Idaho's playoff hopes take blow with loss to No. 11 UC Davis 28-14

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Nov. 8—MOSCOW, Idaho — At 4-5, with three games remaining, all of them were do-or-die as Idaho sought to qualify for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the fourth straight year. Facing 11th-ranked University of California Davis, the Vandals made it clear they understood the magnitude of the stakes. They gambled throughout like they had found a pot of house money.

Unfortunately, although they refused to acknowledge it and kept taking long shots late into the fourth quarter that sporadically paid off, the Vandals essentially went bust early in the third quarter. The Aggies drove 44 yards in five plays in an effort that finished with Stacy Dobbins' 3-yard touchdown to put UC Davis up, 28-7.

Idaho answered early in the fourth quarter as Michael Graves scored his second touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Joshua Wood, and Vandals safety Hayden John broke up a potential Aggies scoring drive with an interception at the 6-yard line. The Vandals kept pressing and had fourth-and-goal at the UC Davis 4-yard line with 2:46 to play after Wood ducked under a tackle at the 10-yard line. But Wood's pass to the end zone was intercepted by Jayden Stanley. He returned it the length of the field for an apparent touchdown that was negated by nose tackle Derrell Porter's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for removing his helmet during the play. It brought the ball back to the UCD 8-yard line with 2:29 to go. However, the Aggies were able to run out the clock in five plays for a 28-14 victory. The win moved them to 7-2 and 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho slips to 4-6 and 2-4.

"I am very proud of the resolve of our kids. Down 28-7, they could have easily packed it in, but they didn't," said Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr.

"Our guys did understand the magnitude of the game. They did come out ready to play. It was a great effort. They fought until there was no time left.

"There was never a time our group thought we were going to lose the ballgame."

Wood passed for 297 yards and Graves' two touchdowns. He also rushed for 48 yards. His counterpart for UC Davis, Caden Pinnick, threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 40 yards and another score.

UCD running back Jordan Fisher got his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 103 yards against the Vandals.

Ford noted the UC Davis offense is one of the top-ranked in FCS and said, "I was very proud of our defense. We didn't stop them, but we certainly slowed them down."

From the opening quarter, things did not bode well for the Vandals. The Aggies scored on their first two possessions. Tight end Ian Simpson somersaulted over Vandal defensive back Caleb Ricks into the end zone to cap a six-play, 66-yard drive. Idaho had UC Davis pinned on third-and-6 at the Vandal 43-yard line, but a roughing the passer call and accompanying first down kept the drive alive.

The Aggies scored again when Pinnick found Samual Gbatu Jr. in the end zone from 8 yards out. Another Vandals penalty, a facemask call at their 18-yard line, kept the 70-yard drive moving.

In between those two touchdowns, though, Idaho served notice it was determined to do everything it could to push all its chips to the center of the table and seize control of the game. Wood continually looked for deep receivers, and for the game, the Vandals attempted to convert six fourth downs, making good on two.

However, the Vandals doubled down on living up to their fight song monicker as "a tribe from the north brave and bold." On the second play of the second quarter, Wood loaded up and launched a pass that flew 54 yards to Graves, who outfought UCD's Drew Cofield for the ball and continued on to the end zone for a 68-yard score.

Graves, a senior, was injured in preseason camp and has been only occasionally available this year. Ford said, though, "he is getting healthier. That joker can run." Ford said Graves' determination to persevere despite being hurt "is another example of the culture of this program."

Against UCD, "he was able to show some of his ability. We really look to showcase that in the next couple of weeks," Ford said . The Vandals have two games remaining, Saturday at Sacramento State , and Nov. 22 at home against Idaho State .

Despite trailing the Aggies early, the Vandals kept pressing their luck. On fourth-and-goal at the 6 -yard line midway through the first quarter, they declined a chip shot field goal. The audacious move seemed to work when Wood linked up with Nolan McWilliams in the end zone. However, the touchdown was overturned. McWilliams had drifted out of bounds and was the first player to touch the ball when he reentered the field.

"Nolan is a true freshman. He probably didn't have enough awareness of where he was on the field," said Ford.

UC Davis responded with a nine-play drive that started at its own 6-yard line and ended when Pinnick raced 22 yards on a draw to the end zone. Ridley's point after pushed Aggies advantage to 21-7 with 2:17 to play in first half.

The Aggies threatened once again, but Idaho's Sam Brown blocked Ridley's 50-yard field goal attempt to conclude the first half.

Despite its playoff hopes being dashed, Ford said lessons learned this season, including against the Aggies, "can propel us into the future.

"I don't plan on going anywhere. I want to build this program the way I know it can be."

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