College football: Davis gives Cal a scare, shows the Aggies could be a force this year
UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins threw down the gauntlet earlier this week when he said this year’s Aggies football team might be the best in program history.
So where does Hawkins stand on that idea following his team’s season-opening loss to Cal?
“Well, the cool thing is, we knew we have a good football team, but that things will come together,” Hawkins said. “A lot of moving pieces.”
The reality for Hawkins on Saturday was his FCS team was correctly a double-digit underdog to Cal, an FBS school in a Power Five conference, on the road. The Aggies fell, 34-13, in a game that was a touch closer than the final score indicated at Memorial Stadium on a beautiful Bay Area afternoon in front of 34,984 fans.
There were a few silver linings. Davis got off to a fast start, taking a 7-0 lead early and having more yards than the Golden Bears after three quarters, 306-298. Cal’s first three possessions went for minus-7 yards and included two sacks and an interception.
The energy from the visiting sideline offered a whiff of an upset.
But UCD came up short on some big plays that ultimately swung the game, including a fourth-down run deep in Cal territory in the first quarter after an interception in their territory, and a pick-six thrown by quarterback Miles Hastings on the second snap of the third quarter that pushed the home team’s lead to 24-7.
In the second quarter, there was an interception that went through the hands of defensive back Devon King that led to a long third-down conversion on a Cal drive that was capped with a go-ahead touchdown.
After all that, Cal was never at risk of getting embarrassed on its home field. And Davis fell to 0-12 all time against its Northern California state school brethren.
“We got to keep asking ourselves every day,” Hawkins said, “can I drink a little bit more water? Can I get a little bit more sleep? Can I watch a little more film? Can I go harder? Can I work on a technique? All that. But that’s the cool thing — we’re in the fight.”
Another silver lining was the performance of standout running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., the only three-time captain in program history, who became UCD’s all-time leader in all purpose yards with 4,630 thanks to his 150 on the day. He came into the game needing 155 yards to become the Aggies’ all-time leading rusher, but came up just short with 115 on 14 carries, including a 60-yard touchdown. He led the team with seven catches that went for 35 yards.
It would be a surprise if the rushing record didn’t fall next week when the team travels to play South Dakota State, which lost to Iowa 7-3 Saturday afternoon. Gilliam only needs 41 to surpass G.P. Muhammad, who also held the all-purpose mark after playing from 1995-98.
“It’s an honor, really,” Gilliam said afterwards about taking the all-purpose yardage record. “I’m just glad to be doing it with these guys. I just give thanks to my offense, my defense also. Just us as a team, I couldn’t do it without them. I’ve been here for forever, but I’m just glad I was able to do it with this group of guys.”
The Aggies got on the board first with receiver Chaz Davis’ 4-yard touchdown catch from Miles Hastings that capped a 14-play drive midway through the opening quarter. The series included a fourth-and-short conversion at the Cal’s 30-yard line by Gilliam and a pair of direct snap runs to offensive weapon Trent Tompkins.
And on Cal’s very next offensive snap, quarterback Jack Plummer’s pass to Jeremiah Hunter was intercepted by linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who ripped the ball away from the receiver after it was bobbled. But UCD’s drive ended when Cal’s defense came up with the stop on a fourth-and-short running play at the 11-yard line.
A field goal would have given UCD a 10-0 lead, but Hawkins decided to stay aggressive and go for the touchdown. He maintained that mindset throughout the game, going for it on fourth down five times and converting three. But that one so deep in Cal’s territory proved costly.
“Against a team like this, you’re not going to win with field goals,” Hawkins said. “Now, if that would have been our first score of the game, try to get something on the board. ... Because you’re not going to win by kicking field goals in the red zone against these guys.”
The Golden Bears took the lead with 2:25 left in the first half when running back Jadyn Ott took a pass in the right flat for an 8-yard score. It came after a pair of big plays earlier in the series. The first was a third-down conversion to receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, who caught the pass after it went through King’s for what could have been an interception and a possible pick-six. Then Hunter made an acrobatic 27-yard catch five plays later that helped set up the score.
Cal added a 32-yard field goal just as the second quarter expired to make it 17-7. It was the Golden Bears’ third straight series resulting in points.
The second half didn’t start well for the Aggies. Hastings threw a pick-six to Cal safety Craig Woodson on the second snap to give the Bears a 24-7 lead. But UCD bounced back quickly with Gilliam making the 60-yard house call on the first play of the following drive.
“I thought we started well,” Hastings said. “(We) got the ball where it needed to be. Just can’t really turn over the ball against any team, and it hurt us. Our defense played great, kept us in the game for a while. ‘Zo had some great rushes and (we’ll) just keep building on it.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2022 at 6:41 PM.
