ABOUT TODAY'S GAME
No. 5/4 UC Davis enters its eighth meeting with the University of San Diego, and its first on the road since 2010... The Aggies hold a 6-1 overall record against the Toreros in a series that dates back to 2006... In fact, that first meeting holds a special place in program history: it was the last football game held in Toomey Field, before the team moved to Aggie Stadium (now UC Davis Health Stadium).
Who: San Diego
When: Saturday, September 7 • 2 p.m.
Where: San Diego, Calif.
Venue: Torero Stadium (6,000)
Live Stats: SideArm StatsÂ
Listen: Sports 1140 on TuneIn app
Watch: WCC NetworkÂ
UC Davis has won four straight in the series history, most recently in a 54-21 home-opening victory almost exactly one year ago... The Aggies scored 34 unanswered to erase a brief 21-20 deficit in the game... RB Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. scored three touchdowns, QB Jake Maier threw for 302 yards, and DB Vincent White posted three pass PBUs and a 48-yard "pick six" to highlight the 2018 win.
UC DAVIS LAST WEEK
The Aggies jumped out to a 10-0 start on Pac-12 Conference member California in the 2019 season opener in Berkeley... Pat Miller forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and Jack Shippy recovered the ball just outside the red zone to set up a Gilliam 2-yard plunge... K Max O'Rourke kicked his second field goal of the game to tie the contest at 13-13 early in the second half...Â
UNUSUAL SUSPECTS
Overall, UC Davis forced four Cal turnovers: three fumbles and an interception... A pair of familiar faces took part in three of them: double Freshman All-American Devon King made the diving pick early in the first quarter, Bryce Rodgers (fumble recover) has been a key member of the D-line for three previous years, while co-captain and LB Nas Anesi had a forced fumble and a recovery... The most crucial of takeaways came on the opening kickoff, when junior Pat Miller stripped returner Ashtyn Davis of the ball and redshirt freshman Jack Shippy pounced on it... That marks Shippy's first defensive stat as an Aggie, while Miller revealed his roots: he is a converted tight end who originally came to UC Davis as a linebacker... Also a relatively new name is redshirt freshman LB Nick Eaton, whose sack of Chase Garbers led to Anesi's fumble recovery... Eaton's previous output as an Aggie had been one tackle and a PBU (all against Idaho) in 2018.
SAN DIEGO LAST WEEK
The Toreros opened with a 52-34 loss to the Aggies' Battle For The Golden Horseshoe rival Cal Poly on Saturday... USD gave up eight straight scoring drives to start the game, and surrendered 38 unanswered to see its early 14-14 tie wither to a 52-14 deficit by the third quarter... Senior QB Reid Sinnett completed 26 of 39 for 416 yards and four TDs in his first collegiate start...Â
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
USD senior WR Michael Bandy entered the 2019 season on the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award Watch List... He posted 1,698 yards and 14 TDs in 2018, garnering first-team All-America status from AP, STATS, Walter Camp and the FCS ADA... The Toreros were also slated No. 1 in the Pioneer Football League preseason poll – fitting, given they have won the past seven PFL championships.
This is USD's seventh year under head coach Dale Lindsey, a veteran NFL linebackers coach from the 1980s through 2000s... He has been a part the entire streak of PFL titles, having served as a defensive coordinator under Ron Caragher in 2012 before taking over the helm the following year.
HOMEWARD BOUND
Like many Aggie teams, UC Davis football pulls its share of students from the San Diego area, including fellow DBs and econ majors Jaylin White and Evan Parkins... Although White attended the more remote Vista Murrieta HS, both players hail from the Skyline area of San Diego – less than 15 miles from Torero Stadium... Freshman WR Casey Granfors may be even more familiar to the campus: his University City HS alma mater sits some six miles north of USD... Freshman QB Miles Hastings starred at San Marcos High, located just up I-15 from the campus.
In fact, Saturday's game will be the closest for the many L.A. and Orange County products on the Aggie roster – that is, until the team's landmark matchup at USC in 2021.
THE OTHER SERIES HISTORY
While UC Davis did not actually meet USD on the field until the 2006 season finale, the two teams had a different type of rivalry in place during the late 1990s... RB Jermaine Rucker ranked among FCS (then known as I-AA) leaders in rushing for the Toreros in 1994, compiling 1,332 yards and 13 TDs... He then transferred to UC Davis, where he totaled 2,044 ground yards and 28 scores in his two final seasons – at the time becoming the fourth player in program history to break the 2,000-yard barrier for a career...Â
A year later, the USD-to-UC Davis pipeline delivered again, this time with the arrival of RB Matt Brown... Brown rushed for 320 yards for USD as a freshman before transferring... He became the fifth Aggie to crack the 2K threshold in career rushing (2,234), while his 40 total TDs (38 rush, 2 rec) remains tied for the school record.
For a complete set of notes, visit the link above or click here.Â
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.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE: Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit this site for more information.
DON'T MISS OUT: Season and single-game tickets for UC Davis football are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at tickets.ucdavis.edu.
