Oct. 23, 2010
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Courtney Smith caught a 45-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with less than six minutes remaining and South Alabama survived a last-second potential game-tying field goal attempt from UC Davis as the undefeated Jaguars beat UC Davis 24-21 in a nonconference football game at Aggie Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Aggies which fell to 3-4 overall. South Alabama, which is in its second year of sponsoring football while preparing to joining NCAA Division I's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2013, improved to 7-0.
Receiver Sean Creadick had career-highs with 12 catches for 147 yards while also hauling in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Randy Wright who threw for 238 yards and two scores. Linebacker Dozie Amajoyi had nine tackles, including a half-sack, and a fumble recovery to help lead the Aggie defense.
Smith had six receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns for South Alabama which took a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter.
UC Davis had a chance to regain the lead, or at least tie with a field goal, after the Jaguars fumbled on their own 33 with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter. Creadick had an impressive one-handed catch for a 22-yard reception on that final drive to push the ball to the South Alabama 17 but UC Davis wasn't able to move any closer, setting up a 34-yard field goal attempt from Sean Kelley who missed just right as time expired.
"We're going to be in close games, that's just the way it's going to be.," said Aggie head coach Bob Biggs. "We're just not explosive enough. But we battled back. I like the way we battled back. I thought we showed a lot of character and determination."
UC Davis made it close game after falling behind 14-0 in the first nine minutes of the game after South Alabama scored on its first two drives. The Jaguars took the opening kick 74 yards on 13 plays, including a 4th-and-1 conversion at the UC Davis 31. Quarterback Sim Brennan hit T.J. Glover for an seven-yard gain to the 10 before Kendall Houston carried it the final 10 yards for a score.
The Jaguars forced a three-and-out on UC Davis' first drive with Glover returning the ensuing punt to the UC Davis 14 and Smith catching his first TD pass on a 13-yard connection one play later.
The Aggies, however, held South Alabama in check the rest of the half, tying the game on a short three-yard touchdown run to finish off a 65-yard drive late in the first quarter and then Creadick's seven-yard TD reception with just 15 seconds left in the half.
Tom Hemmingsen had a 14-yard catch and Creadick brought one in for 26 yards to help highlight the first drive while Creadick's 22-yard gain kick-started the latter drive which started with just under two minutes left. Troy Yudin also had a 22-yard catch on that scoring drive which began with 1:53 left in the quarter.
"I feel like the defenses, they give us a lot of respect.," Creadick said regarding the Aggies' two-minute offense. "They let us have the underneath routes and they just want to make us chip our way down the field and I feel like that's something that the UC Davis offense is really good at. Ball control is kind of our specialty. We had some simple pitch-and-catch plays with Randy making some good throws."
Tied 14-14 in the third quarter, UC Davis took the lead with a strong 7-play, 79-yard drive that resulted in Wright's 17-yard TD strike to Hemmingsen with 4:12 to go. South Alabama's Jordan Means kicked a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the quarter, making it 21-17 heading to the fourth.
The Jaguars got the ball with 6:55 to play, picking up a 14-yard connection from quarterback C.J. Bennett to Jerome Jones and a 16-yard rush from Santuan McGee to help get the ball to the Aggies' 45 where Smith put USA ahead with his long touchdown reception.
Starting on its own 15, UC Davis moved inside the Jaguars' territory on the ensuing drive but was forced to punt with just over two minutes left. The Aggies took a pair of timeouts before Bennett fumbled on third down at the 32, setting up the final drive of the game.
South Alabama came into the game averaging 246.6 rushing yards per game but was held to just 131 on 35 carries. The Jaguars also had just four turnovers during their first six games with UC Davis forcing four on Saturday on two interceptions and two fumbles.
After the early deficit, UC Davis forced four punts and picked up three turnovers over the Jaguars' next eight drives before USA finally scored on its field goal.
Amajoyi had a fumble recovery to go with his nine stops while safety Danny Hart had eight tackles, including five solo. Linebacker Byron Gruendl had a half-sack, a fumble recovery and a pick while cornerback Jonathan Calhoun also had an interception.
"I thought (South Alabama) showed good composure," said Biggs. "They got up by 14 and we battled back. You're not sure how a team that hasn't really been challenged is going to handle that kind of adversity. Then we went up 21-14, but they stuck with their game plan. They didn't get rattled and they didn't try to force the issue. As it worked out, the end result worked out for them."
UC Davis will return to action next weekend when it hosts a key Great West Conference matchup against Southern Utah at Aggie Stadium. The Thunderbirds are 3-0 in league play and 4-4 overall. Kickoff is 4 p.m.
