UC Davis edges Sacramento State in emotional finish to Causeway Classic
When it was over, when one of the best Causeway Classic games in the 71-year history of the series was completed, the UC Davis Aggies and their coaches could not contain their glee.
It became sudden dance and cheer mode, helmets in the air, towels waving like propellers.
After stopping Sacramento State on downs with 44 seconds to play, and after quarterback Caden Pinnick took a knee in victory formation to run out the clock to salt away a 31-27 victory over their chief rival since 1954, UCD players bolted to the far end zone of Jim Sochor Field to collect the goods.
That would be the Causeway trophy resting on a table with a cover on it, a cylinder-shaped concrete core sample from the Yolo Causeway, the stretch of freeway that connects Davis to Sacramento. Players passed the heavy piece around, and they made sure to bring it to the postgame news conference for all to see.
The emotions were thick because it’s the Causeway, and because there was an overflow crowd of 14,590 — the largest gathering to catch this game in the history of UC Davis Health Stadium. And this tidy reminder: This appears to be the last game of the series due to future scheduling conflicts. This Big Sky Conference finale had added meaning because there were heavy playoff implications.
UCD at 8-3 and ranked No. 15 nationally will advance to the 24-team FCS playoffs that start next week. This will be the Aggies’ fourth FCS berth since 2018, and their quest to the FCS championship round starts on Dec. 6. UCD on Sunday morning earned the No. 8 seed and an opening-round bye.
“I didn’t want to be the guy who lost the last Causeway,” said UCD coach Tim Plough, who quarterbacked the Aggies in Causeway games and has been a coach for several more of them. “I’m just glad that (the trophy) is going to stay here for all eternity. That’s where it belongs. It should be here.”
UCD leads the all-time series 49-23, including the last three. The Causeway has been played at six different venues in Sacramento and Davis, and it was once played out of state — in Nevada in 2018 — after Northern California wildfire smoke made local air quality unsafe for play.
Back and forth game
UCD led 14-0 in the first quarter, 17-14 at the half and fell behind by 10 in the fourth quarter, but the Aggies grinded out their most meaningful victory of a trying season. Hammered by injuries to the point the team suited up just 55 players in recent weeks, UCD overcame Sac State’s vaunted rushing attack that was ranked third nationally. The Hornets churned out 326 yards rushing but UCD amassed 406 yards of offense.
Pinnick, the redshirt freshman passer from Placer County, completed 24 of 30 passes for 306 yards with touchdown strikes to Jordan Fisher and Samuel Gbatu Jr. Pinnick’s 30-yard strike to Gbatu Jr. with 6:14 left to play proved to be the game-winner.
Sac State made its last charge by running the ball, the team’s strength, reaching UCD’s 29-yard line before the drive stalled, and, perhaps, the season.
At 7-5, Sac State needed a favorable vote from the seeding committee that placed 24 teams into the bracket, 11 of those automatic qualifiers as conference champions with 13 at-large berths. The Hornets did not get in. The playoff locks from the Big Sky were national No. 2-ranked Montana, No. 3 Montana State and UC Davis.
Fisher rushed 16 times for 48 yards and had two scores for UCD, and three Aggies defenders combined for 30 solo tackles in linebackers Jackson Sievers and Nate Rutchena and defensive back Khalani Riddick.
Rodney Hammond Jr. rushed 22 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns, giving the senior 1,113 yards for the season. Jamar Curtis played his first game of the season after missing games due to an ankle injury, and the preseason All-American candidate rushed 24 times for 104 yards and a score.
But the Hornets could not produce much of a passing game as Cardell Williams, the hero in last week’s last-second win over Idaho, completed just 3 of 9 passes for 17 yards with an interception. The passing yardage was the fewest the Aggies have allowed since 2013 when Cal Poly managed 15 yards in the air.
Both teams came into the game thinned by injuries and without a lot of depth. UCD has lost 15 players to season-ending injuries this season, and Sac State lost about the same amount of players.
‘Finding joy’
Plough said he got a kick out of how much fun his Aggies had throughout the game. They played loose, yet intense, and there were sideline group dances to celebrate touchdowns and the sport in general.
“The best example of UC Davis football is the fact that they were celebrating when they were losing, finding joy in the moment when the game was at the most intense time,” Plough said. “And, man, if I could put a visual on what type of team I want to have, it would be a team that can act like that, not when they’re ahead, but at any point. What (we’ve) been able to do today, what this team has been able to do all year ... they find ways to get things done, all the adversity.”
The coach added, “I have a feeling of relief and joy.”
Sac State first-year coach Brennan Marion said he was disappointed to be sitting at 7-5, saying he’s too much of a competitor to find that acceptable. He said Saturday evening that the Hornets were worthy of the playoffs for the fifth time since 2019, the first three of those achievements coming under coach Troy Taylor and the 2023 FCS appearance under Andy Thompson.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Marion said when asked if the Hornets are a playoff group. “We just went down to the wire with one of the top teams in the country. We play in one of the toughest leagues in the country. I just pray for the kids and for our program that we get in. I hope the Big Sky fights for us, because I believe if we get in, we’ll make a run for it.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 6:32 PM.