The #4 Idaho fell to #14 UC Davis 28-26 on Saturday, losing their fifth straight matchup against the Aggies.
In a game where Idaho had a 14-0 lead, a 17-14 lead at halftime, outgained UC Davis 459-312, and only punted twice in comparison the Aggies’ five, the Vandals still left Davis, California with a loss.
This came off of passing struggles for the offense, with UC Davis’s secondary causing havoc. The Aggies intercepted redshirt freshman Jack Wagner twice, and also a pass by freshman wide receiver Tony Harste.
On the bright side, the Vandals won the rushing attack, gaining 185 yards on the ground, and only allowing 26 rushing yards to the UC Davis offense.
Redshirt junior Elisha Cummings lead the Vandals ground attack, totaling 72 yards on 11 attempts. As for the second head of the 2-man rushing attack, redshirt junior Nate Thomas totaled 41 yards on 12 attempts and a rushing touchdown.
Idaho posted 3 sacks defensively, with Malakai Williams leading the team with 1.5 sacks. Star defensive lineman Keyshawn James-Newby was sackless, losing the nation’s top spot for sacks, but still sits at second in the country with 6.5.
Idaho started the day off strong, driving down the field and scoring on a Wagner pass to redshirt freshman Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar for a 9-yard touchdown.
Idaho forced a 3-and-out on UC Davis’s first drive of the day, and then like that, Idaho had the ball back and drove 56 yards down the field to make it 14-0, thanks to a Nate Thomas punch-in at the 1.
The Vandals came out extremely fast, making it seem like the game would be one sided, but the Aggies were able to make it a one-score game before the first quarter ended.
Idaho started the second quarter with a Cameron Pope field goal attempt from 54 yards out, which fell no good, giving UC Davis great field position. This allowed the Aggies to tie up the game at 14 with 8:28 to go in the second quarter.
Idaho went into halftime with a 17-14 lead, thanks to another 43-yard field goal from Cameron Pope. However, that lead was short lived, after UC Davis only needed 2 plays in their opening drive of the second half, only needing to go 28 yards to take a 21-17 lead thanks to a C.J. Hutton 72-yard return to start the half.
Idaho’s offense didn’t skip a beat at first, retaliating with multiple chunk plays bringing them down to first and goal at the UCD 7-yard line. However, Idaho would come up empty on a drive that looked promising, failing to convert on fourth down.
After some great defense for the majority of the quarter, Idaho’s defense eventually was not able to contain the Aggies passing game and fell behind 17-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
As desperation settled in for the Vandals, and UC Davis driving down to the redzone, Idaho needed a stop from their defense. They were able to rally to the ball on 4th and 2 and get a big tackle for loss to force a turnover on downs.
They came up empty handed on their upcoming drive but were able to get the ball back with 2:22 left in the game. Led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Josifek, Idaho went down the field for 88 yards in 11 plays, as Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar grabbed his second touchdown to give the Vandals hope.
Idaho was now trailing 26-28 with only a 2-point conversion in the way of tying the ball game, and on what was a skeptical call, the pass was incomplete, and the Vandals could not recover the onside kick, falling to UC Davis 26-28.
Idaho is now 3-2 on the year, with a 0-1 conference record. They look to bounce back during their homecoming game, as they face the 3-2 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, who are coming off a big win against #10 Sacramento State Hornets. The game takes place on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2 p.m. at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]