Teams: UC Davis vs. Idaho State Records: Aggies, 2-4 (1-2); Bengals, 1-4 (0-2) Where: Pocatello, Idaho When: Saturday at 3 p.m. Who to Watch: Going to Idaho, the Aggies will face the best passing attack in the Big Sky. The Bengals currently average 376.2 passing yards a game, good for fourth in the entire FCS. The Aggies’ secondary will be forced to step up big time in order to stop the Bengals’ aerial attack. The Aggies might be without senior safety Kevyn Lewis due to injury, yet others are expected to pick up the slack. So far UC Davis has done a good job against the pass only allowing 214.2 yards per game while allowing just four touchdowns all year. Did you know? In the matchup against the Bengals, the Aggies will try to win on the road for the first time this year. UC Davis is currently 0-3 away from Aggie Stadium and will try to take a turn for the better against Idaho State. The Aggies have only won... ...

In one of the most exciting games in recent UC Davis football memory, the Aggies came back from a 31-14 deficit at halftime to take the lead late in the third quarter before falling short 48-41 to  second-ranked Montana State. The Montana State Bobcats came into the game at 5-0 and as the highest-ranked FCS team to enter Aggie Stadium, yet the Aggies were able to hang with the Bobcats until the very last drive of the game. “If we have an identity, it’s that we play hard all the time,” said head coach Bob Biggs. “Regardless of what the score is we just fight and keep swinging.” The Aggies went into halftime after junior quarterback Randy Wright threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to put the Bobcats up 31-14 at the half. Coming out of the half, Wright quickly redeemed himself with a 26-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Anthony Soto. “The defense started getting turnovers and the crowd started getting into it and that... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. No. 2 Montana State Records: Aggies, 2-3 (1-1); Bobcats, 5-0 (2-0) Where: Aggie Stadium When: 4 p.m. Who to Watch: Montana State is fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in rushing yards allowed, allowing an average of 63.4 yards per game. In order for the Aggies to come out on top this game, the Aggies’ entire group of ball carriers must be ready to dominate. Turay must continue eating up yardage and challenge the Bobcats. He is coming off a three-touchdown week against Weber State. Sophomore Colton Silveria, redshirt freshman Courtney Williams and senior Marquis Nicolis will also be expected to bring in a different dimension of the run game. So far the Aggies have been averaging 104.8 yards per game on the ground. Did you know? This will be the first time that the Montana State Bobcats will be facing the Aggies at Aggie Stadium. The two teams have played twice before, with the Bobcats winning the matchup in 2006 by the score of 45-0... ...

In the first-ever Big Sky Conference game played at Aggie Stadium, the UC Davis football team captured their first victory with a 37-13 win over the Weber State Wildcats. Sophomore running back Dalton Turay led the offensive attack with three rushing touchdowns, the first Aggie to do so since 2006. UC Davis improves to 2-3 with a 1-1 conference record, while Weber State falls to 0-5 and 0-2 in conference. “It was a team effort completely. I couldn’t have done it without the other 10 guys on the field,” Turay said. Head coach Bob Biggs had good things to say about his second-year running back, not just about how he plays but also how he carries himself on and off the field. “He’s deceptively quick, he’s strong enough to break a lot of hand tackles and he’s just very determined,” Biggs said. “When it’s all said and done, he is the heart and soul of the team. I think his personality and the way he plays dictates what type of... ...

The start of a new year at UC Davis signifies two things: first-years and football. This year will be the first year for the Aggies in their new conference, the Big Sky. Projected to finish 12th in the Big Sky conference preseason coaches’ poll out of 13 teams, the Aggies have been working hard all summer to make a surprise entrance in their new conference. So far the Aggies have gotten off to a tough start, dropping their last three games after a blowout victory in the season opener. When asked about the difference playing in their new conference senior safety Kevyn Lewis replied, “We have to step up to the increase in the level of competition and we just need to be able to execute better  and understand what our individual assignments are and trust that our other teammates will do the same.” This year also marks the final year of Bob Biggs as the UC Davis head football coach. Entering his 20th year in his current position, Biggs... ...

No one could see it coming, not even UC Davis’ head football coach Bob Biggs himself. Heading into his 20th year as the head coach, Biggs is ranked second all-time in UC Davis history with a 140-78-1 record trailing only his mentor Jim Sochor. When asked if he ever knew if he wanted to coach he replied, “No, I thought I was going to law school; I took the LSAT. Although I didn’t apply to any schools because I was playing pro ball in Canada, I thought that was what I was going to do.” Fast forward over 40 years later, including his time at UC Davis as a quarterback and assistant coach, Biggs announced that he would step down from his position as head coach after this year. “Last year I was disappointed and down at end of season and the first thing you do is look yourself in mirror and ask am I doing the best job that I can be doing preparing this team and making sure... ...

The UC Davis season opener against Asuza Pacific marked the beginning of the end of an era in UC Davis football. Coach Bob Biggs announced that this year, his 20th year with the Aggies, would be his last as the head coach of the football team. The Aggies were dominant from start to finish in defeating the Cougars by a score of 41-3. Senior running back Marquis Nicolis led the Aggies’ ground attack with 79 yards while sophomore fullback Dalton Turray capped off two drives with short runs for touchdowns. “The first game you think you know you’re a team, but until you actually come out and play in a game and see yourself against other teams, you don’t really know what you have,” Biggs said. “I’ve been extremely pleased with the work ethic and the chemistry of this football team and the commitment to wanting to be good.” “We were very efficient in our hurry up offense. It was very effective in the first half and caused Asuza to... ...

Summer is a time for fun, which for many college students involves sleeping in and relaxing. However, there are some who define fun as waking up at six in the morning and working tirelessly in the hot August sun. The UC Davis football program recently completed its first week of practice, in a season that is already under unprecedented circumstances. The 2012 season marks the twentieth and final year with Bob Biggs at the helm of the program. Almost as if they are just passing each other by, Terrance Tumey will assume his role as the UC Davis Athletic Director in 2013. The Aggies sported a 4-7 record last season, with notable victories over rival Cal Poly in the Battle of the Golden Horseshoe and over Sacramento State in the Causeway Classic. Looking forward, UC Davis has shown hints of a promising season in its first season in the Big Sky Conference in its first week of practice. “We take care of what we can control and that’s how we... ...

Football has taken hold in the high schools and colleges in the U.S., but lacks popularity beyond our borders. For UC Davis athletes of the late 1990s, though, European shores were a landing place for those who could not make it in the NFL. Football with the Mermaids After graduating from UC Davis in 1998 with a degree in economics, Aggie cornerback Desi Barbour wanted to continue his professional career. Barbour had several stints with the minor leagues in the United States and then decided to take his chances playing in Europe. Barbour made his way into the Danish American Football Federation, Denmark’s top American football league. Like many European players, Barbour was given a contract that featured more than just monetary incentives. He was provided a place to live and a transportation pass to ride the bus or train around the country, in addition to a stipend. Still, adjusting to Danish life was not necessarily simple. Barbour recalls an instance during his first week in Denmark when he had... ...

Every year the UC Davis football team plays an intrasquad game to conclude spring practices and give the Aggie football fans something to look forward to for the next year. “The Spring Game is a culmination of the last 14 practices and a chance to display what they’ve been doing for the last five weeks,” said head coach Bob Biggs. Biggs is coming into his 20th and final year as UC Davis head coach, and this will be his last spring game. “Family and friends will be in the stands and it’s going to be a festive atmosphere,” Biggs said. The game is going to be played at Aggie Stadium on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. The team will split up and compete in a game-type situation. “The number one offense will play with the number two defense on the gold team and the number one defense will play with the number two offense on the blue team,” Biggs said. There will be a few changes for the Spring Game... ...

UC Davis announced yesterday that the football season-opener against Azusa Pacific will be played on Aug. 30, instead of the initially scheduled date of Sept. 1. The contest will mark the first time in school history that the Aggies have hosted a Thursday game. The 2012 season will be UC Davis’ inaugural season as a member of the Big Sky Conference, with the slate of games including eight league match-ups. The Aggies will host five games in the upcoming season, including homecoming Oct. 6 against Montana State and the Causeway Classic Nov. 17. UC Davis will announce the times for its home contests later this year. ...

In his 20 seasons as head football coach and nearly 15 years on the staff before that, Bob Biggs has shepherded countless players through the fields and classrooms of UC Davis. Now in the run-up to his final season, Biggs has welcomed 13 new players to his Aggie squad that finished 4-7 last season. Last Wednesday on National Signing Day, UC Davis coaches, staff, alumni and supporters gathered at the Bruce Edwards Club Room in Aggie Stadium to celebrate Biggs’ newest class of players. In opening the event, Biggs shared with attendees the biggest difference between recruiting now and when he first started back in the 80s. “We didn’t have GPS back then,” the coach said to laughter; recounting a time when as recruiting coordinator for the Los Angeles area he would often find himself lost on the way to a player’s home, hopelessly searching through his collection of road maps for the right one. Despite the marvels of modern technology, recruiting still has its difficulties. This year the UC... ...

Bob Biggs is UC Davis football. And after one more season, an Aggie career that has spanned more than three decades will come to an end. Biggs announced on Dec. 1 that this upcoming football season will be his last in charge of the Aggies. “UC Davis is a very special place where a student-athlete can truly strive for success both on and off the field,” Biggs said in his press release. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been associated with the university as both a player and a coach for nearly 40 years. “I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished over that period and I look forward to our first year in the Big Sky Conference, and then stepping away to help the program transition into new leadership.” Biggs will leave an enduring legacy at UC Davis, having quarterbacked the team for three years — earning an induction into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame — before returning to the sidelines as an assistant coach in 1978. Biggs became... ...

The football team finished their 2011 campaign with a win, beating Sacramento State 23-19 in the 58th Causeway Classic. The Aggies first road win of the season brought their final record to 4-7, ensuring that they avoided their first eight-loss season in more than fifty years. Saturday’s contest showcased the same football the UC Davis has been playing all year, albeit with one large exception. There was solid defense, a balanced rushing and passing attack and consistent special teams. The large exception came from freshman running back Colton Silveria, who ran rampant against the Hornets. The team’s leading rusher finished the contest with 170 yards and a touchdown. It was the first 100-yard rushing performance by a single player for UC Davis this season and the most single-game rush yards for an Aggie since the 2000 season. For head coach Bob Biggs the result wasn’t extraordinary, but rather a product of the team’s hard work throughout the season. “We played with the same intensity [as always],” Biggs said. “There’s no... ...