Aggie News

Update 04/20/06

UC DAVIS ANNOUNCES 2006 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DAVIS, Calif. --- An early-season matchup at Texas Christian University, which finished 11-1 in 2005 and finished the season ranked 9th and 11th in the USA Today Coaches and Associated Press polls, respectively, highlights the tentative 2006 UC Davis 10-game football schedule announced on Thursday.

The Sept. 9 game at TCU marks the second consecutive season that UC Davis has faced an NCAA Division I-A opponent after last year's historic 20-17 upset at Stanford.

UC Davis begins its 88th season season of football in search of its 37th consecutive winning year.

The 2006 schedule features both five home and five road games with the Aggies scheduled to play the first four on the road and five of the last six at Toomey Field. There are also four first-time opponents.

Director of Athletics Greg Warzecka noted the schedule is still tentative and the schedule could grow to 11 games in the near future.

UC Davis will open with road games at Northern Colorado (Sept. 2), TCU (Sept. 9), Youngstown State (Sept. 23) and Cal Poly (Oct. 7). Home games at Toomey Field against Central Arkansas (Oct. 14) and Southern Utah (Oct. 21, Homecoming) precede a matchup at South Dakota State (Oct. 28), the final road game of the year.

A three-game homestand throughout November finishes the schedule with North Dakota State (Nov. 4), Sacramento State (Nov. 18, Causeway Classic) and the University of San Diego (Nov. 25).

"I know I sound like a broken record but the truth is every year it's gotten progressively harder and stronger," said head coach Bob Biggs of the Aggies' recent schedules. "I've just come to expect the fact that that's the way it's going to be. We've said from the beginning of this transition we want to play the toughest teams we possibly can to expose our kids to playoff-level football and that's what we're doing."

Biggs is also excited to have TCU on the schedule.

"The fact we're adding a team that's been an annual top 20 team (recently) makes it even more exciting and more interesting and, obviously, more of a challenge," he said. "I think it's a real coup to get a game like that on our schedule."

Below are sketches of each scheduled opponent.

Northern Colorado (Sept. 2; Greeley, Colo., TBA time; UC Davis leads series 2-1)
The Bears finished 4-7 overall and 0-5 in the Great West Football Conference last year, ending their season with a 24-14 loss to the Aggies at Toomey Field. Northern Colorado has left the GWFC and will play its first year in the Big Sky Conference this season under first-year head coach Scott Dowling, a former assistant coach at the University of Nebraska.

Texas Christian University (Sept. 9; Ft. Worth, Texas, 6 p.m. (Central) time; First meeting)
One of four first-time opponents for UC Davis this season. The Horned Frogs finished 11-1 overall and 8-0 in the Mountain West Conference in 2005, winning the EV1.net Houston Bowl with a 27-24 victory over Iowa State. It was the seventh bowl appearance in the past eight years for the program. TCU is coached by Gary Patterson, an assistant coach with UC Davis in 1986. The Horned Frogs ended the season ranked 9th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 11th by Associated Press. TCU averaged 31,254 fans per home game last year... Game is scheduled to be televised by the new Mountain West Sports Network.

Youngstown State (Sept. 23; Youngstown, Ohio, 6 p.m. (Eastern); First meeting) The Penguins finished 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Gateway Conference last season, ending the year ranked No. 14 by The Sports Network. Youngstown State has been a traditional power in NCAA Div. I-AA football, winning national championships in 1991,1993, 1994 and 1997 and advancing to the title game in 1992 and 1999.

Cal Poly (Oct. 7; San Luis Obispo, Calif., 6 p.m.; UC Davis leads 16-13-2)
Cal Poly enjoyed one of its finest seasons in 2005, finishing 9-4 overall and advancing to the NCAA Div. I-AA Quarterfinals where it lost at Texas State, 14-7. The Mustangs, who shared the GWFC title with UC Davis at 3-1, opened the playoffs with a 35-21 win at I-AA power Montana. UC Davis beat Cal Poly 20-13 in an exciting matchup at Toomey Field last year.

Central Arkansas (Oct. 14; Davis, Calif., 1 p.m.; First meeting)
The Bears begin their first season of reclassification from Division II to I-AA status after posting an 11-3 record in 2005. Central Arkansas averaged 40.2 ppg and 437.3 ypg of total offense during its final year of Div. II playoff eligibility, advancing to the Div. II quarterfinals. The Bears have been members of the Gulf South Conference but will join the I-AA Southland Conference beginning this summer.

Southern Utah (Oct. 21; Davis, Calif., 1 p.m.; UC Davis leads 7-3)
The Thunderbirds finished 1-9 overall and in fifth place in the GWFC with a 1-4 record last season. Southern Utah returns to Toomey Field for the second consecutive season where it lost 33-21 to the Aggies in 2005. Last years matchup provided extra significance for UC Davis assistant head coach Fred Arp, who coached his 400th varsity game.

South Dakota State (Oct. 28; Brookings, S.D., 2 p.m. (Central); Series tied 2-2)
UC Davis will play the Jackrabbits in South Dakota for the second straight year but will play on the SDSU campus in Brookings this time around. SDSU, which finished 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the GWFC last year, beat the Aggies 16-14 in a matchup played in Sioux Falls. The Jackrabbits led UC Davis 16-0 in the fourth quarter before withstanding a late Aggie rally.

North Dakota State (Nov. 4; Davis, Calif., 1 p.m.; Series tied 4-4)
The Bison posted a 7-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in the GWFC last season, finishing third in the league standings. North Dakota State and UC Davis are longtime rivals whose initial matchups came in the Division II playoffs in the 1980s.The teams have split their last two games in the series with each winning on the others field. UC Davis upset the No. 16 Bison 20-14 at the Fargodome last year.

Sacramento State State (Nov. 18; Davis, Calif., 1 p.m.; UC Davis leads 37-16)
Causeway Classic
The Hornets finished 2-9 overall and 1-6 in the Big Sky Conference last year, also dropping their sixth straight game in the Causeway Classic to UC Davis, which the Aggies won 37-7 at Hornet Field. The Aggies and Hornets have been playing since 1954, including twice in 1988 when they met in the Division II playoffs.

San Diego (Nov. 25; Davis, Calif., 1 p.m.; First meeting)
San Diego, a Div. I-AA program coached by former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh, rolled to an 11-1 overall record and 4-0 mark in the Pioneer Football League in 2005. The Toreros are 18-5 under Harbaugh in two seasons and have won 15 of their past 16 games and enter the 2006 season with an eight-game winning streak.

Information courtesy UC Davis ICA/Media Relations