College football: UC Davis rolls to fourth consecutive victory as playoff hopes live
On senior night, Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. had one final chance to do this thing on his home turf.
The all-time leading rusher for UC Davis did not disappoint. Gilliam rushed for 132 yards on 28 carries and scored two touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Miles Hastings passed for 270 yards and two scores, sophomore do-everything Trent Tompkins scored twice, and the Aggies won their fourth consecutive game Saturday. They rolled to a 43-3 rout of Idaho State in the Big Sky Conference at Health Stadium.
UCD (5-4, 4-2) is 6-1 all time against Idaho State and 4-0 at home. The lone loss in the series was a year ago in Pocatello, when the 5-0 Aggies were jolted by a 27-17 setback to the Bengals, that program’s only win in 2021.
UCD suffered no such letdowns this time as it the Aggies continued to play their best ball of the season, which started slowly with a 1-4 start amid the program’s most difficult schedule.
The Aggies have in the last month routed Northern Arizona 56-27, Northern Colorado 58-10, Cal Poly 59-17 and the Bengals, who dipped to 1-8 and 1-5. UCD kept alive its chances of returning to the FCS playoffs for the third time since 2018.
During a timeout in the first half, members of the 1982 UCD team was recognized on Jim Sochor field. Aggies coach Dan Hawkins was a starting fullback on that team coached by Hall of Famer Sochor, a group that reached the Division II national championship. The spirited Hawkins was sure to get some high-fives from his old teammates.
That Aggies team is the most successful in program history, and the best season UCD has produced in Division I was the 2018 Big Sky title team. Hawkins earlier this season called this Aggies team the best in school history, given the team’s overall speed, depth and skill. Should UCD won its final two Big Sky games on the road over Idaho and No. 2 Sacramento State, the Aggies will secure one of the 11 at-large FCS playoff berths, and at the very least, this bunch would be considered an all-time resilient bunch.
Aggies senior left tackle Nick Amoah of nearby Davis High School is an engineering major who wants to play football for as long as he can.
“It’s been great, fun,” Amoah said of his career. “UCD was the only school that would let me study engineering and play football at the D-I level. It’s been a perfect fit.”
Hawkins marveled after the game at how fast time flies. The 1982 season to now, in a flash, for a guy who grew up the son of a logger in the Northern California town of Bieber. Hawkins on Monday attended a media session in a gorilla outfit. Live life to the fullest, the coach will say.
“The older you get, the faster it all goes,” Hawkins said. “I walk by the mirror, who’s that guy? I never saw the Palm Bowl (the 1982 Division II championship game) until the other night, and who’s the guy with shaggy brown hair? It goes fast. Life goes too fast.”
That shaggy-haired guy was Hawkins. The hair is a great deal more gray now, but the optimism and appreciation remains. Hawkins raved about his seniors, including Gilliam, Jr.
“He’s such a steady guy, a special kid,” Hawkins said. “He’s got the heart of a lion, but a humble dude, a really good leader. He’s been banged up 90-percent of the time he’s been here, ankle, shoulder, and never says a word. I’ve been blessed. Think of all the great players here and to be around those guys, that’s cool.”