UC Davis Schedule, finally

[GoAgs72]

Since we are about the last college in America to finalize a schedule, I'm posting this article both here at at the GWFC web site.

Highly Ranked TCU Highlights 2006 UC Davis Football Schedule
Horned Frogs among four first-time opponents on tentative schedule released on Thursday



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UC Davis will face Div. I-A TCU and traditional Div. I-AA power Youngstown State, playoff participant Cal Poly and other tough opponents in 2006.
(Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise)



April 20, 2006

2006 UC Davis 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.




UC Davis Football

[TexasTerror]

10 game schedule?

Perhaps you folks can get to 12 once folks are allowed a 12-game schedule, perhaps you can double-dip and get it...

Nov 11th and Sept 30th open dates, it's possible...

[GoAgs72]

Yea, we started out with 10 games months ago, dumped San Jose State in favor of Cal, got dumped by Cal, added Youngstown and San Diego and then dumped MSU for TCU and somehow we're still at 10 games.

[JMU Duke Dog]

Yea, we started out with 10 games months ago, dumped San Jose State in favor of Cal, got dumped by Cal, added Youngstown and San Diego and then dumped MSU for TCU and somehow we're still at 10 games.

:eek: That is some intense schedule changing!

[mainejeff]

That's a real step up for San Diego. Their toughest games have been low level Ivy games.

[Tribe4SF]

I like the mentality of UC Davis with their scheduling. Even when they were Div. II, they were playing a I-AA schedule. When they finally get in the playoffs, it will not be a fluke.

[RabidRabbit]

I like the mentality of UC Davis with their scheduling. Even when they were Div. II, they were playing a I-AA schedule. When they finally get in the playoffs, it will not be a fluke.

Yep. True of all the GWFC transitional teams! (UC-Davis, NDSU, SDSU)

[GoAgs72]

According to attached newspaper article UC Davis may still play Montana State. I hope it works out.



StTCU highlights 2006 football schedule

By Michael Mirer/Enterprise staff writer

Published Apr 20, 2006 - 14:12:18 CDT.



The most difficult UC Davis football schedule of them all — both in terms of the quality of opponents and in the grind of simply getting the opposing teams to commit to playing — is almost finished.

The Aggies released 10 finalized games Thursday, including a Sept. 9 match-up with a Texas Christian University program that finished last season ranked 11th in the country. UCD expects to add one more game in the coming weeks, probably against Montana State, which the Aggies had to move to accommodate the Horned Frogs.

“It’s Division I football at its best, that’s what you’re facing,” Aggie coach Bob Biggs said of the match-up at TCU. “Premier athletes, excellent coaching and great support. For me it’s going to be a great experience because Gary Patterson is such a good friend. I have so much respect for him.”

The Horned Frogs went 11-1 last season, including a perfect 8-0 in the Mountain West Conference. Patterson, who just finished his fifth season as TCU’s head coach, spent a year at UCD working with linebackers and two at Sonoma State as defensive coordinator.

TCU will pay the Aggies $235,000 and help arrange a block of hotel rooms for the game on Sept. 9. The game will be televised on The Mountain West Sports Network, a cable television venture between the conference and CSTV.


Of the 10 games released Wednesday, four are against teams brand new to the UCD football schedule.

The Aggies will open with four road games in the first six weeks. They will then play five of their last six at home. UCD starts the season at former Great West Football Conference foe Northern Colorado. After playing at TCU, the Aggies travel to Youngstown (Ohio) State on Sept. 23 and then play their league opener on Oct. 7 at Cal Poly.

UCD’s preference would be to reschedule its game with Montana State for the following week. The Bobcats are scheduled to play Humboldt State that weekend. Another possibility is Nov. 11, when both teams have open weeks, although Montana State may prefer to have the bye week to prepare for archrival Montana.

“They’re still working on some possibilities there,” UCD athletic director Greg Warzecka said. “That’s going to take a few more days, maybe even up to a week to get that resolved.”

If the game against the Bobcats were to fall through, Warzecka said that the team has some other options on the table.



The Aggies’ home opener will be Oct. 14 against Central Arkansas, which is beginning its four-year transition to Division I. That will be the beginning of five home games in seven weeks to close the season. UCD hosts Southern Utah (Oct. 21), North Dakota State (Nov. 4), Sacramento State (Nov. 18) and San Diego (Nov. 25).

The lone road game during that period will be at South Dakota State on Oct. 28.

The release of the schedule brought about a sense of relief, from Warzecka and others around the program.

“We realized about two years ago that the ‘06 schedule was going to be a problem,” Warzecka said. “We just didn’t realize it would be this much of a problem. We’re taking a deep breath and relaxing, knowing we’ll be able to resolve one more game and get it finished.”

The following seasons should be less of a struggle. Warzecka said he is hoping to sign long-term contracts with Portland State, Weber State and Northern Colorado as regular non-conference opponents.

The 2007 schedule, which includes San Jose State, is two games away from being completed.

— Reach Michael Mirer at [email protected] or 747-8056.

Thursday, April 20, 2006