UI falls to No. 11 UC Davis, extends decades-long drought against Aggies

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Nov. 9—MOSCOW — The Idaho Vandals' last win against the UC Davis Aggies was in 1997.

The Vandals' 28-14 loss to the No. 11 Aggies on Saturday in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome was their sixth straight to UCD and keeps a 28-year drought running.

Idaho (4-6, 2-4 Big Sky) failed to get much going against UC Davis (7-2, 5-1) offensively during key moments, which led to the Vandals' downfall.

Idaho struggled mightily on conversion downs, going just 1-of-11 on third downs and 2-of-6 on fourth downs.

Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. said that even though he and the team realize their playoff hopes are effectively over after their sixth loss, he was pleased with the team's resolve and how it continued to keep fighting.

"I just told them that I'm proud of them, and that I loved how we stuck together," Ford said. "There was never a time where our group thought we were going to lose the ball game. Again, we could have easily packed it in when we went down three scores and didn't do that at all. And we really, I thought, did a great job sticking together. And really told him that, 'Hey, don't look at this as a loss. Look at it as a learning lesson.'"

Idaho's defensive success and the UC Davis offense

The Vandals' defense allowed 28 points to UC Davis, but held strong for most of the second half, allowing just one score.

Sophomore safety Matt Irwin led the team in tackles, totaling 11. Senior linebacker Isiah King had eight tackles and one sack.

Both sophomore safety Hayden John and true freshman cornerback Caleb Ricks intercepted a pass for their first-career interceptions.

Fifth-year defensive end Sam Brown blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt by UC Davis at the end of the first half. It was the first Idaho blocked field goal since Dec. 3, 2023, against Southern Illinois.

UC Davis junior running back Jordan Fisher held down the run game for the Aggies. Fisher finished with 21 carries for 103 yards with a long of 32.

UC Davis redshirt freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick threw 21-for-27 for 248 yards, three scores and two interceptions. Pinnick also ran nine times for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Senior UCD receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. caught seven passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The Aggies ran an up-tempo offense for much of the game, but Ford said he thought the defense played well despite the speedy offense.

"I thought coach (Cort) Dennison had some really good calls in terms of, 'Hey, we're just gonna play the call no matter what they come out in when they're going fast,'" Ford said. "And that really helped our guys line up and play fast, and that's really what we're doing.

"We're second in the league in total defense (and) we're third in the league in scoring defense. So I think that side of the ball has really played pretty consistent most of the year."

The UI offense struggles despite career days for Wood, Graves

The Vandals' offense failed to score for most of the game.

The only touchdowns that Idaho had were on explosive, longer plays.

The first score was a 68-yard bomb from sophomore quarterback Joshua Wood to senior receiver Michael Graves for a touchdown to put the Vandals down just one score at 14-7 after the extra point.

The second touchdown was also a pass from Wood to Graves, this one a 35-yarder, for the final score of the game.

Wood finished the game throwing 20-for-38 for 297 yards with two touchdowns and one red-zone interception.

Graves led the Vandals in receiving with three catches for 112 yards and two scores.

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It was career highs in passing yards and receiving yards for Wood and Graves, respectively.

The conversion downs were where the Vandals struggled the most; without the explosive plays, the offense could not get much going.

Ford said that the approach the Vandals took offensively needs to be fixed.

"I think we just have to have a better plan," Ford said. "I don't think our plan was good enough. … But we just need to look at how we're developing the plan and what our guys are comfortable executing because, again, it wasn't good enough. That was not what we're looking for at all, especially on those conversion downs. And that's something that we got to get fixed in a hurry."

What's next?

The Vandals have two weeks left in their season. First is a game against Sacramento State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Sacramento State.

The final game will be at home in the Kibbie Dome against Idaho State at 1 p.m. Nov. 22 for the Battle of the Domes.

Ford said that although the Vandals' season is coming to a close after two weeks, there is a potential advantage that the young players on the roster should capitalize on.

"This is an opportunity for a young team to get great experience these next two weeks, knowing this is all we got. And so we've got to give everything we can into this week for Sac State, and then give everything we can that last week when we play Idaho State," Ford said. "But it does give us a clear path to what the season can be. It can be a season where we can pack it in and not go hard and not finish strong, or we can do what I know this group will do, and go finish hard."

UC Davis 28, Idaho 14

First Quarter

UCD — Simpson 11 pass from Pinnick (Ridley kick), 9:34.

UCD — Gbatu 8 pass from Pinnick (Ridley kick), 0:33.

Second Quarter

IDA — Graves 68 pass from Wood (Forsman kick), 14:49.

UCD — Pinnick 22 run (Ridley kick), 2:17.

Third Quarter

UCD — Dobbins 3 pass from Pinnick (Ridley kick), 8:29.

Fourth Quarter

IDA — Graves 35 pass from Wood (Forsman kick), 9:52.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — UC Davis, Fisher 21-203, Gbatu Jr. 4-44, Pinnick 9-22, Acia 4-16. Idaho, Cummings 10-52, Wood 12-48, Thomas 2-17, McWilliams 1-12, Kincheloe 1-4.

Passing — UC Davis, Pinnick 21-27-2—248. Idaho, Wood 20-38-1—297, Cummings 0-1-0—0.

Receiving — UC Davis, Gbatu Jr. 7-110, Simpson 5-63, Dobbins 4-16, Dixon 2-7, Fisher 1-32, Nixon 1-15, Jones 1-5. Idaho, McCraney 5-85, Cummings 5-36, Graves 3-112, Bogan 2-25, McWilliams 2-21, Jezioro 2-18, Cox 1-0.

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.

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