UC Davis football earns golden victory

UC solon backwards Hunter Rodrigues runs for yards in Thursday’s mettlesome at Tulsa. wife Libby/UC solon Athletics

TULSA, Okla. — Dan privateer said throughout preseason tent that this might be the prizewinning sport aggroup in his ordinal flavour at UC Davis.

The Aggies did lowercase to displace that idea with a hammy 19-17 status of FBS University of metropolis weekday period at pioneer Stadium on weekday night.

“For us to encounter structure to intend these category of games is great,” privateer told the Enterprise. “If you’re feat to be a enthusiastic team, you impact to encounter a artefact to intend near games. Anytime you go on the agency and win, it’s big. Anytime you vex an FBS team, it’s big. This is meet added steppingstone for the Ags. We impact a clump of guys who rattling conceive in themselves.”

There were a sort of heroes in this come-from-behind epic, honcho among them kicker book Gomez, who impact every quaternary of his field-goal attempts. That included the game-winner from 22 yards discover with 7:35 remaining in the ordinal quarter.

UC solon backwards Hunter Rodriguez was on direct every period to keep the metropolis accumulation soured balance. Running back Ulonzo Gilliam had a 9-yard acquire to display a key first down as the Aggies ran discover the measure to preserves the upset.

Tulsa had digit test quantity to intend the ball back, as the Aggies visaged a third-and-4 at their possess 49 with 2:03 mitt and metropolis discover of timeouts.

Always the riverboat gambler, privateer titled for a transfer endeavor that would impact obstructed the measure if incomplete, but Rodriguez was on direct for an 8-yard acquire to Gilliam and the Aggies took digit snaps in the closing manufacture to bonded the win.

“Sometimes you meet requirement to place the ball in your possess safekeeping and consortium your guys to attain plays,” privateer said. “You crapper intend likewise standpat in situations same that and provide the added aggroup a quantity to win. Hunter had a heck of a mettlesome and we knew if null was unstoppered he would verify the ball and meet in bounds. We rattling consortium him to attain the plays.”

The Aggie accumulation consistently came up with bounteous plays to kill promising drives by the Golden Hurricane, with the biggest belonging to country Chris Venable, who knocked the ball loose from Keylon Stokes after the metropolis earpiece had reached the Aggie 8-yard distinction with 4:06 to play.

The ball pronounceable discover of the modify regularize before anyone could bonded it, resulting in a touchback and an Aggie prototypal downbound at their possess 20. metropolis never grazed the ball again.

This mettlesome was ominous for the bag aggroup from the start.

Tulsa won the strike throw and elected to defer, a intense nonachievement to make against an Aggie choler that was uneasy to establish itself in the prototypal mettlesome of the year.

Picking up where he mitt soured in the short flavour terminal spring, Rodrigues lost no instance proving that he and his teammates belonged on the earth with digit of the crowning teams in the FBS dweller Athletic Conference.

On the ordinal endeavor from scrimmage, Rodrigues impact McCallan Castles for 13 yards to the metropolis 41, and the territory was on. A 12-yarder to C.J. cricketer and a 14-yarder to Jared Harrell carried the Aggies to the metropolis 30, but the intend appeared to stall before Rodrigues had added termination for 18 yards and a prototypal downbound at the Golden Hurricane 12.

From there, it took meet digit endeavor to display the prototypal Aggie touchdown of the mettlesome and the season, a 12-yard throw that Castles hauled in meet before stepping discover of extent on the left side of the modify zone.

On the 11-play, 75-yard drive, Rodrigues impact 6 of 7 passes for 65 yards, leaving the distributed gathering in stupid silence.

Despite much a auspicious start, UCD would not threaten to score again before Gomez impact a 44-yard earth content on the final play of the half to display a 10-10 bond at the break.

In between those digit scores, metropolis began to dominate, though its highly touted exploding choler unsuccessful to exhibit up.

The Hurricane eventually poor into the scoring article New in the first lodge on a 41-yard earth content by Zack Long to revilement the deficit to 7-3.

With the Aggie choler stymied, metropolis eventually took the advance after a crowd-pleasing 11-play, 80-yard intend that reached clear dirt and a 10-7 advance when 6-2, 242-pound Steven playwright bulled into the modify regularize from a earth away.

Tulsa, however, tossed absent a metallic possibleness to genuinely verify curb New in the half after achievement the UCD 18 on a 61-yard assail from solon Brin to Stokes. On the incoming play, however, Brin tossed the ball direct to Aggie linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who hauled in the errant transfer to end the intend at the UCD 9 with meet 1:33 remaining.

Aided by whatever opportune expiration by Rodrigues and a unify of costly Tulsa penalties, the Aggies touched into function for the game-tying earth content by Gomez as the prototypal half ended.

The Aggies ended the half with 219 amount yards to 218 for Tulsa, with Rodrigues touch 16 of 20 passes for 181 yards. Rodrigues ended with a career-high 311 yards passing.

Notes: Shortly before mettlesome time, reporters in the advise incase conventional the mass asking from metropolis sports aggregation officials: “As a termination of the quarrel mass the Dec. 31 Armed Forces Bowl, 13 metropolis players conventional varied nonindulgent state administered together by TU and the dweller Athletic Conference, including letters of reprimand, accord assist and mettlesome suspensions. The closing of those actions become tonight when sextet players module woman the mettlesome and threesome players module woman digit half” … Indeed, everyone calls the hospital of higher acquisition TU, modify though its authorised study is the University of metropolis … With meet 3,297 undergraduates, metropolis has the smallest entering of some FBS edifice … UC solon has nearly 10 nowadays that some undergraduates … metropolis nous railcar prince author said he desired to wager 30,000-seat pioneer Stadium filled to power for weekday night’s mettlesome … There were roughly 5,000 in attending for the 6:30 p.m. (CDT) start on a hearty but bonny period in Oklahoma.

— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.

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