Saturday brings the 66th Causeway Classic Presented by Pepsi, hosted at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. This is actually the 67th meeting between the two teams, as one series matchup – the Nov. 19, 1988 game – was an NCAA postseason game. It also marks the 11th straight year that the UC Davis-Sacramento State matchup closes out the regular season. Kickoff is 2 p.m.
Who: #4/4 Sacramento State
When: Saturday, November 23 • 2 p.m.
Where: Sacramento, Calif.
Venue: Hornet Stadium (21,195)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Listen: Sports 1140 on TuneIn app
Watch: CW31
Saturday's game is televised by local CW31 (KMAX-TV) but streamed live via PlutoTV on Sacramento State's channel (533). Please note that the channel may not appear on the site or app until close to kickoff.
UC DAVIS LAST WEEK
UC Davis took on a top-10 team for the third time in 2019, this time falling to No. 10/10 Montana State... The Aggies led 17-14 after three quarters but surrendered 13 straight points in the final frame, marking the first time this season that UC Davis led after 45 minutes but did not win... Senior QB Jake Maier threw for 273 yards, which raised his career total to 10,930 ticks... He surpassed J.T. O'Sullivan as the school's all-time leader in that category, and even received a recorded congratulatory message from the former NFL veteran.
Sophomore RB Ulonzo Gilliam rushed for 133 yards for his fifth game above the century mark this season... He also tied his career high of 8 receptions for another 48 aerial yards, resulting in his 15th career game with at least 100 combined yards from scrimmage... Defensively, senior LB Eric Flowers led the way with 9 tackles (6-3-9), but one of the best overall performances belonged to redshirt freshman LB Da'Von Frazier, a converted DB who had career bests of 6 tackles and 3.5 TFLs plus his first collegiate sack.
Gilliam's 8 catches also vaulted him into the team lead with 49, ahead of Khris Vaughn's 47... The last time a UC Davis player led his team in both rushing yards and receptions was Ron Hanna, who paced the Aggies with 767 ground yards and 7 catches in 1950... For reference, that was UC Davis' first full season at what later became Toomey Field.
THE CAUSEWAY SERIES
UC Davis holds a 46-20 all-time record in the series, including 8-4 in the era when both teams were Division I... The Aggies have the two longest win streaks, with 18 straight from 1970-87 and 8 consecutive from 2000-07... The longest Hornet streak was 5 straight from 1988-91, which included the NCAA first-round matchup that year... As noted above, this is the 11th straight year in which the Causeway Classic closes out the regular season... In fact, only 23 of the 66 all-time meetings had that characteristic, with another eight matchup serving as that year's penultimate regular-season game... This will also become the first Causeway Classic in which Sacramento State is ranked in the FCS poll... The Hornets had made the Top 25 in 1999, 2000 and 2011, but never remained in the poll later than Oct. 16 (1999) until this year...
In fact, with Sacramento State sporting an 8-3 record and UC Davis entering at 5-6, this marks the most combined wins between the two teams at the time of the matchup since 1986, when a 5-3-1 Hornet team took on an 8-1 Aggie squad... In 1985, Sac State was 8-2 when it lost to an 8-1 UC Davis in a contest that arguably determined a Division II playoff berth... In 1982, Dan Hawkins' senior year, Sacramento State was 8-1 entering the game while UC Davis was undefeated at 8-0... The Hornets lost by a whopping 51-6 margin but still made the playoffs, ultimately losing to Eastern Washington one week later... The Aggies went on to the D-II title game that year.
THE DOG DAYS
Junior OL Kooper Richardson will see two very familiar faces across the field on the Sac State sideline... His father, Kris, serves as assistant head coach for the Hornets... First-year head coach Troy Taylor and Kris Richardson were co-coaches at Folsom High from 2012-15 – Kooper's four years as a Bulldog.
SCHOOL RECORD & MILESTONE WATCH
QB Jake Maier needs 28 passing completions to become the first Aggie to break 1,000 for a career... His 2019 totals of 456 attempts and 302 completions are No. 3 on the school's respective season lists... Maier already holds the top two completion totals of 364 (2018) and 306 (2017)... He sits 7th on the Aggies' season passing yards list at 3,330, with Greg Denham's 3,478 in 2008 at No. 6... Maier holds the No. 1 and No. 5 seasons with 3,931 (2018) and 3,669 (2017).
RB Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. raised his career receptions total to 106, becoming just the second running back to break the century mark at UC Davis... Shola Adeyemo was the first, hauling in 112 from 1987-90... Gilliam also enters Saturday's game with 49 catches this year... Only three Aggie RBs have posted at least 50 receptions in a season: Roger Wilkinson's 56 in 1986, Marcus Nolan's 51 in 2006, and Gilliam's 57 last year.
Gilliam has 1,188 rushing yards this season, 7th in school history and 120 away from jumping all the way to No. 3 on the school season list (G.P. Muhammad)... With 2,164 yards, he can pass both Matt Brown (2,234 from 1998-2000) and Adeyemo (2,269) to move into 4th... Gilliam also jumped into a tie for 5th in school history with 24 career rushing TDs, matching Fred Wheeler (1976-78).
With 24 total, senior TE Wes Preece needs one more reception TD to catch Charley Enos (1998-2001) for 4th on the school career list... His 109 career receptions ranks third among UC Davis tight ends behind Howard Gravelle (117, 1967-69) and Wes Terrell (125, 1995-98).
LB Eric Flowers and CB Devon King rank 3rd (55) and 4th (52) on the school's season solo tackles chart, respectively... Only Kris Spraker (60 in 2000) and Jason Hairston (63 in 1993) are ahead on the list.
K Max O'Rourke's 23-yard FG against MSU was the 31st in his career, putting him into a tie for 5th with Dan Hawkins' former teammate Ray Sullivan (1981-84)... Rafael Fernandez (32 from 1989-93) is the next target on that list... O'Rourke needs five points to pass Fernandez and G.P. Muhammad (1995-98) for 6th on the Aggies' career scoring list... O'Rourke has 232 points... Fernandez is also next on the list in 2nd on the school's career PAT leaderboard at 140, with O'Rourke at 139.
LB Nick Eaton moved into fourth on season TFL list with 12.0, just 0.5 behind B.J. Brust (2002)... Nick King (14.0 in 2012) and Mason Moe (20.5 last year) have the top two spots on a list that dates back to 2001, when statistical rules changed from total TFLs to full and half TFLs.
A larger (although still incomplete) list of changing UC Davis top 10 season and career lists can be found on pages 18 and 19 of the official game notes.
FOLLOWING THE LEADERS
Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. remains the only player in the Big Sky Conference with at least 100 rushing yards per game (108.0), moving up to 9th among FCS leaders... Jake Maier is 5th nationally in passing yards per game (302.7), 3rd in completions per game (27.45)... Nick Eaton shares the FCS lead in forced fumbles (0.45 per game) with Albany's Eli Mencer...
Junior P Daniel Whelan ranks 3rd in the Big Sky, 6th nationally in punting with a 44.68 gross average... The school record for that category is Colton Schmidt's 44.48 in 2012... For that matter, Whelan enters the Causeway Classic with a 42.76 career punting average, well on pace to surpass Schmidt's school benchmark of 41.12.
Click here for the complete set of Game 12 notes, plus records, stats and historical information.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
DON'T MISS OUT: Tickets for all UC Davis sports are on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at tickets.ucdavis.edu.
