No. 5 UC Davis falls 35-21 at No. 4 South Dakota in FCS Quarterfinals

NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
Score:  No. 5 UC Davis football 21, No. 4 South Dakota 35
Location: Vermillion, S.D. (The DakotaDome)
Records: UC Davis 11-3, South Dakota 11-2

The short story: UC Davis football’s historic season and deep run into the NCAA Division I Quarterfinals came to an end at No. 4 South Dakota, following a tough battle against the Coyotes on Saturday afternoon.

FIRST DOWN

• Senior wide receiver Trent Tompkins finished with a game-high 110 yards receiving on a career-high 11 receptions and one touchdown
• Senior quarterback Miles Hastings went 39-for-52 with 345 yards passing and three touchdowns in the game
• Junior defensive back Rex Connors finished with 15 total tackles and five solo tackles to lead the Aggies
• Senior Kavir Bains and redshirt junior Gaven Cooke each had interceptions in the game and senior defensive lineman Zach Kennedy recovered a fumble
• UC Davis outgained South Dakota, finishing with 433 total yards of offense
• The Aggies red zone defense was stout, twice keeping South Dakota out of the endzone when they were inside the 10-yard line creating turnovers both times to also keep the Coyotes off the score board
• UC Davis was also clutch on fourth downs, going 2-for-3 in fourth down attempts, including converting on a fake punt

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY
“Tough to talk about the game right now, with us being a bit emotional. We have talked about all year that we are not a back on the pat program and that’s never anything I want to be here. South Dakota deserves all the credit, they played outstanding. They’re tough in all three phases of the game and are really well coached and they played better then us today. We are not pleased with where we have gotten, since we have goals and dreams for this program and anytime we lose a game it is 100 percent on me as the head coach to do a better job. These guys played their guts out, so it starts with me doing better to put these guys in a better position. I appreciate these players and I’m grateful to be in a position to coach at a school I really love, and it was a good season for us. So hopefully we can get back to work and figure out how to get back here again in the future. Despite the result there was a lot of joy out there today.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• South Dakota opened the scoring in the first quarter on their second drive of the game, following an Aggie interception
• The Coyotes capped off their six-play drive with a touchdown pass to take an early 7-0 lead
• The Aggies responded on the next drive, showing that it was game on in the DakotaDome, with Hastings hitting senior wide receiver C.J. Hutton for a 24-yard pass that set up an eventual 13-yard scoring toss to senior wide receiver Chaz Davis from Hastings to make it 7-7
• A big play of 71 yards by South Dakota on the first play of the next drive set up another score from two yards out, with South Dakota scoring on the ground to make it 14-7
• South Dakota scored on the next possession to extend their lead to 21-7, following a seven-yard pass on third down
• Both sides then traded interceptions, with Bains playing deep center field on a long overthrown ball, running underneath the South Dakota pass to give the ball right back to the Aggies after an interception thrown by Hastings
• UC Davis took the turnover and then went 58 yards in 12 plays, capped off by senior running back Matteo Perez scoring his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard pass from Hastings to make it 21-14
• The Aggie defense then got the ball back, forcing a three-and-out on the next possession
• Unfortunately for the Aggies, Hastings would give the ball back on another interception thrown, setting up a short field with under one-minute to play in the half
• After getting down to the three and with only 12 seconds left South Dakota looked to pad its lead on a third down play in the endzone
• The Coyote receiver lost the handle on the ball and after it popped up in the air, Gaven Cooke dove under it just before it hit the ground to keep South Dakota off the board at the end of the half and the score at 21-17
• Midway through the third quarter, the two sides had traded possession before the Aggies again suffered a turnover when Hutton, looking to make a play, lost a handle on the ball to give it back to South Dakota
• Looking to extend its lead, South Dakota drove to the Aggie two-yard line and had first and goal
• They didn’t spend much time two yards removed from the goal line, as on the next play the South Dakota running back dropped the pitch and as the ball bounced along, Kennedy was there to make a play falling on the ball to again keep South Dakota off the board in the red zone
• The Aggies would convert a fourth down on their next possession, on a fake punt rushed by senior linebacker Luka Sarac who powered his way for the five yards UC Davis needed
• But again, Hastings had trouble finding an open Aggie and his next pass was intercepted by South Dakota to end the Aggie drive
• A 17-yard touchdown scoring pass on South Dakota’s next possession capped off a quick three-play drive as the Coyotes extended their lead to 28-14
• UC Davis answered, going 16 play for 73 yards, eating up nearly eight minutes of clock
• Getting down to the four-yard line, the Aggies ran a fourth down play to near perfection
• With senior running back Lan Larison lining up at quarterback and taking the snap, Hastings came in motion, took the lateral and kept rolling to his right before finding Tompkins streaking through the middle of the colored turf
• The Aggie score made it 28-21 with 7:40 to go in the game
• South Dakota though had an answer, scoring on an eventual seven-yard run to make it 35-21 with three minutes to go, putting things just out of reach for the Aggies
• One final interception thrown by Hastings ended the game and season for UC Davis as South Dakota locked up a 35-21 quarterfinal victory

GAME NOTES

• Rex Connors passed teammate redshirt junior linebacker David Meyer for the program record for solo tackles in a single season, ending with five to rack up 74 on the season, while Meyer, who originally broke the record of 63 last week against Illinois State, racked up three solo tackles in the game to end the season with 73
• Tompkins’ 11 receptions is the most in a single game by an Aggie since Hutton had 10 against Weber State in 2022
• The Aggies converted fake punt was the first of the season on the first attempt of the year
• Rex Connors’ 16 total tackles was a career-high and an Aggie season-high

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Reports circulated Tuesday that UC Davis sports—except football—will be added to the Mountain West Conference in 2026. The conference confirmed the news shortly after, meaning the Aggies will be the tenth and final basketball program to join the conference.

The move lifts UC Davis Athletics (basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc.) from the FBS level into the FCS division of the NCAA.

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UC Davis basketball to be added to Mountain West Conference

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