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FOR STARTERS: • Utah Tech begins a stretch that will see the team play three of their next four games on the road. That stretch starts this Saturday night when the Trailblazers travel to NorCal for their 2024 non-conference finale at No. 12/15 UC Davis.  
• Utah Tech is 0-1 all-time vs. UC Davis, with the only other meeting coming nearly four years to the day (9/18/21) in Davis, during the Trailblazers' first full Division I FCS season.
• In that match-up, Utah Tech scored two third quarter touchdowns to pare a 36-13 halftime deficit down to 12 at 39-27 heading into the final 15 minutes. However the Aggies scored three touchdowns of their own in the fourth to salt away a 60-27 home victory. 
• Saturday night's game is the second of a three-game series between Utah Tech and UC Davis. Next season, the Trailblazers will play host to the Aggies at Greater Zion Stadium in the 2025 season opener for both teams.  
• Utah Tech will look to improve on its current 4-30 (3-29 overall vs. AFCA) all-time record vs. ranked opponents (FCS and D-II), which includes an 1-12 mark over the previous two seasons. That record includes a 31-7 home loss to current No. 3/3 Montana State in the season opener back on August 31. Utah Tech's 2024 schedule currently features five teams ranked in both the AFCA and Stats Perform top-25 FCS polls. 
• Utah Tech enters Saturday night's game looking to rebound from a tough 45-17 home loss to another Big Sky Conference opponent in Northern Arizona last Saturday night at Greater Zion Stadium.
 
UTAH TECH ON THE AIR: All Utah Tech games this season are broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City; www.thefansportsnetwork.com).
            The "Voice of the Trailblazers" Rod Zundel is in his third season calling the play-by-play action. 
            Utah Tech also debuted a season-long, 60-minute comprehensive pregame show, and 30-minute postgame show, both of which air live on the The Fan Sports Network and streamed live on YouTube on the newly created Trailblazer SportsVision (youtube.com/TrailblazerAthletics).
            Along with complete Game Day radio coverage, Zundel hosts the weekly "The Lance Anderson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network and streamed on Trailblazer Sports Vision at 6 p.m. (MT).
            Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth is former Trailblazer defensive lineman Max Christensen III, who will provide color analysis for the majority of the games this season. In addition, former Utah Tech running back Ronnie Walker Jr. will also provide color analysis for select games. 
 
FINALLY ELIGIBLE FOR POSTSEASON PLAY: Not only is the 2024 season Utah Tech's fifth Division I FCS season overall, it is also the FIRST season that the Trailblazers are eligible for NCAA postseason play. 
            The NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially approved Utah Tech's move to active Division I status on June 28. With that confirmation, Trailblazer Athletics is now officially eligible to participate in all NCAA postseason championships in its 15 intercollegiate programs.
 
LET'S PLAY 12: Utah Tech's 2024 football schedule features a program NCAA-era high 12 games, six home games and six road dates, and a full eight-game United Athletic Conference (UAC) slate. Add in the bye week (11/9), and the 13-week regular season will be the longest in program history.   
 
LOOKING TO CLOSE THE GAP: Utah Tech enters Saturday's game at UC Davis looking for its second-ever win against a Big Sky Conference opponent.
            Saturday's game will mark the 18th time Utah Tech has squared off against a Big Sky foe on the gridiron, with the lone win coming at Northern Arizona last season in Flagstaff (9/16/23).
            The Blazers have faced eight current football playing members of the Big Sky. Including its two home losses to both current No. 3/3 Montana State (31-7; 8/31) and NAU last Saturday night, Utah Tech is 1-16 against the league, 0-6 as a D-II, and 1-10 during their short time as D-I FCS program. 
            Utah Tech has also played 12 of its previous 17 games against Big Sky opponents on the road. 
TOOK ON ALL COMERS: As Utah Tech wrapped up its four-year NCAA Division-I FCS transitional period last November, it was safe to say that the Trailblazers did not shy away from playing anyone, anytime, anywhere. 
            Over their 38 games during those four years, the Trailblazers faced 15 top-25 teams (2-13) and 12 total FCS playoff teams.   
            In fact, Utah Tech's 2021 fall schedule was rated as the second-toughest schedule in the entire country and featured seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, including the 2021 spring national champion (Sam Houston) and runner-up (South Dakota State).
 
AS FOR ANYWHERE: Utah Tech were road warriors during that four-year transitional period, a stretch that saw the Trailblazers travel more than 43,300 round trip miles on 21 trips.
            Utah Tech played road games in 13 different states, seven of which the program had never played in before, including three last season with trips to Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee. The Trailblazers also made their first-ever visits to Georgia (Spring 2021), Delaware (Fall 2021) and Iowa (2022) over the four-year span.
            Utah Tech traveled just over 15,000 round trip miles last season, which eclipsed the previous high of just under 13,300 miles set during the 2021 Fall campaign. 
            In their first FCS season in Spring 2021, the Trailblazers covered 7,630 miles for three road dates. Then after the 2021 Fall season, Utah Tech traveled "only" 7,424 miles in 2022, thanks in large part to playing three in-state road games at Weber State, Southern Utah and BYU.
            Of note, Utah Tech's longest trip to play a football game came during the 2021 Fall season, when the Trailblazers traveled 4,697 miles round trip to play at Delaware (10/30/21).
 
THIS YEAR'S ROAD SLATE: Utah Tech is "only" scheduled to travel 10,518 total miles for its six road dates this season. We say only because the Trailblazers have a pair of short bus trips that bookend their six itineraries.
            In addition to their quick trip down I-15 to Las Vegas (252 miles round trip) two weeks to play at UNLV, the Trailblazers will make an even shorter drive up the interstate to Cedar City (105 miles round trip) for their annual "Battle For the Ax" showdown at Southern Utah on Saturday, Nov. 23.
            In between those two drives are four flights, the first coming this weekend to NorCal for Saturday's road date at UC Davis (954 miles round trip). Utah Tech opens October with back-to-back road trips, with the first stop in Florence for a UAC match-up at North Alabama (3,818 miles round trip) on Saturday, Oct. 5.
            The Trailblazers get back on bird one week later with a trip to the "Lone Star State" to face Tarleton State in Stephenville (2,162 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 12. Utah Tech will wrap up its out-of-state road schedule with its first-ever trip to the "Bluegrass State" to play at Eastern Kentucky (3,227 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 26. 
 
ONE TRAILBLAZER LANDS ON PRESEASON ALL-UAC LIST: Utah Tech had only player voted onto the 2024 United Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team. 
            Redshirt sophomore long snapper Ryan Kean was the lone Trailblazer representative to crack the list, doing so on special teams.  
            Last season, Kean (6-2. 210; Corona, Calif./Centennial HS) earned first team all-UAC and Stats Perform Freshman All-America honors after he was near perfect on every special teams snap as the Trailblazers' primary long snapper. 
 
TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS
• RS-freshman Reggie Graff saw the bulk of the playing time in the second half of last Saturday's loss to NAU, and led the Trailblazers on two fourth-quarter scoring drives ... Graff guided a five-play, 49-yard march that ended with a 4-yard Nygel Osborne touchdown run.
• Graff then led the offense on its longest touchdown drive of the young season, a 14-play, 80-yard trek which he ended with his first collegiate TD pass, a 23-yard toss over the middle to a sliding Tru Tanner in the back of the end zone. 
• Graff finished with 154 total yards on the night, including 100 yards in the air on 9-of-17 passing, and a team and career-high 54 rush yards on 14 carries. 
• RS-junior Deacon Hill started the NAU game, but left after Utah Tech's first series in the second quarter due to injury. 
• Hill, who started in each of the previous three games, threw for a season-high 188 yards on 14-of-28 passing with two touchdowns at UNLV (9/7) ... Hill connected with TE Alec Burton for a 61-yard scoring strike on the Blazers' third play from scrimmage early in the first quarter, which was followed by a 31-yard catch-and-run by RB Chris Street on 4th-and-4 late in the third quarter. 
• Hill rushed for a team-high 25 yards on two carries in the opener vs. Montana State (8/31), highlighted by a 24-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter ... Hill's TD run was the third of his collegiate career (2 at Iowa in 2023). 
• RS-junior RB Chris Street racked up a season-high 62 all-purpose yards vs. NAU, this after he tallied 60 all-purpose yards at UNLV (9/7) ... Street posted career highs of 46 receiving yards on five catches (team leading), including his 31-yard TD reception in the third quarter ... Street's TD catch was his first as a Trailblazer, and of his collegiate career. 
• Osborne ran for a season-best 39 yards on seven carries and his first TD of the season vs. NAU ... Osborne's fourth quarter TD was his third rushing score of his brief career - all of which have come at home ... the sophomore also ran for two scores in last year's season finale vs. Southern Utah (11/18).
• Tanner finished with season highs of three catches for a co-team high 36 yards to go with his first TD of the year in the NAU loss. 
• RS-freshman WR Bryce Parker recorded career highs of three catches and 52 yards at UNLV (9/7) ... Parker hauled in two passes for 23 yards in his season debut vs. Montana State (8/31). 
• After going two full years without one pass completion to a tight end, the new look Trailblazer offense has recorded 16 of its 47 total completions (on 24 combined targets) to tight ends through its first three games.
• RS-sophomore TE Eric Olsen notched career highs of four receptions for 29 yards at UNLV (9/7), which he chased with two catches for 36 yards last Saturday vs. NAU.
• Senior TE Jay McEuen caught two of his three targets at UNLV for 15 yards ... he also had one reception for three yards vs. NAU.
• Fellow senior TE Alec Burton was finally able to do the one thing he had waited his whole college career for - catch a touchdown pass ... Burton scored his first collegiate TD on the third play from scrimmage at UNLV (9/7) when Hill found him all alone over the middle for a 61-yard scoring strike.
• The touchdown catch was Burton's first reception as a Trailblazer, and just his 17th collegiate reception overall ... Burton spent six seasons at Ohio University, where he recorded 16 catches for 118 yards in 33 games as a Bobcat.
• Burton's TD catch at UNLV was also the first by a Blazer tight end in 24 games ... the last TD catch by a tight end came in the 2021 fall finale vs. Missouri State (Cade Veach - 11/20/21).  
• RS-junior ILB Spencer Rich continued his strong start to the season as collected a team-high eight tackles vs. NAU last Saturday night ... Rich led the Trailblazer defensive effort with a season-high 12 total tackles at UNLV (9/7), which came on the heels of his five tackles he tallied in his Utah Tech debut a week earlier vs. MSU (8/31).
• Sophomore safety Brevin Hamblin picked up right where he left off following his strong freshman campaign as he racked up nine tackles and a 0.5 TFL in the opener vs. MSU (8/31) ... Hamblin followed that up with 10 more stops and a forced fumble at UNLV (9/7), had three solo tackles vs NAU.
• Freshman OLB Rick Mua'e enjoyed a breakout performance at UNLV (9/7), against which he collected eight total tackles and 1.5 TFLs, including his first collegiate sack late in the first half.
• Speaking of breakouts, redshirt freshman DB Quincy Lejay was pressed into duty last Saturday vs. NAU, and he responded with a career-high seven tackles, including a 0.5 TFL. 
• After missing the MSU opener, redshirt junior safety Micah Gardner has been solid in the defensive backfield ... Gardner racked up a career-high seven tackles with a 0.5 TFL at UNLV (9/7), and followed that with six more stops vs. NAU.  
• Senior ILB Malakai Fakahua registered a career-best seven tackles at UNLV (9/7) and forced a fumble early in the second half for the Blazers' first takeaway of the season ... Fakahua collected five more tackles last Saturday vs. NAU. 
• Freshman DB Foster Slaughter pounced on the loose ball on the Fakahua forced fumble at UNLV to record his first collegiate fumble recovery, which was part of a two-tackle day. 
• RS-junior safety Jagger Williams led the Trailblazer defensive effort with 10 total tackles (four solo), along with a 0.5 TFL and one PBU vs. Montana State (8/31) ... Williams' 10 tackles were one off of his career high of 11 he set last year vs. Eastern Kentucky (10/28/23).
• Junior defensive lineman Cody Carlson was one of three Blazer defenders who tallied eight tackles in the MSU game (8/31), doing so in his Trailblazer debut ... Carlson recorded his first PBU and made five tackles vs. NAU. 
• Not to be outdone, fellow DL senior John Sniffen and sophomore corner Gabriel Valenzuelaalso posted "snowmen" in their season debuts vs. MSU. 
• RS-junior DL Laytan Tanuvasa notched the game's lone sack in the second opener vs. MSU (8/31), which came in the second quarter as he bolted into the Bobcat backfield virtually untouched and dropped MSU QB Tommy Mellott for a nine-yard loss on 1st and 10 on the Blazer 11 yardline.
• Tanuvasa's sack served as a precursor for arguably the play of the night for the Trailblazers as the Utah Tech defense forced MSU to settle for a 26-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by sophomore CB Scooter Jackson.
• Jackson got a great jump on the snap and flew around the left side to make the diving rejection, which was recovered by Carlson at the Blazer 26 yardline.
• Jackson's field goal block was Utah Tech's first since former DL Max Christensen III blocked a field goal try nearly one year-to-the-day on the road at another "MSU" opponent in Missouri State (9/23/23). 
• Senior punter Andy Day was named UAC Football Specialist of the Week (9/2) after he tied his own school record with 10 punts in the opener vs. Montana State (8/31) ... Day punted for 468 yards (46.8 ypp),  including two kicks downed inside the 20 yard line, while his 468 yards were the second-most in the program's NCAA era. 
• Day (186 punts; 7,848 yards) also eclipsed the 7,000-yard plateau in MSU game, then reached another milestone at UNLV (9/7) when he became Utah Tech's career leader in total punts during the third quarter ... Day passed former Trailblazer Robert Metz (2012-15), who recorded 175 punts over four seasons.
• Day's current 42.19 ypp career average ranks him third on the program's all-time list. 
• While Day was doing his thing in the kicking game, redshirt sophomore PK Ilya Uvaydovrecorded his first collegiate PAT after the Hill fourth-quarter touchdown vs. MSU (8/31) ... Uvaydov hit on both PAT attempts and drilled his first collegiate field goal from 48 yards out in the first quarter vs. NAU last Saturday. 
 
#AB3FOREVER: Just prior to the start of the 2024 campaign Utah Tech announced that junior running back Chris Street was awarded the No. 3 jersey for the upcoming season.
            The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the fifth instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. 
            Head coach Lance Anderson noted that he recently took some time to get familiar with the story of Reinhardt, both as a student-athlete and as a young man. He quickly realized the importance and the impact this tradition has on the Trailblazer football program, a tradition he is very eager to continue.   
            "Once I heard the story about Abe Reinhardt, the kind of person he was, the kind of football player he was, and his tragic passing, I was very touched and felt like this is something we need to continue," said Coach Anderson. "I felt it was very important that our team understands who he was and what this jersey truly represents.
            "I have been impressed by Chris since I got here," Coach Anderson added. "His outgoing personality, his positive outlook, and I really feel like he also represents all the other traits that we talked about what this jersey represents. Toughness, hard work, accountability, trust, leadership – Chris demonstrates all those qualities, and I think he'll do a great job wearing that jersey and representing Abe."
 
ABOUT THE UC DAVIS "AGGIES": UC Davis enters Saturday night's game having won two-straight, which includes hard-fought 24-21 road win at Southern Utah last Saturday night in Cedar City. The Aggies opened the year with a 31-13 road loss at new ACC member California (8/31), and bounced back a week later with a 36-22 home win over Texas A&M-Commerce (9/7). 
            Tim Plough (UC Davis, 2008) is in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, where he also served as offensive coordinator during three different stints, the last in 2019-20. Plough, who played quarterback for the Aggies from 2004-07, then spent two seasons as OC at Boise State (2021-22), and one year as an assistant coach at Cal (2023), before returning to Davis to begin his head coaching tenure.
            Senior quarterback Miles Hastings has already thrown for 807 yards on 74-of-119 passing and five touchdowns through three starts this season. Hastings' favorite target is senior WR C.J. Hutton, who leads the team with 178 yards on 16 receptions.
            Senior RB Lan Larison is the Aggies top rusher with 273 yards on 60 carries (4.6 ypc; 91.0 ypg) with one touchdown, and has caught 11 balls out of the backfield for 153 yards and one touchdown. 
            Defensively, redshirt junior LB David Meyer leads UCD with 34 total tackles and 1.0 TFL. 

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech opens its second season of United Athletic Conference play next Saturday night when the Trailblazers play host to No. 23/19 Abilene Christian. Kickoff inside Greater Zion Stadium is set for 7 p.m. (MT).