Complete Game Notes

Game #4 Information

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2008

Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. Pacific/7:00 p.m. Mountain

Location: Davis, Calif.

Stadium: Aggie Stadium

Capacity: 10,743

Series: UCD, 3-1

Last Meeting: Sept. 2, 2006, UCD 38-7

Radio: Northern Colorado Radio Network

     Greeley: 1310 KFKA

     Troy Coverdale, play-by-play

     Anders Nelson, color analyst

TV: NA

Video Streaming: www.ucdavisaggies.com

(subscription based on CBS all-access)

Storyline

     UC Davis is 1-1 against members of the Big Sky Conference this season with a 38-24 victory over Portland State and a 29-24 loss to Montana and will also face Sacramento State later in the year... The Bears are looking for their first win of the season after back-to-back heartbreaking losses late in the fourth quarter, while the Aggies are hoping to snap a two-game losing skid.

The Matchup

     Former Great West Conference rivals, Northern Colorado and UC Davis meet for the fifth time in the all-time series on Saturday... The Aggies hold a slight 3-1 advantage in the meetings and won 38-7 in the last meeting back in 2006... The Bears are 0-2 in Greeley and 1-1 in Davis against the Aggies.

     9/2/2006:        L        7-38        Greeley                10/2/2004:      L       20-30       Greeley

     11/26/2005:    L       14-24       Davis                    11/22/2003:    W      35-28       Davis

Last Meeting

     In the season opener in 2006, turnovers hurt Northern Colorado as they fell 38-7 to No. 21 UC Davis. The lone touchdown for the Bears occurred in the third quarter as Dominic Breazeale hit Jahir Waterman on a 29-yard pass and David Dyches kicked the extra point. The Aggies tallied 366 yards of total offense, while the Bears had 245. Now junior defensive tackle Martin Awachie blocked an extra point kick with 14 seconds remaining in the game.

Connecting The Dots

     For the second straight week, junior wide receiver Alex Thompson has a connection to an opponent as he spent time catching passes from UC Davis quarterback Daniel Alfaro at Damien High School, while Aggie O-Lineman Tommy Hernandez blocked for both of them.

Analyzing The Annals

     If he keeps to his average, junior quarterback Bryan Waggener should, for just the fifth time in school history, hit 1,000 passing yards in the fourth game of the season. Waggener is currently sitting at 879 yards through three games, for an average of 293 a contest. The fastest Bear to 1,000 passing yards in a season is Corte McGuffey. In 1998, McGuffey hit the milestone in the second quarter of the fourth game, while in 1999 he did so in the third quarter of the fourth game. Both Mark Sedinger in 1988 and Jon Boyer in 2000 hit one grand in the fourth quarter of their fourth game.

As Far As You Can Go

     Junior cornerback Quincy Wofford tied the Big Sky and Northern Colorado records on the opening kickoff of the game against Northern Arizona with his 100 yard return. It is the fourth time in school history and the 17th time in Big Sky history a player has gone end zone to end zone on a kickoff return and the first at NC since 1973. Wofford tallied 124 kickoff return yards in the game, for the ninth highest total in school history. On the year, Wofford has four returns for 36.8 yards per return, which ranks sixth in the NCAA statistics this week.

Go Deep

     Both seniors Ryan Chesla and Cory Fauver caught career-long receptions in the game against Northern Arizona on Saturday. Chesla caught a 40-yard pass from junior quarterback Bryan Waggener, while Waggener hit Fauver for a 75-yard gain. Chesla and Fauver both rank nationally in receiving yards per game with 82.33 and 60.33, respectively.

And The Hits Just Keep On Coming

     For the 11th straight game against an FCS team, senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento recorded at least 10 tackles, leading the way with 19. Sarmento also recorded a sack, forced fumble and a pass breakup against NAU. On the season, Sarmento has 41 tackles to lead the Big Sky Conference and rank fourth in the NCAA statistics with 13.67 per game. His 19 total tackles is the 10th best total in Big Sky history (since defensive stats began being recognized in 2000) and is the fourth most in a game in the league.

Block Party

     Sophomore safety Mike Van Portfliet's blocked punt with 9:12 remaining in the fourth quarter was Northern Colorado's first since Joe Silipo got a hand on one in the Bears' victory against Montana State during the 2007 season. Van Portfliet then blocked another Dehaze punt with 2:35 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie three others for the school record for punts in a game. Delano Washington was the last to do it when he blocked two against NW Missouri State in 1996.

Hard Hitting

     Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento now needs just 17 more tackles to tie for 10th on the Northern Colorado career charts with 292 (Mike Horton, 1979-80 & Vaughn Lechman, 1984-87). In his time in the Big Sky, Sarmento has amassed 257 tackles, needing 21 more to tie for 10th all-time with 278 (Tyler Joyce, Montana, 2004-07).

Stepping Up

     Last season through the first three games, the Bears were converting just 29% (13/45) of third downs and had not converted a fourth down (0/5). This year, they are converting third downs at a 41% clip (20/49) to rank fourth in the Big Sky statistics and 57% of fourth downs (4/7), which is good for third in the league standings.

More Notes From Northern Arizona

• The 70-yard interception return by senior cornerback Myles Hayes was the first of his career, and the 11th longest return in Northern Colorado history.
• Senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento's 19 tackles ties for the 12th most in school history.
• Sophomore half-back Sam Sewell's two-point conversion was NC's first since Andre Wilson did so against Idaho State on Sept. 18, 2004. Bryan Waggener also hit Brandon Smith for another two-point conversion with just over two minutes left in the first half.

Making A Name

     Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener is already rewriting the records books at Northern Colorado. Against Texas State he threw for 402 yards, which is the second-most in a single game in school history behind Nick Henkowski's 436 yards against North Dakota in 1983. Waggener also amassed 395 yards of total offense, which is the fourth-highest total in Bears history. Waggener also had 31 completions against Texas State, which is one shy of the school record of 32 against Central Oklahoma in 1978 and North Dakota State in 1987.

Among The Leaders

     In the current NCAA statistics, Northern Colorado ranks ninth in passing offense (293.0/game) and vaulted to 12th in kickoff returns (24.54/game). Individually, junior quarterback Bryan Waggener is 10th in total offense (282.33/game), while senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento is fourth with 13.67 tackles per game and junior cornerback Quincy Wofford is sixth in kickoff returns (36.75).

Mr. Smith Goes To The End Zone

     Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith had two long touchdown plays against Texas State. He scored on an 80-yard rush on the first play from scrimmage, the first carry for more than 50 yards since Patrick Ealy went for 53 against Sam Houston State on Nov. 12, 2005. In the third quarter, Smith caught a 75-yard pass from Bryan Waggener for a touchdown to tie the score at 35-35. It was the first time since Brian Wiedeman hit Zac Carlson against Idaho State on Oct. 7, 2006 a pass was completed for 50 or more yards. Smith's scamper to start the game was also the fourth-longest rushing play in school history.

Points A-Plenty

     Northern Colorado scored 35 points in the home opener against Texas State, the first time since Oct. 29, 2005 the Bears scored more than 30 in a game when they defeated Fort Lewis on Homecoming, 45-14. The Bears have now scored 67 points this year in three games for an average of 22.33 per game. Last year, it took NC six games to get to the 67 point mark.

Big Sky Preseason Honors

     In the Big Sky Conference preseason football all-conference team released at the annual preseason kickoff in Park City, Utah, two Northern Colorado seniors were tabbed to the team in tight end Ryan Chesla and linebacker Cristian Sarmento. The team was selected by a panel of media members in the league.

     Chesla was named to the 2007 Big Sky All-Conference First Team, becoming the first-ever pick for the Bears. He led the team with 40.4 reception yards per game, gaining 444 yards on 37 catches and four touchdowns, missing the final game of the season due to injury.

     Sarmento was a second-team pick at the conclusion of the 2007 season, finishing the year ranked second in the Big Sky Conference with 135 tackles in 11 games, as he also missed the season finale with an injury.

Phil Steele Predicts...

     In the Phil Steele's football 2008 preview, four Bears were tabbed on the Preseason Big Sky Teams. Senior tight end Ryan Chesla was named to the first team offense, while junior defensive end John Eddy, senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento and sophomore defensive back Quincy Wofford were all named to the second team defense.

Oh Captain, My Captain

     At the conclusion of the spring practices, the team voted and named senior offensive lineman Jacob Thornbrue and senior linebackers Joe Kenney and Cristian Sarmento as captains for the 2008 team. This is the second year in a row Kenney has served as a captain and the first season for the other two.

Coors Light Coaches Show

     Beginning Sept. 3, join head coach Scott Downing and "Voice of the Bears" Troy Coverdale at Cables Pub & Grill (1923 59th Avenue, Greeley) at 6:00 p.m. for the Coors Light Northern Colorado Coaches Show on 1310 KFKA. Coach will cover the upcoming week as well as break down the previous week and take questions from fans in the audience.

Watch The Big Sky

     All home and conference games will be featured again this year on BigSkyTV.org, a website that streams video and audio for football, men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball. All games taking place in a Big Sky venue will be available. This year's subscription is free to Big Sky TV for live events, however, there will be a charge for events on demand.