Teams: Blue vs. Gold
Where: Aggie Stadium
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior linebacker Mike Morales, who led the team with 72 total tackles last season, looks to be one of the beneficiaries of a new 4-3 zone-blitzing scheme.
The Los Altos, Calif. native had nine tackles for a loss in 2008 and also recorded two interceptions.
Did you know: UC Davis returns its four leading rushers at running back from last season.
The combination of juniors Joe Trombetta and Brandon Tucker and sophomores Corbin Cutshaw and Josh Reese netted the Aggies 1,365 yards last season.
The group scored 11 rushing touchdowns and gained an average 4.6 yards per rush.
Preview: UC Davis takes to the field one last time before the start of the regular season in the annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage. It will be the 17th time the team has done so under coach Bob Biggs, who enters the season with a career record of 121-61-1.
Biggs welcomes new defensive coordinator Mark Johnson to the coaching staff. Johnson is introducing a new style that should minimize the problems that come with having an undersized defensive line.
The new aggressive attitude should also take pressure off of the cornerbacks by reducing the amount of time they have to be in man-to-man coverage.
The new scheme will attempt to improve upon last year‘s numbers. The Aggies gave up 27.2 points per game and forced just 14 turnovers.
The scrimmage, which is expected to be between 50-70 plays and imitate a variety of game situations, is open to the public and admission is free.
Regular season action begins Sept. 5 against Fresno State. The home opener is Sept. 12 against Montana.
–Richard Procter
