Idaho at #21/25 UC Davis
Saturday, Sept. 22 | 4 p.m. PT
Davis, Calif. | Aggie Stadium
WATCH: Eleven Sports | Pluto TV (Ch. 245) | Pluto TV App | Watch Big Sky
LISTEN: Vandal Radio Network | Vandal Xtra | TuneIn App | TuneIn
LIVE STATS: GoVandals.com/FBstats
MEDIA INFORMATION: Idaho Game Notes | Idaho Media Guide
 
Idaho football begins Big Sky Conference play Saturday (Sept. 22), at No. 21/25 UC Davis. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. PT at Aggie Stadium.
 
WATCH: The game will be televised by Eleven Sports, also available streaming live on Pluto TV channel 245 and the Watch Big Sky platform. Bill Doleman will handle play-by-play duties with Brett Miller as the analyst. Eleven Sports USA is available on national cable/satellite systems such as DIRECTV (channel 623), AT&T U-verse (channel 1665), and Verizon Fios (channel 597). Eleven can be found on various other cable and OTT providers such as Fubo.TV, Sony PlayStation Vue, Google Fiber 251, RCN 571, Atlantic Broadband 501, and Hawaiian Telcom 1091 -- and is available in 55+ million homes.

More information on how to watch Eleven Sports can be found HERE. Links to the stream can be found above and on the football schedule page at GoVandals.com.
 
LISTEN: Dennis Patchin is in his fourth season as the radio voice of the Vandals. Patchin will call play-by-play alongside Vandal legend Ryan Phillips, who will provide color commentary. The game can be heard on the Vandal Radio Network and online at GoVandals.com. Find stations on the network HERE.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS: The Aggies began the season with a win over FBS-member San José State and are currently 2-1, ranked No. 21 in the STATS FCS Poll. Wide receiver Keelan Doss was a top-three finalist for the 2017 Walter Payton Award and an early-season favorite for the honor this year.
All-Time Series: Idaho leads 1-0
 
VANDALS VS UC DAVIS: Idaho's only previous meeting with UC Davis came Oct. 11, 1997, a 44-14 Vandal victory in Moscow. The Aggies competed at the Division II level at the time, before becoming a Division I FCS member in 2007. Idaho freshman Dennis Gibbs returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in the game. Gibbs would go on to score on a 99-yard fumble return later in the year and added a 99-yard interception return the following season.
 
BACK TO THE BIG SKY: Saturday will mark Idaho's first Big Sky Conference game since Nov. 18, 1995. The Vandals won their last league game as a member of the Big Sky, defeating Boise State 33-13 in Moscow. Idaho would go on to finish tied for second in the conference that season and make its 11th NCAA Playoff appearance. The Vandals moved to the bowl subdivision the following year, playing in the Big West from 1996-2000, the Sun Belt from 2001-04, the WAC from 2005-12, as an independent in 2013 and most recently in the Sun Belt from 2014-17.
 
VS RANKED FCS FOES: During its 22 years as an FBS member, Idaho took on nine nationally-ranked FCS opponents. The Vandals went 3-6 in those games, including its most recent meeting with a ranked FCS team, a 20-3 loss against No. 12 Eastern Washington in 2012. That is also Idaho's last loss to an FCS opponent. The Vandals' last win against a ranked FCS foe came in 2007, a 20-13 win over No. 22 Cal Poly.
 
In 1995, Idaho's previously most recent season as an FCS member, the Vandals went 4-2 in six games against ranked FCS opponents. They won three consecutive games over ranked teams to end the regular season, defeating No. 13 Northern Arizona, No. 15 Northern Iowa and No. 16 Boise State in the first three weeks of November to earn a playoff berth. Idaho entered the playoffs ranked No. 17, but fell at No. 1 McNeese State in the first round.
 
A MAN WHO CAN DO BOTH: Idaho senior Kaden Elliss is expected to play a substantial role on both sides of the ball for the Vandals. Elliss, a preseason All-American at linebacker, will take a significant amount of snaps on offense as a tight end, wide receiver and full back. Last season Elliss was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection at linebacker with 80 tackles, including 16 for loss and six sacks. He also made seven receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns in limited action at tight end.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Idaho cruised to a 56-10 victory against Western New Mexico in the Vandals' home opener, Sept. 8, before taking their bye week. Idaho scored twice on special teams in the fourth quarter to blow the game open and romp to its largest margin of victory since 2000.
 
THE RETURN: This season, Idaho football returns to the Big Sky Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision. The Vandals previously won eight conference titles as a charter member of the Big Sky from 1963-95. Idaho qualified for the national playoffs 11 times in their final 14 years at the then-Division I-AA level. A 22-year run in the Football Bowl Subdivision netted a 3-0 record in bowl games, including a win in the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Five current Vandals started in the latest bowl victory.
 
Sixth-year head coach Paul Petrino was an assistant coach on Idaho's last Big Sky championship team in 1992. Petrino coached running backs and wide receivers during his three-year stint as an assistant in Moscow from 1992-94, his first Division I coaching job. Among his wide receivers on the 1992 championship team was Walt Saunders, father of Vandal senior running back Isaiah Saunders.
 
CARRYING ON TRADITION: Isaiah Saunders has amassed 1,413 career rushing yards. Saunders will look to become the 13th Vandal to reach the 2,000-yard milestone, joining former backfield mate Aaron Duckworth (2014-17). Saunders is 40 yards shy of cracking Idaho's all-time top-20 list.
 
FLIPPING THE FIELD: Idaho enters the week as the national leader in net punting. The Vandals are averaging 49.29 net yards per punt, including surrendering -1.0 yards per return, the third-best mark in the country. Redshirt sophomore punter Cade Coffey is averaging 48.9 yards per punt, which would lead the FCS, but his 3.5 punts per game are just shy of the NCAA minimum 3.6 per game to qualify for the national rankings.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS: Idaho special teams came through in the Vandals' 56-10 win against Western New Mexico (Sept. 8). Idaho scored on a blocked field goal return for the first time since 2005 and on a punt return for the first time since 2011. The big plays both came in the fourth quarter, at the end of consecutive Mustang drives. Christian Elliss blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt and Dorian Clark eventually scooped up the loose ball, returning it 47 yards for a touchdown. The ensuing WNMU series ended in a punt, which David Ungerer took back 65 yards for another score.
 
DO-IT-ALL DAVE: David Ungerer racked up a career-high 235 all-purpose yards in Idaho's 56-10 win against Western New Mexico, the 13th-most in a single game in Idaho history. Ungerer tallied single-game career highs of 118 receiving yards, 70 punt return yards and 47 kick return yards.