College football: UC Davis hosts No. 12 Weber State in a battle of top running backs
UC Davis coach Dan Hawkins told his football team this week that the real fun starts now.
Real, as in, Big Sky Conference action. Saturday brings a tilt to UCD as the 1-2 Aggies prepare for FCS-ranked No. 12 Weber State, which rolls in at 3-0 on the strength of routs of Western Oregon (41-5), Utah State (35-7) and Utah Tech (44-14).
UCD is coming off its first victory after opening with tough losses at Cal and FCS No. 2 South Dakota State.
“I told the guys we’re in the ring,” Hawkins said during his Monday media session. “We’re not an up-and-comer. We’re not Johnny Come Lately. We’ve won the conference championship and we’ve been in the playoffs, and (so has Weber State). We have to train like that, practice like that and play like that.”
Weber State and UCD tied for Big Sky Conference championship honors in 2018, and UCD reached the FCS playoffs last season. Weber State tied Sacramento State for the Big Sky crown in 2019 and won the reduced spring conference championship in 2021.
The teams duked it out in a defensive slugfest last season in Ogden with UCD winning 17-14 when Trent Tompkins scored the game winner with 27 seconds remaining. Tompkins is back, having scored twice on runs in beating the University of San Diego, 43-13 in front of a record home crowd.
This figures to be a high-scoring game. UCD has offensive balance with Miles Hastings at quarterback and all-time Aggies career rusher Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. in the backfield. There’s also the playmaker in Tompkins, who goes by “Magic.” Hastings in his past two games has passed for 543 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception. The San Marcos native leads the Big Sky with 785 yards passing.
Gilliam, Jr. isn’t just a back with power and speed. He has good hands and he leads the Aggies with 18 receptions. The senior from Merced had 106 yards rushing against San Diego to give him 3,689 for his career.
Weber State counters with two running backs in Damon Bankston (265 yards, two touchdowns this season) and Josh Davis (217 and two). Davis is a two-time All-American.
No. 12 Weber State (3-0) at UC Davis (1-2)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: UC Davis Health Stadium
On air: SacTown Sports 1140, ESPN+
Quick hits: UCD expects another big crowd after setting a Health Stadium records with 14,343 overall attending and a record 10,883 students. ... This will be the 10th meeting between UCD and Weber State with the Wildcats holding a 6-3 advantage. ... Weber State beat UCD the last time the teams played in Yolo County, 36-20, in 2019. ... Jay Hill is in his ninth season as coach at Weber State, having won or shared four Big Sky titles with five trips to the FCS playoffs. He is 3-1 against UCD.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.