UC Davis cruises past Illinois State on ‘really cool day’ for stars Larison and Hastings
Looking prepared, rested and motivated, UC Davis rolled the visiting Illinois State Redbirds 42-10 on Saturday afternoon in an NCAA FCS second-round playoff game.
It was a record-setting day for Aggies senior stars in running back Lan Larison, the Idaho native, and quarterback Miles Hastings, a Southern California product. UCD, which came into the playoffs as the No. 5 seed with a first-round bye, moved to 11-2 on the season and into next week’s quarterfinal contest at No. 4 South Dakota.
A preseason All-American, Larison rushed 22 times for 104 yards and three touchdowns. The only player in the FCS with 2,000 all-purpose yards added three receptions for 87 yards. Larison has rushed for 1,425 yards and 17 TDs, and he has 842 yards receiving.
Hastings, a third-year starter, was sharp, and like his friend Larison, was on full display for an Illinois State program that came in at 10-3 and was playing a California team for the first time in the 127-year history of the football program.
A year after he pondered quitting football, or a change of pace with a transfer after up-down-season season with the Aggies, Hastings dazzled in what could be his UC Davis Health Stadium farewell. He completed 25 of 33 passes for 403 yards, three touchdowns and had no interceptions.
Hastings during the game set the school record for yards passing in a season. He has 4,148 to go with 35 touchdowns.
“So thankful for Coach (Tim) Plough and the whole staff and the team,” Hastings said on the ESPN+ postgame interview. “This is a really cool day that I’ll never forget.”
Plough a year ago last week was hired as UCD’s head coach, taking over a senior-heavy roster that he’d helped recruit under previous head coach Dan Hawkins. Plough since his start challenged the leaders to lead the charge and to leave a legacy.
That included winning the home games. UCD is 6-1 on Jim Sochor Field, the lone setback a 30-28 loss to unbeaten Montana State in the Big Sky Conference championship game. The 13-0 Bobcats are the No. 1 overall seed in the FCS playoffs.
The returning UCD seniors vowed to make this their year. One of those seniors is receiver CJ Hutton of Folsom High School. He led the Aggies on Saturday with seven receptions for 104 yards, and he had a touchdown. Hastings also hit Ian Simpson and Chaz Davis for touchdown passes.
Senior linebacker David Meyer, UCD’s leading tackler, set program single-season tackle records after leading the Aggies with 10 stops, eight of them solo. Meyer transferred from Big Sky Conference rival Cal Poly, in part to play for championships.
“It’s everything we dreamed of,” Hastings said on ESPN. “Get a home playoff game, and that’s exactly what we did. Excited to keep in moving in the tournament.
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