Aggies go on 24-0 run to stop Utah Tech, 31-24
UC Davis trailed 24-7 midway through the third quarter before rallying for the win
ST. GEORGE, Utah - Trailing 24-7 midway through the third quarter, UC Davis staged a dramatic second-half comeback and finally pulled away late to take a tense 31-24 win over an inspired Utah Tech squad in a non-conference football game on a warm Saturday night at Greater Zion Stadium.
“I think we showed tonight that we have Aggie Pride and Aggie fight,” said UC Davis head coach Tim Plough.
“You hope you have an environment where you can win football games and show what you’re made of, and we had that tonight.”
The win gives the Aggies a 1-0 mark on the young season, while Utah Tech is 0-1 after finishing 1-11 a year ago.
The Aggies entered the game ranked No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll, but didn't look like a highly ranked team in the opening 30 minutes.
This, despite the fact Utah Tech coughed the ball up twice in the opening half in its own territory, once at the 37 and the other at the 41. However, UCD was unable to capitalize either time.
Utah Tech, in its sixth season at the FCS level, with just a 10-42 record in that span, entered the game as a decided underdog against a talented but as yet unproven Aggie team.
The first half was a sloppy, error-prone affair for both teams, with the Aggies gaining just 97 yards of total offense to UT's 91. Of UCD's total, 66 came on a sparkling touchdown dash by Jordan Fisher. The other eight rushing attempts of the half netted the Aggies just 11 yards.
Tech took advantage of an early fumble by Aggie quarterback Caden Pinnick at the Aggie 30 and took a 3-0 lead on a 33-yard field goal from Ilya Uvaydov.
Fisher's dash, straight up the middle, gave UCD a 7-3 lead with the game not yet six minutes old and it looked like it might be a high-scoring affair.
However, both offenses sputtered the rest of the half, though Utah Tech scored late to take a 10-7 lead into the break. The payoff came on a 1-yard pass from Reggie Graff to tight end Eric Olsen to cap a methodical 13-play, 47-yard drive that ended just 31 seconds before the half.