Saturday, September 14
Davis, Calif.
10:00 PM (ET)
Lehigh University
at
UC Davis
Photo by: Hannah Edwards
Mountain Hawks head west for clash with No. 4/5 UC Davis
9/10/2019 11:45:00 AM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh heads to the west coast for the first time in 21 years as the Mountain Hawks travel to California to battle No. 4/5 UC Davis Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium. The Mountain Hawks are visiting the Golden State for the first time since beating St. Mary's 22-16 on Sept. 19, 1998. Lehigh will face its second straight ranked opponent while looking for its first win of the 2019 season.
Last time out the Mountain Hawks fell 38-10 at Villanova as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half with 21 unanswered points. Senior quarterback Tyler Monaco threw for 265 yards and the receiving trio of Jorge Portorreal, Devon Bibbens and Jalen Burbage totaled 216 yards and a touchdown on 20 receptions. Junior Pete Haffner led the defensive effort with a career-high 13 tackles.
Sophomore tight end Alex Snyder has emerged as a weapon for Lehigh offensively. He has five receptions for 79 yards through two games, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab that set up a game-winning field goal attempt against Saint Francis. The Cumming, Ga., native appeared in all 11 games as a freshman and looks to re-establish the role of the tight end in Lehigh's offense. In the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined, Lehigh tight ends had just 10 receptions, including two by Snyder last year.
Lehigh and UC Davis have met just once before, a 39-30 win for the then-Engineers in the 1977 Knute Rockne Bowl, which served as the Division II national semifinal. That game was played Dec. 3, 1977 at old Toomey Field. The victory propelled Lehigh into the Pioneer Bowl, where the Engineers shut out Jacksonville State 33-0 to claim the national championship. The previous Lehigh-UC Davis matchup was televised regionally on ABC with Bill Flemming and legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian on the call.
Lehigh will play a football game in the state of California for just the third time in program history. In addition to its 1977 Knute Rockne Bowl win at UC Davis, Lehigh traveled to the Golden State in 1998, picking up a 22-16 win at St. Mary's in Moraga on Sept. 19.
This game offers Lehigh an opportunity to play a game in northern California, where the University has developed a strong presence in recent years. The Lehigh @ Nasdaq Center launched in 2017 in San Francisco and is an exclusive academic in-residence collaboration between Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. It launched with the mission of educating, connecting, and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
Lehigh will play just its second-ever game against a team from the Big Sky Conference, which UC Davis joined for football in 2012. Lehigh's only other game against a Big Sky foe was a 77-14 loss to then-Division I-AA power Idaho in 1993. Idaho moved up to the FBS for a period of time but recently reclassified to the FCS and re-joined the Big Sky for football.
Defending Big Sky champion and 2018 FCS quarterfinalist UC Davis brings a 1-1 record into its home opener. The Aggies opened their season by racing out to an early 10-0 lead before ultimately falling 27-13 to FBS member California on Aug. 31. Last week UC Davis used a late defensive stand to hold off San Diego 38-35. Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. put the Aggies ahead with a touchdown with 3:35 to play and Devon King sealed the win by forcing a fumble near the goal line with two seconds to play. King was named Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Quarterback Jake Maier, the 2018 Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year and a preseason All-American, threw for 359 yards in the victory. Maier threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Gilliam has 224 of the Aggies' 226 rushing yards this season and has rushed for three touchdowns. King has two interceptions and 13 tackles on the season to go along with his game-saving forced fumble. Connor Airey leads the defense with 15 tackles.
UC Davis went 5-0 at home last season and beat Northern Iowa in the second round of the FCS playoffs before losing at conference rival Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals.
Saturday's game kicks off just after 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET from UC Davis Health Stadium. Video will be available on PlutoTV. Audio coverage will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320, LVFoxSports.com and the TuneIn App, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Lehigh will have its first of two byes next week and will return to action on Sept. 28 when the Mountain Hawks host Merrimack on Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Tackle Cancer Day presented by Red Robin. The Warriors are currently reclassifying from Division II to Division I and will become full members of the Northeast Conference in 2023-24 after the four-year reclassification period. Game time on Sept. 28 is set for 12:30 p.m. from Goodman Stadium.
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Last time out the Mountain Hawks fell 38-10 at Villanova as the Wildcats pulled away in the second half with 21 unanswered points. Senior quarterback Tyler Monaco threw for 265 yards and the receiving trio of Jorge Portorreal, Devon Bibbens and Jalen Burbage totaled 216 yards and a touchdown on 20 receptions. Junior Pete Haffner led the defensive effort with a career-high 13 tackles.
Sophomore tight end Alex Snyder has emerged as a weapon for Lehigh offensively. He has five receptions for 79 yards through two games, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab that set up a game-winning field goal attempt against Saint Francis. The Cumming, Ga., native appeared in all 11 games as a freshman and looks to re-establish the role of the tight end in Lehigh's offense. In the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined, Lehigh tight ends had just 10 receptions, including two by Snyder last year.
Lehigh and UC Davis have met just once before, a 39-30 win for the then-Engineers in the 1977 Knute Rockne Bowl, which served as the Division II national semifinal. That game was played Dec. 3, 1977 at old Toomey Field. The victory propelled Lehigh into the Pioneer Bowl, where the Engineers shut out Jacksonville State 33-0 to claim the national championship. The previous Lehigh-UC Davis matchup was televised regionally on ABC with Bill Flemming and legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian on the call.
Lehigh will play a football game in the state of California for just the third time in program history. In addition to its 1977 Knute Rockne Bowl win at UC Davis, Lehigh traveled to the Golden State in 1998, picking up a 22-16 win at St. Mary's in Moraga on Sept. 19.
This game offers Lehigh an opportunity to play a game in northern California, where the University has developed a strong presence in recent years. The Lehigh @ Nasdaq Center launched in 2017 in San Francisco and is an exclusive academic in-residence collaboration between Lehigh University and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. It launched with the mission of educating, connecting, and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
Lehigh will play just its second-ever game against a team from the Big Sky Conference, which UC Davis joined for football in 2012. Lehigh's only other game against a Big Sky foe was a 77-14 loss to then-Division I-AA power Idaho in 1993. Idaho moved up to the FBS for a period of time but recently reclassified to the FCS and re-joined the Big Sky for football.
Defending Big Sky champion and 2018 FCS quarterfinalist UC Davis brings a 1-1 record into its home opener. The Aggies opened their season by racing out to an early 10-0 lead before ultimately falling 27-13 to FBS member California on Aug. 31. Last week UC Davis used a late defensive stand to hold off San Diego 38-35. Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. put the Aggies ahead with a touchdown with 3:35 to play and Devon King sealed the win by forcing a fumble near the goal line with two seconds to play. King was named Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Quarterback Jake Maier, the 2018 Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year and a preseason All-American, threw for 359 yards in the victory. Maier threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Gilliam has 224 of the Aggies' 226 rushing yards this season and has rushed for three touchdowns. King has two interceptions and 13 tackles on the season to go along with his game-saving forced fumble. Connor Airey leads the defense with 15 tackles.
UC Davis went 5-0 at home last season and beat Northern Iowa in the second round of the FCS playoffs before losing at conference rival Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals.
Saturday's game kicks off just after 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET from UC Davis Health Stadium. Video will be available on PlutoTV. Audio coverage will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320, LVFoxSports.com and the TuneIn App, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
Lehigh will have its first of two byes next week and will return to action on Sept. 28 when the Mountain Hawks host Merrimack on Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Tackle Cancer Day presented by Red Robin. The Warriors are currently reclassifying from Division II to Division I and will become full members of the Northeast Conference in 2023-24 after the four-year reclassification period. Game time on Sept. 28 is set for 12:30 p.m. from Goodman Stadium.
| Date: | September 14, 2019 |
| Opponent: | No. 4/5 UC Davis Aggies |
| Kickoff: | 7:05 p.m. (PT) |
| Stadium: | UC Davis Health Stadium/10,743/Shaw Sports Turf |
| Location: | Davis, Calif. |
| Tickets: | Tickets can be purchased through UC Davis at UCDavisAggies.com |
| Lehigh's record: | 0-2 overall, 0-0 Patriot League |
| UC Davis' record: | 1-1 overall, 0-0 Big Sky |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 1-0 |
| Television | PlutoTV |
| Radio | Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 with Matt Kerr, Matt Markus and Steve Lomangino |
| Internet Broadcast: | Video on PlutoTV Audio at LVFoxSports.com, TuneIn App |
| Key Stats: | •Yes, small sample size, but through two games Lehigh leads the Patriot League in passing offense (269.5 ypg.) and rushing defense (147.5 ypg.). •Sophomore tight end Alex Snyder has five receptions for 79 yards through two games. Lehigh tight ends totaled 10 receptions in the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined. •Since the start of the 2010 season, Lehigh is 3-1 when traveling by airplane to a road game, with wins at Drake (2010), UNI (2010) and Liberty (2012) and a loss at North Dakota State (2011). |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | http://www.ucdavisaggies.com |
Players Mentioned
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