'Sullivan's record of 96... Maier has 81 career TD strikes with four games left on the 2019 regular-season slate...
The Walter Payton Award candidate also has several Aggie season lists within his grasp: four more TDs will tie him with Mark Grieb (1996) for 10th... Maier already ranks No. 2 and T8 on that list with his previous seasons of 34 and 26... With 224 completions in 2019, he will pursue Kevin Daft (238 in 1998), Jon Grant (243 in 2006) and Chris Petersen (250 in 1986)... Maier is the only player in school history to have completed 300 passes in a season – a feat he has accomplished twice (306 in 2017, 364 in 2018).
CRASH
During halftime, 1983 All-American safety turned NFL All-Pro turned actor turned writer Bo Eason will become the second alumnus to have his name and jersey number added to the Aggie Pride Wall, a portion of the facade on the UC Davis Health Stadium press box... Eason joins Ken O'Brien, the inaugural honoree, who was honored during the November 6, 2017 game against Southern Utah...
Both Eason and O'Brien were teammates of current head coach Dan Hawkins on the 1982 squad, which advanced to the NCAA Div. II title game... Nicknamed "Crash" for his hard-hitting style, Eason posted totals of 11 interceptions for 238 yards in his Aggie career, including a pick six that led UC Davis to a 23-22 upset of Pacific... He earned first-team AP All-America status and NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, then earned an invite to the East-West Shrine Game... Eason also garnered the school's Colby E. "Babe" "Slater Award as the outstanding male athlete of the year... The following spring, he was selected by the Houston Oilers in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft.
Eason played for Houston for four years, earning a second-team All-Pro nod in 1985, before injuries put an end to his football career... This sent the UC Davis political science grad into the world of acting... He earned 16 television and film credits but his most acclaimed work came on stage with a semi-autobiographical, one-man play called Runt of the Litter... Eason then became a renowned motivational speaker and personal coach, training athletes, artists and C-suite executives on how to communicate for maximum success... This year, he put his expertise to the page, releasing his first book, There's No Plan B For Your A-Game, on September 3... Later that week, Eason appeared as a guest on the juggernaut podcast, The Adam Carolla Show, making him the second former UC Davis student-athlete (along with MMA star Urijah Faber) to appear on that program.
For a full set of notes, complete with rosters, depth charts, stats and other season info, click here or the link above.
