UC Davis quarterback Pinnick dazzles but lightning forces a no contest in opener
Tim Plough challenged his UC Davis football team this week to up their game, to match the ambition of the coaching staff in continuing the momentum of a record-setting 2024 season.
Plough, the Aggies’ second-year head coach, called it a “monster mentality,” and on Saturday night in Alabama, the No. 8-ranked Aggies delivered a monstrous effort in taking a 23-3 lead early in the third quarter against No. 12 Mercer in the FCS Kickoff Classic at the Cramton Bowl.
And then the lightning strikes arrived. Per football rules at any level, lightning strikes lead to mandatory football delays, for safety, and this game did not continue after nearly two hours of a pause. The game stopped with 7:46 left to play.
It was declared a “no contest,” with Mercer posting on its social media football page that the contest was halted “due to intermittent lightning that has continued to move through Montgomery.”
This means the game was canceled, as if it never happened. Statistics are not official, and no team is declared a winner or a loser.
And what a bummer for UCD.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick, the pride of Del Oro High School in Placer County, dazzled in his Aggies debut after earning the job with a strong showing in the spring and in fall camp.
He completed his first nine passes in the first half as UCD stormed to a 21-3 lead. Pinnick passed for 141 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 62 yards on 15 carries and a score. Jordan Fisher led UCD with 84 yards rushing on eight carries, an average of 10.5 yards a carry.
Fresh off of an 11-3 season, the best in the program’s 21-year history in the FCS, UCD piled up 347 yards before the game was stopped with about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Aggies up 23-17.
UCD plays at Utah Tech on Aug. 30, at Washington on Sept. 6 and opens its home schedule on Sept. 20 against Southern Utah.
This story was originally published August 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM.