Jake Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 2, 2005
In a way, the Sacramento Valley's two Division I-AA schools already have made names for themselves in the Bay Area this season, simply by being on the schedules of Northern California's two Pac-10 teams for the first time ever.
Sacramento State, coached by Jeff Tedford's former teammate Steve Mooshagian, plays at Cal on Saturday in both teams' season-opener. Although the Hornets opened the past three seasons with one-sided losses to Division I- A opponents, Mooshagian said, "Cal is by far the toughest opponent this school has ever faced."
UC Davis, amid a four-year transition period from Division II to I-AA, is Stanford's opponent for the Cardinal's Sept. 17 home opener. It's part of a schedule that puts the Aggies' run of 35 consecutive winning seasons in jeopardy.
"This year is clearly the toughest schedule we've ever had," UC Davis coach Bob Biggs said.
Sacramento State: The Hornets are picked to finish last in the Big Sky Conference and are 5-17 under third-year coach Mooshagian, who is still trying to establish a No. 1 quarterback.
He'd like to play both Brad Tredway, last year's backup, and Chris Hurd, a transfer from UTEP, against Cal. However, Hurd, who transferred from Washington State to UTEP after the 2003 season and then to Sac State after last season, must get NCAA clearance to play this season because he's a double transfer, and that clearance may not come until late this week and might not come by game time.
Experience in the offensive line should help running back Ryan Mole, who rushed for 858 yards last season.
Sac State's strength is its defense, particularly its secondary, and Mooshagian thinks an NFL career is possible for cornerback Brandon Smith, a graduate of Oakland's McClymonds High School who began his college career at St. Mary's before transferring when the Gaels dropped football.
Last season, the Hornets lost their opener 59-7 to Nevada and two years ago, former Oregon State star and current St. Louis Rams back Steven Jackson rushed for 129 yards in just one half in the Beavers' 40-7 victory over Sac State.
UC Davis: Biggs is not under any illusion that the Aggies' strong showing against Stanford in a preseason scrimmage two years ago suggests they'll have similar success when the teams play for real in two weeks. He does know the game excites the UC Davis football community, though.
"I have to remind people that it's our third game," Biggs said.
UC Davis is scheduled to open against San Jose State next season, but Biggs has enough to worry him this season with a schedule that includes four teams ranked in the top 25 of The Network Sports' preseason I-AA poll: No. 4 Eastern Washington, No. 7 New Hampshire, No. 17 Cal Poly and No. 22 North Dakota State.
Unranked UC Davis is gearing up for 2007, its first official season as a full-fledged I-AA team. The Aggies have built their scholarship total to 41 this season, still well short of the limit of 63, and Biggs is going with a lot of young players.
As a result, the Aggies, who were 6-4 last season, will be hard-pressed to achieve their 35th straight winning season, a bit short of the active NCAA record of 49 held by Division III Linfield.
The team's star is tight end Daniel Fells, a player Biggs expects to play in the NFL.
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