Date: Saturday, October 15
Kickoff: 4Â PM PT
Venue: UC Davis Health Stadium
Theme: Spirit Week | Homecoming
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
BUY TICKETS
DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis football team (1-4, 0-2) returns from its bye week to host Northern Arizona University (2-4, 1-2) for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 15. The two Big Sky Conference foes will kickoff from UC Davis Health Stadium at 4 p.m. PT. Scott Marsh and Scott Gordon will call the action on ESPN+ while Greg Wong and Doug Kelly hit the airwaves on SacTown Sports 1140 am. NAU enters the contest coming off its first conference win of the season, downing Cal Poly, 31-29, last weekend at home. The Aggies have won the last two meetings against the Lumberjacks.
SERIES HISTORY
The two programs will be meeting for the eighth time as Northern Arizona holds a 4-3 all-time advantage. UC Davis has won the last two contests and are 2-1 in home games against NAU. The two programs met last season in Flagstaff where the Aggies ran away with a 40-24 victory.
Miles Hastings threw for two touchdowns while
Trent Tompkins ran for 76 yards, including a 54-yard score. In the last game in Davis, the Ags defeated the Lumberjacks, 42-20, in 2018.
RECORD BREAKER
Senior running back Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr., broke G.P. Muhammad's 24-year-old career rushing record (3,589) when he bounced free on a 12-yard run on the second play of the first offensive drive for the Aggies against San Diego. Gilliam, Jr. finished the game with 106 yards on the ground to move his record total to 3,689. Gilliam, Jr. also broke the all-purpose yards (4,630) record at Cal, surpassing Muhammad's career mark of (4,629) by one yard in week one. The Merced native also etched his name atop the career touchdown record, finding the endzone for a school-record 41st time when he scored on a 38-yard run in the first quarter at No. 4 Montana State. Another record on the horizon for Gilliam, Jr. is the all-time points record at Davis. The running back, who has scored more points than any non-kicker in program history enters the NAU game 26 points away from breaking Brady Stuart's (2012-15) school record of 274 points.
MR. 4,000
Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr., is on the verge of 4,000 career rushing yards as he enters the NAU contest with 3,927 yards on the ground in an Aggie uniform. Once Gilliam, Jr. eclipses the 4,000-yard mark he will become just the 12th player in Big Sky history to reach the milestone. The last Big Sky rusher to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark was Joe Protheroe of Cal Poly (2014-18). Only four players in conference history have ran for over 5,000 yards.
AGGIES AFTER A BYE
For the second straight season UC Davis is facing NAU after its bye. Last season, the Ags rattled off two wins before entering the bye week and then downed the Lumberjacks, 40-24, on the road on Nov. 6. Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins is 3-1 after bye weeks while at the helm of the Davis football program with his only loss coming in his first season in 2017.
THE KING OF SOLO TACKLES
Defensive back Devon King added four solo tackles against Weber State to move into a tie with Jason Hairston's school record of 136 solo stops. King has registered five or more total tackles in all but one contest this season and posted five or more solo tackles in three of the five games. Against San Diego in Week 3, King totaled 10 tackles that included seven unassisted stops.
AGGIES IN THE BIG SKY
UC Davis has continued its trend as one of the most disciplined teams in the Big Sky. After five games, the Aggies are the least penalized team in the conference with 20. On top of the penalties, UCD has been great at keeping Miles Hastings upright, leading the league in least sacks allowed with just four. Speaking of Hastings, UCD is second in the Big Sky with 135 completions and third in the league with 258.8 passing yards per contest. The Aggies defense ranks tied for second in the Big Sky with eight forced turnovers and is second as well with five interceptions. UC Davis has forced two or more turnovers in two games thus far and has forced opponents to put the ball on the ground five times with three recoveries.
CONNORS TWINS – AN AIR DEFENSE FAMILY
Redshirt freshman Rex Connors was named Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week and the FedEx Ground FCS Freshman Player of the Week after his stellar performance in Week 2. Connors put together one of the finest defensive performances in recent memory for the Aggies. Against No. 2 ranked South Dakota State on the road, Connors registered 17 total tackles, including 10 solo stops in the defensive slugfest. On top of his 17 tackles, the Pleasant Grove, Utah native added two interceptions as the initial takeaway was the first of his Aggie career. The 17 total tackles are the most in a game in program history since at least 2007. In Week 3 against San Diego, his twin brother Porter recorded his first career interception when he picked off Judd Erickson deep in Aggie territory in the first quarter. The brothers have combined for 51 total tackles and three interceptions. Rex leads the team and ranks third in the Big Sky with 38 total tackles.
60-YARD STRIKES
In five games this season, the Aggies have showcased some explosive plays with three touchdowns over 60 yards. In the opener at Cal, senior running back Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. ripped off a 60-yard rushing score. The scamper was his longest since a 75-yard touchdown in 2019 against Portland State and the longest by an Aggies since an 86-yard score from Trent Tompkins in 2020. Sophomore running back Lan Larison hauled in a 68-yard touchdown pass from Miles Hastings in Week 2 at South Dakota State. The touchdown reception was the longest by an Aggie since Khris Vaughn caught a 76-yard touchdown in the Causeway Classic in 2019. Larison has been electric in his career, boasting a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 40-yard rushing score on top of his 68-yarder against South Dakota State. Against San Diego in Week 3, Josh Gale recorded his first career touchdown, racing past the Torero defense for a 62-yard receiving score.
COMPLETE BACKS
All eyes have been on arguably the most prodigious rusher in UC Davis history and the rushing record. Diving in deeper on the all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. has been an underrated receiver his whole career and is starting the 2022 season in impressive fashion. The Merced native enters Week 6 leading the Aggies with 27 receptions and 220 receiving yards. His 27 catches rank fifth of all players in the Big Sky. Also out of the Aggie backfield, Lan Larison enters the NAU game second on the team with 207 receiving yards, including a 68-yard score. Larison is averaging a team-best 14.8 per reception based on pass catchers with five or more receptions.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
In five games in 2022, the Aggies have started six different wide receivers. In the first game of the season at Cal, Justin Kraft returned from an injury-plagued career to earn the start while Chaz Davis caught his first career touchdown. In Week 2 at South Dakota State, Justin Poerio hauled in his second career touchdown reception on a nine-yard fourth quarter strike from Miles Hastings. In the big win against USD, three different receivers caught touchdowns, including career firsts from Matteo Perez and Josh Gale. C.J. Hutton caught 10 passes for 77 yards and a score against Weber State. Kraft posted a career-best effort at No. 4 Montana State with six receptions for 114 yards. Already, 12 different receivers have been credited with a catch, while seven different pass catchers have recorded 10 or more receptions and eight different Aggies have caught touchdowns.
THE "MAGICAL" TRENT TOMPKINS
In his time in an Aggie uniform, Trent Tompkins has done a lot of everything for the Aggies. Listed as a wide receiver in 2022, the sophomore was all over the stat sheet in 2021. The All-Big Sky second team selection at the all-purpose spot tied for the team-lead with six rushing touchdowns and ranked second on the squad with 448 yards on the ground. The Fresno native caught 12 passes for 77 yards and threw 18 passes for 102 yards and one score. Tompkins also returned two punts for 86 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown. In 2022, Tompkins has returned five punts for 23 yards, three kickoffs for 80 yards, rushed for 37 yards on 13 carries and caught 15 passes for 81 yards. In Week 3 against USD, Tompkins tallied 114 total yards and scored twice on two direct snaps.
HASTINGS SINCE CAL
Miles Hastings hasn't taken long to get comfortable as the Aggie's starting signal-caller. Since the Cal game, the sophomore has thrown for seven touchdowns and 1,019 yards with only two interceptions. Against USD, Hastings completed the first 10 passes of the game and finished 16-for-21. The San Marcos native leads the Big Sky with 252.2 passing yards per game and is second with 1,261 yards.
COACHING MATCHUP
Chris Ball is in his fourth season at Northern Arizona, sporting a 14-20 overall record in Flagstaff. Ball came to NAU after spending three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Memphis. UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins has led the Aggies to their first two FCS Playoff appearances in school history and boasts a 32-26 mark in now his sixth season in Davis. This will be the second meeting between the two.
SCHEDULE GAZING
On top of opening the season on the road against FBS foe Cal, UC Davis entered the 2022 campaign slated to play four FCS squads that are ranked in the top-25, including three in the Big Sky. Of the four teams, three were tabbed in the top-10 in the preseason polls. In the AFCA Coaches Preseason Poll, UCD faced No. 3 South Dakota State, No. 4 Montana State, No. 12 Weber State and will face No. 7 Sacramento State. The three top-10 contests will all be on the road.
NEXT TIME OUT
UC Davis hits the road and heads to Greeley, Colo., to face Northern Colorado on Saturday, Oct. 22. The two teams will kickoff at Noon PT from Nottingham Field.
