Slow start, opportunity lost for Vandals
From wire and news services, and local reports
MOSCOW — The celebration — if it comes at all — will have to wait.
Not even the Idaho Vandals, enjoying their best season since returning to the FCS level in 2018, could dig out of this hole.
The Vandals, with a chance to perhaps wrap up a berth in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1995, fell behind 31-7 at halftime, rallied briefly in the third quarter, but ultimately fell to UC Davis 44-26 in Big Sky Conference football on senior day Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.
“Hat’s off to them,” first-year Idaho coach Jason Eck said of the Aggies, on the Vandals’ postgame radio show. “Especially in the first half, they thoroughly outplayed us and outcoached us in all three phases. I knew they were a good offense; I thought we had to score with them, and stop the run much better than we did. That was disappointing. We were bad on third and fourth down on offense, so we didn’t stay on the field when we needed to against them. I was proud of how the guys responded in the second half, but it was too little, too late; you can’t spot a team like that (a 31-7 halftime lead).”
Idaho (6-4, 5-2 Big Sky) is now in a three-way tie for third in the Big Sky with UC Davis (6-4, 5-2) and Weber State (8-2, 5-2).
UC Davis, which won its fifth straight, plays next week against Sacramento State, which is tied for Montana State for first place.
The Vandals wrap up the regular season next Saturday at Idaho State (1-9, 1-6), hoping a victory in Pocatello puts Idaho in the playoffs.
“Unfortunately we probably don’t control our own destiny for the playoffs now,” Eck said. “But we have to go have the best performance we can next week to get to seven wins, and give us an opportunity to be on that bubble, and hopefully some things go our way.”
Other than a kneeldown at the half, UC Davis scored on all five of its first-half drives and led 31-7 at halftime.
Idaho took the second-half kickoff and scored when Gevani McCoy rolled right and hit a sliding Hayden Hatten in the end zone on a 18-yard scoring play. The two-point conversion failed.
The Vandals then forced UC Davis’ first punt of the game, and drove to another score, this one a 5-yarder from McCoy to Hatten. It was Hatten’s 14th TD catch of the season, tying a school record, and his ninth in the last three games.
UC Davis answered with a field goal, but Idaho threatened again following a long pass to Jermaine Jackson. But McCoy was sacked on back-to-back plays by Zach Kennedy, and the Vandals turned the ball over on downs.
The Aggies turned that into Ulonzo Gilliam’s third touchdown of the game, from 7 yards out, to make it 41-19 with 8:14 left.
Idaho came back with a 5-yard run by McCoy with 4:14 remaining, but UC Davis recovered the onside kick and kicked a field goal to clinch it.
“It’s all right to hurt, and we can feel crappy for 24 hours, but then we better get back to work,” Eck said, “because we still have a chance to go down to Idaho State next week and get our seventh win, and get our sixth conference win. We’ve got to get better this week; we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to coach better than we did this week.”
UC Davis jumped out to a 14-0 lead after 8 minutes before McCoy put Idaho on the board with a 12-yard scramble late in the first quarter.
Running out of the wildcat formation, Aundre Carter of Idaho was stopped short on fourth-and-1 from the Vandal 34 late in the first half, and UC Davis turned that into a touchdown and a 31-7 lead.
Ricardo Chavez of Idaho missed wide left on a 44-yard field goal try on the next possession.
McCoy passed for 345 yards for Idaho, which outgained UC Davis 463-456. Hatten finished with 13 receptions for 126 yards. Tommy Hauser, a walk-on from Post Falls, had one catch for 11 yards.
Gilliam ran for 173 yards on 31 carries for the Aggies, who finished with 250 rushing yards. He ran for 137 in the first half, when UC Davis outgained the Vandals 292-157.
“We’ve got to fight and scratch, and try to earn some more time together,” Eck said of this week. “Because this is all we’re guaranteed, is one game together. I feel for the seniors; I wish I could have done a better job getting us ready to play to start the game. But we have to fight and scratch and do all we can to try to earn another week together after next week, and not make this our last game.”
UC Davis 14 17 3 10 — 44
Idaho 7 0 12 7 — 26
First quarter
UCD — Lan Larrison 34 run (Isaiah Gomez kick), 13:38
UCD — Ulonzo Gilliam 1 run (Gomez kick), 7:00
Idaho — Gevani McCoy 12 run (Ricardo Chavez kick), 1:48
Second quarter
UCD — Trent Tompkins 2 run (Gomez kick), 13:03
UCD — FG Gomez 30, 8:10
UCD — Gilliam 1 run (Gomez kick), 2:57
Third quarter
Idaho — Hayden Hatten 18 pass from McCoy (run failed), 11:25
Idaho — Hatten 5 pass from McCoy (pass failed), 4:55
UCD — FG Gomez 35, 1:13
Fourth quarter
UCD — Gilliam 7 run (Gomez kick), 8:14
Idaho — McCoy 5 run (Chavez kick), 4:14
UCD — FG Gomez 32, 2:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — UCD, Gilliam 31-173, Larison 7-68, Hutton 6-11, Tompkins 1-2, Hastings 2-(minus 1). Idaho, Woods 8-45, McCoy 10-36, Johnson 3-22, Cummings 8-15, Carter 1-0, Gibbs 2-0.
PASSING — UCD, Hastings 16-19-0-206. Idaho, McCoy 28-39-0-345, Gibbs 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING — UCD, Hutton 4-60, Castles 2-48, Tompkins 3-45, Larison 2-21, Poerio 1-15, Thorpe 1-12, Gilliam 3-5. Idaho, Hatten 13-126, Jackson 6-118, Dwyer 3-60, Whitney 2-14, Hauser 1-11, Cummings 1-10, Woods 2-6.