Caden Pinnick engineers huge second-half comeback for UC Davis over Utah Tech
UC Davis trailed by 17 points with 8 minutes and a second left to play in the third quarter Saturday night in St. George, Utah, and then the Aggies rallied.
A week after its season opener was ruled a no contest due to lightning strikes, UCD struck back like thunder behind redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick.
The Del Oro High School of Placer County product engineered three touchdown drives, and the defense staged a lot stop to lift FCS No. 7-ranked UC Davis to a 31-24 win over Utah Tech.
After Utah Tech took a 24-7 lead midway through the third, Pinnick went to work. He had touchdown passes of 14 yards to Zach Jones to cut it to 24-14 with 5:04 left to play in the third quarter and then followed with a 20-yarder to Samuel Gbatu Jr. to climb to within 24-21 with 2:02 left in the quarter.
Then the whopper play punctuated it.
With 6:17 left to play, Pinnick rolled to the right as the Trailblazers chased him as they had all night, hitting Gbatu Jr., who broke it for a 60-yard touchdown sprint to surge ahead 31-24.
Pinnick later helped UCD run the clock before the Aggies punted. Utah Tech advanced as far as UCD’s 40-yard line before Nate Rutchena sealed it with an interception with 58 seconds remaining.
Pinnick completed 21 of 31 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed 14 times for 41 yards. He was sacked five times in the first half, but he and his veteran offensive line made it work in the second half.
UCD took a 7-3 first-quarter lead on Jordan Fisher’s 66-yard touchdown sprint. He rushed 16 times for 110 yards. Gbatu Jr. finished with 93 receiving yards on four receptions including the two touchdowns.
Brothers Rex and Porter Connors led the Aggies in tackles, registering 15 and 10, respectively.
The Aggies led Mercer 23-17 in the FCS Kickoff Classic in Alabama on Aug. 23 before repeated lightning strikes forced a 90-minute delay. Finally, the city of Montgomery called an end of the game, meaning no win or loss for either team and no stats counted.
UCD plays the FBS-level Washington Huskies on Sept. 6 in Seattle with the home opener Sept. 20 vs. Southern Utah.