Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Alex Cannon had career-highs with six catches for 122 yards in his final game at Aggie Stadium, redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Spencer picked up his first 300-yard game and safety Darryl Graham posted a career-best 14 tackles, but visiting Cal Poly used 674 yards of offense for a 55-38 Big Sky win in the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe on Saturday afternoon.

UC Davis fell for the fourth straight game, is 1-9 overall and 1-5 in the Big Sky. Cal Poly, which was led by 160 rushing yards and a touchdown by quarterback Chris Brown who also threw for three scores to Willie Tucker, won its second in a row and is 4-6 and 3-4. The Mustangs reclaimed the commemorative trophy presented to the winner of the rivalry after the Aggies won in San Luis Obispo last year, 48-35. The visiting team has now won three straight games in the series which UC Davis leads 20-19-2.

Manusamoa Luuga rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 59 more. Sophomore Nolan Tooley posted career-highs with four catches for 70 yards and a score, and safety Zach Jones and Ryan Parenteau had 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.

"I'm very pleased with how these kids have responded," said head coach Ron Gould. "We had four more guys go down early in the game, so we're just piecing things together, and to see the resiliency and the grit that these guys showed tonight, when you talk about the phrase 'Aggie Pride,' you saw that tonight."

The Mustangs, who entered the game averaging an FCS-leading 404 rushing yards per game, posted 486 on Saturday. They ran the ball for all but 10 of their 76 total plays. Brown completed six of nine passes for 153 yards, picking up 56 on the game's second play from scrimmage when he hit Tucker for an early touchdown. It was the beginning of a big day for Tucker who also had TD receptions covering 65 yard in the third quarter and five yards in the fourth.

UC Davis trailed 41-21 in the second half but senior Brady Stuart booted a 33-yard field goal - the school-record 51st of his career - late in third quarter, Luuga forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Spencer did a nifty job eluding pressure in the backfield to find Tooley in the end zone for a 15-yard score that made it 41-31 entering the fourth.

Defensive end Brandon Weaver forced a fumble by Joe Protheroe on the first play of Cal Poly's next drive and it was recovered by Graham. The Aggies capitalized on a three-play, 63-yard drive capped by Luuga's 39-yard TD run - the longest rush by UC Davis this season - and suddenly the Aggies were within 41-38 with still 14 minutes on the clock.However, the Mustangs took just 3:48 to go 90 yards in 10 plays, leading to Tucker's five-yard touchdown catch that pushed the lead back to 10. The Aggies stalled on their next drive and punted with 7:47 remaining. Cal Poly chewed up 5:10 on its next drive, picking up five first downs before D.J. Peluso ran in from 19 yards to provide the final margin, 55-38.

The teams combined for 35 points in the first quarter, including three touchdowns in the first four minutes. After Tucker's long TD catch put the Aggies in an early hole, Spencer helped them rebound by finding Cannon for a 51-yard scoring play that knotted the game barely two minutes in. Kory Garcia answered with a 47-yard scamper on the next drive during the early scoring flurry.

Luuga scored the first of his two TDs when he finished off UC Davis' 76-yard drive with a three-yard plunge that tied it again, 14-14 with 6:26 left in the first. The Mustangs then went to their bag of tricks for the next score when Brown pitched the ball to Garcia going right, who then turned back and hit Brown on the left for a 30-yard TD pass with 4:02 left in the opening quarter.

A 15-yard TD run by Malcolm Davis and a 22-yarder by Brown in the second helped stake Cal Poly to a 34-21 halftime lead. Davis' score came after the Mustangs, pinned on their own 1 after Colby Wadman's 34-yard punt, went the length of the field in 20 plays while consuming nearly eight minutes off the clock.

UC Davis came out strong in the second half, taking the opening kick 88 yards in 10 plays and getting within 34-21 after Joshua Kelley broke through for a 34-yard TD. Kelley tied Luuga for team-high rushing honors with 83 yards.

Spencer, who was making his second career start after replacing injured signal-caller Ben Scott, completed 25 of 37 passes for his 311 yards. He wasn't intercepted and was sacked just once. Graham had eight solo stops among his 14 total tackles while Jones had seven solos in his 11. Parenteau also had eight solos among his career-best 10.

"The kids, they never quit, they showed their toughness, we just didn't score enough points," said Gould. "That's what I told the guys. We knew we were playing a high-powered offense and run game, and you have to score points... But I love the way the kids responded. The offense came out and did an unbelievable job of focusing and taking advantage of some opportunities."

UC Davis totaled a season-high 506 total yards, including 195 on the ground while averaging 6.5 yards a carry.

The Aggies honored their 15 seniors during pregame ceremonies: linebacker Jonathan Bias, tight end Zach Boman, linebacker Travon Brook, Cannon, defensive tackle Kyle DeVaughn, defensive end Walter Earnest, offensive lineman Andrew Hunter, defensive tackle Ryan Lefotu, linebacker Artice Nelson, tight end Atlas Smith, offensive lineman Parker Smith, Stuart, receiver Dane Turner, defensive end Luke Wood and cornerback Shamawn Wright.

The Aggies will conclude the 2015 season next Saturday when they visit rival Sacramento State for the 62nd annual Causeway Classic. Kickoff for the game, which will be televised by Comcast California, is 2:30 p.m.