Box Score Aug. 30, 2014 Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Redshirt freshman running back
Justin Williams ran for 36 yards and senior
Colton Silveria picked up 34 more for UC Davis but No. 11 Stanford was too much in the first half as the Cardinal posted a 45-0 season-opening nonconference football win at Stanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinal's defense held the Aggies to just 115 yards of total offense while compiling 461 yards of its own. London Lacy, making his first career start, completed 12 of 22 passes for 54 yards. Safety Charles Boyett had a game-high nine tackles, Keleen Culberson had a second-quarter interception and defensive end Luke Wood had a solo sack.
Despite the loss, UC Davis head coach Ron Gould said the opportunity to play a high-caliber opponent like Stanford brings benefits to the Aggies.
"I think it's good for our program, I think it's good for our kids," he said. "It sets the tone for where we want to go and what we want to build and how we want to build this thing. As I told (Stanford) coach (David) Shaw, I have so much respect for him and his program. We aspire to be the `Stanford' of the FCS."
The game marked just the third-ever meeting between Stanford and UC Davis and the first since the Aggies posted a stunning upset over the Cardinal in 2005. Stanford visited BCS bowl games each of the past four years and showed early on why it's been one of the top collegiate programs during that span. The Cardinal forced UC Davis to punt on its opening drive and All-American Ty Montgomery, returning punts for the first time in his career, brought the kick back 60 yards for a touchdown just three minutes into the game.
Stanford put together a 12-play, 67-yard drive on its next possession, capping it when quarterback Kevin Hogan dove in from a yard out to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.
Hogan completed 12 of 16 passes for 204 yards in the game, connecting on touchdown passes of 40 yards to Michael Rector, 52 yards to Christian McCaffrey and 44 yards Montgomery during a seven-minute span of the second quarter that helped the Cardinal take a 35-0 lead. A 32-yard field goal by Justin Williamson at the end of the first half capped the big first half. Stanford had 197 yards in the second quarter and 274 in the half.
The Aggie defense provided a highlight in the second quarter when Culberson picked off Hogan at the UC Davis 22-yard line and returned it 20 yards. However, Stanford returned the favor on the next play by intercepting Lacy.
UC Davis kept Stanford out of the endzone for most of the second half, finally yielding a 14-yard touchdown pass from Evan Crower to tight end Austin Hooper midway through the fourth quarter for the final points.
"Our defense played (hard)," Gould said. "We're excited about that. We were very inconsistent on the offensive side of the ball but there were some times that we were able to run the ball in there a little bit, so that's promising... I'm very, very pleased with the kids and just their effort and their willingness to continue to fight. I saw a little `Aggie Pride' there so I was very, very grateful for that."
UC Davis was held to just 1 of 13 on third down and Stanford picked up four sacks. Corey Galindo caught three passes while Chris Martin had two. Barry Sanders rushed for 43 yards to lead Stanford's ground attack while Montgomery had five receptions for 77 yards.
Six of Boyett's tackles were solo while Patrick Wells and Darryl Graham each had five total tackles. Graham also recovered a fumble. Linebacker Travon Brook and freshman defensive tackle Jordan Hoyt combined for a four-yard sack. Colby Wadman punted 11 times, averaging 41.3 yards with a long of 55 yards.
The Aggies will open the home portion of their season next Saturday, hosting Fort Lewis (Colorado) at 6 p.m. at Aggie Stadium.
