Teams: UC Davis at No. 5 Boise State
Records: Aggies 1-2 (0-0); Broncos 4-0 (1-0)
Where: Bronco Stadium – Boise, Idaho
When: Saturday at 5 p.m.
Who to watch: Come Saturday night, keep your eyes on running back Joe Trombetta. Whether or not the Aggies have success running the football will dictate if they are able to keep the Bronco defense on its toes.
Trombetta has 38 attempts for 106 yards and one rushing touchdown so far this season and is averaging 35 yards per game.
He and the rest of the Aggie rushing attack will need to boost those numbers if they want to keep the Boise State offense off the field.
Did you know? The last time UC Davis and Boise State faced each other on the gridiron was Sept. 14, 1985. Current Broncos head coach, Chris Petersen, was the Aggie quarterback that night. Boise State won 13-9 and is 3-0 all-time against UC Davis.
Preview: Coach Bob Biggs didn’t mince words when he spoke to reporters on Monday.
“This is the best team [UC] Davis has ever played,” Biggs said.
Boise State is currently ranked No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today polls.
They are ranked 17th among Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total offense and 22nd in total defense.
If that isn’t enough, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is the second most efficient passer in the nation.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Biggs said.
UC Davis will need another strong effort from its defense, a major factor in its victory against Western Oregon last week, as it created two key turnovers which both led to Aggie touchdowns.
The Aggies will also look for increased production from their ground game.
“We haven’t been able to get the balance we want,” Biggs said.
Quarterback Greg Denham had 117 pass attempts in UC Davis’ previous two contests. On Saturday, he will be passing into the teeth of a Broncos defense that has held opponents to 163 passing yards per game and picked off nine passes.
A bright spot for the Aggies this season has been the play of the special teams squad. Placekicker Sean Kelley converted a career-long 46-yard field goal against Western Oregon and true freshman punter Colton Schmidt has filled nicely into his starting role.
“The kicking game is doing a great job helping us win the field management part of the game,” Biggs said.
Schmidt has punted 17 times this season and has put nine of those inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
In getting the players ready for this game, Biggs had a positive message.
“It’s one of those games where we have nothing to lose,” Biggs said. “Let’s just try to be the best team we can be and we’ll see what happens.”
– Richard Procter
