Lan Larison leads UC Davis over Portland State in home return to create logjam in Big Sky
The last time Lan Larison was on the Jim Sochor Field turf at UC Davis was on Sept. 23. It was a night in which the Idaho native rushed for 256 yards but left on crutches, his knee packed in ice and solidified by a bulky brace.
On Saturday night, in his second game back from a knee strain, Larison was back in stride. He rushed for 136 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns to power the Aggies past the Portland State Vikings 37-23 in Big Sky Conference play in front of 8,934 fans.
It’s a significant victory in an up-and-down season and it showed how good UCD (5-4, 3-3 Big Sky Conference) can be when all the key offensive players are in the lineup. It also clogs up the Big Sky standings with two games to go.
FCS-ranked No. 3 Idaho, No. 4 Montana and No. 6 Montana State are all 5-1 in conference play after Saturday’s games. UCD is tied for second at 3-3 with five other teams: No. 7 Sacramento State, Idaho State, Portland State, Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington.
The FCS will send 10 automatic conference champion qualifiers to the playoffs in addition to 14 at-large teams. UCD can make it an interesting argument for the FCS selection committee if it wins at Idaho State next week and at home against Sacramento State on Nov. 18 in the Causeway Classic.
UCD’s next game is an interesting matchup beyond teams motivated to finish strong. Idaho State is under the direction of first-year coach Cody Hawkins, the son of UCD coach Dan Hawkins and the Aggies’ offensive coordinator the previous three seasons.
Miles Hastings passed for 246 yards on 14-of-22 passing with a touchdown to Samuel Gbatu to drop Portland State to 4-5 overall and 1-4 on the road. Larison’s 4-yard scoring run gave UCD a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. His 14-yard touchdown run made it 31-20 and his 5-yard score with 1:38 remaining capped the scoring, giving him 764 yards on the season to go with seven touchdowns.
Trent Tompkins rushed for 61 yards for UCD, which had 465 yards. Defensive back Kavir Bains led UCD with 12 tackles and two pass breakups. Evan Tattersall of Granite Bay High School had six tackles.
This story was originally published November 5, 2023 at 6:00 AM.