Not in it for moral victories, UC Davis aims to bounce back in home opener after Cal loss
The first half pleased most everyone decked in UC Davis colors on Saturday. The second half made for a mixed bus ride home from Berkeley to Yolo County with equal parts optimism and frowns.
The Aggies outplayed the California Golden Bears in the first two quarters of a season opener, trailing by one, and then were shutout in the second half of a 31-13 defeat. Victory eluded UCD in Tim Plough’s head coaching debut with his alma mater, but the Aggies enter this week’s home opener against Texas A&M Commerce encouraged.
For starters, UCD showed that it figures to be a Big Sky Conference championship contender. And the double extra bonus: The Aggies departed the Bay Area with no significant injuries and with a payout of $675,000, the norm when big-money FBS teams take on those from the FCS ranks that don’t have the television revenue and facilities as their brethren.
“We were playing a game where they pay you a lot of money to play, so obviously, they’re heavily favored and should be,” Plough said during his Monday media session.
Cal was favored by 20.5 points, but the Aggies didn’t bound into Berkeley thinking of point spreads or a check. They aimed to win, and they won the stat sheet in the game’s first 30 minutes. UCD more than doubled Cal in yardage (234-109) and first downs (16-4). The 14-13 Cal lead at the half would have been different if not for UCD special teams breakdowns.
UCD missed a field goal and an extra point, and allowed an 80-yard kickoff return by Nohl Williams for a touchdown. Cal seized control in the second half, scoring 17 points on its first three possessions to move to 12-0 all-time against UCD. In the second half, Cal outgained UCD 172-70 and recorded 12 first downs to the Aggies’ four.
“I told the team after the game that we’re not a pat-on-the back program,” Plough said. “We’re getting a lot of pat on the backs for hanging with a Power 4 team. We met as a team (on Monday) and we all felt that this was a winnable game. The focus is always on us: what we can do to be better? We’ll get back at it.”
Porter to the house
UCD junior linebacker Porter Connors returned a fumble for a touchdown at Cal on his way to earning national FCS Player of the Week honors by FCS Nation as well as Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors. That was the first returned fumble for a score for the Aggies since 2019, when Nick Eaton took one back 78 yards against Cal Poly.
Porter also had 13 tackles and a sack in his finest UCD effort. The name is familiar in house. He is the twin brother of UCD safety star Rex Connors. It has been a dream for the brothers to play together at UCD. They were teammates on various sports growing up in Utah.
“They play with a relentless effort,” Plough said. “Porter hasn’t gotten the same shine as his brother. We knew he’d have a good season after fall camp. The joy he had with that touchdown, especially with his brother there. They’ve been waiting for that moment to play together. They’re great young men, play their butts off and are great teammates.”
The older Connors sets a tone of reliability, durability and just plain grit. He had 11 tackles at Cal despite a sore wing.
“Rex basically played with one arm (at Cal),” Plough said of a shoulder strain that isn’t serious enough to keep him out of the lineup. “I had to finally tell the training staff to take his helmet and his shoulder pads. That’s the only way to keep him out of the game.”
‘He’s our quarterback’
Miles Hastings has started games for UCD at quarterback since 2021, and the senior was the first to say after Saturday’s setback that he could have made better throws. He was intercepted three times and completed 24 of 48 passes for 221 yards. He was not sacked.
“He’s our quarterback,” Plough said. “He could throw 100 interceptions and he’s going to be our quarterback. We trust Miles a lot. He made some great throws, too.”
Texas A&M Commerce (0-1) at UC Davis (0-1)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: UC Davis Health Stadium
On the air: Sactown Sports 1140 AM; ESPN+
Of note: The Aggies are 3-0 against the incoming Lions, winning the first meeting 34-10 in 1998 and last season, 48-10. UCD has won eight consecutive home openers and 45 since 1947. Commerce opened with a 45-14 loss to higher-division San Diego State, a game in which Commerce led 6-3 at the half. San Diego State outgained Commerce yardage-wise, 321-57, in the second half. Commerce won a national championship at the small-school level NAIA in 1971 and in Division II in 2017.