UC Davis football beats Utah Tech, improves to 3-1 on season

Sep 23, 2024, 5:09 AM | Updated: 7:15 am

(UC Davis Athletics)

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Sactown Sports

This story was initially published by UC Davis Athletics

Score: No. 13 UC Davis 32, Utah Tech 14

Location: Davis, Calif. (UC Davis Health Stadium)

Records: UC Davis 3-1, Utah Tech 0-4

The short story: Four Aggie takeaways and an all-purpose day by senior running back Lan Larison gave UC Davis its third-straight win as they wrapped up non-conference play with a victory over Utah Tech.

FIRST DOWN

Larison finished with 120 rushing yards with two touchdowns and added 43 receiving yards and one touchdown to end his day with 163 all-purpose yards
Senior quarterback Miles Hastings finished with 275 yards passing, going 24-for-60 with one touchdown
Senior Kavir Bains had an interception and fumble recovery in the game
Redshirt junior Gaven Cooke recorded his first career interception
Junior Huner Ridley was a perfect four-for-four in field goals, hitting kicks from 19, 27, 34 and 25 yards out
Senior C.J. Hutton led the Aggies with 64 yards receiving on six receptions
Junior Samuel Gbatu Jr., added 50 yards on five receptions
Redshirt junior David Meyer finished with a team-high seven total tackles (five solo)
Junior linebacker Porter Connors made his return, adding five stops (two solo; three assisted)
UC Davis had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the game
The Aggies held Utah Tech to under 100 yards passing (95)

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY

“Great to get a win at home against a great team. But by no means was it a perfect game, and I still think out best football is out there somewhere. But I was pleased with the defense, I thought they were tremendous today. It was also good to get some more guys in the game on defense, so I was happy to see us getting off the field and tackling well. We’re going to win a lot of games if we are forcing turnovers like we did tonight. On offense, we need to learn how to execute in the red zone so that we can be the team we need to be. It was great to see Hunter [Ridley] making his kicks and I thought the special teams was great overall tonight.”

FIRST DOWN

Bains did not wait long to put the Aggies in control early, snagging and interception on Utah Tech’s third offensive play of the night
The Bains interception, which the Aggie defensive back nearly took to the house, set up UC Davis at the Utah Tech five-yard line
And after running a few plays inside the 10, Larison punched it home from the seven to put UC Davis up a touchdown before five minutes of action was played
On the very next play from scrimmage, on an option read run by Utah Tech, senior defensive lineman Zach Kennedy punched out the ball from the hands of the Utah Tech quarterback and after Bains pounced on it, for his second takeaway of the first quarter, the Aggies were again set up for a short field
Following five plays were the Aggies pushed the ball inside the Utah Tech five, Ridley sent home his first field goal of the night, from 19 yards out
With 7:51 left in the quarter, UC Davis took over following a punt and began its longest scoring drive of the season so far, going 90 yards in 19 plays, holding the ball for over nine minutes
The 90-yard drive was capped off by a 27-yard Ridley field goal, putting Davis up 12-0
Both sides traded possessions throughout the second quarter, but in the final six minutes of the half, the Aggies would add to their lead with a pair of field goals
With 2:17 left in the half, Ridley finished a scoring drive with a 34-yard field and with just under one minute left, he hit his fourth of the half, this one from 25 yards out to give the Aggies a 18-0 lead heading into the break
Almost as if the first half had never ended, the Aggies opened the second half with a takeaway when Utah Tech’s Reggie Graff fumbled on a rush that was recovered by senior Grant Garretson
UC Davis then went 26 quick yards on six plays, taking full advantage when Larison scored on a quick bubble screen from two yards out to make it 25-0 Aggies with just five minutes played in the second half
Utah Tech scored its first points of the game when Graff ran in a touchdown from 12 yards out to finish a five-play 75-yard drive midway through the third
But the Ags had an answer, using a 19-yard pass to Gbatu Jr., and a Utah Tech pass interference call, UC Davis got the ball again inside the red zone
From seven yards out, Larison scored his third touchdown of the game, finishing a nine-play 75-yard drive that ate up 3:24 and put it at just over five minutes to go in the third quarter and the Aggies leading 32-7
Utah Tech would score one more touchdown late, but it made no difference in the outcome as the Ags finished off Utah Tech with a solid fourth quarter that locked up a 32-14 win

GAME NOTES

The announced crowd of 14,832 was the largest crowd in UC Davis Health Stadium history
UC Davis has now recorded four takeaways in two games this year, the first time since 2012 the Aggies have had at least two games in a season with four or more takeaways
This was the eighth 100-yard rushing game of Larison’s career (second this season)
The Aggies last held a team to under 100 yards passing in 2022 when they held Idaho State to 80 passing yards
Hunter Ridley tied a school record for field goals made in a game (four). He becomes one of eight Aggies to do it nine times
Ridley has made 10-straight field goals going back to Texas A&M-Commerce
The Aggies went 7-for-8 in the red zone

UP NEXT: The Aggies remain at UC Davis Health Stadium and on Sept. 28 open the Big Sky when No. 4 Idaho visits Davis. Fans can buy season tickets, group tickets, mini plans, single game tickets and corporate ticket packages, by clicking the links or by calling the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or by emailing aggietickets@ucdavis.edu.