Final Stats

RENO, Nev. - Ben Scott threw a short touchdown pass to Ramon Vargas and ran for another while the Aggies' defense picked up a pair of sacks, but host Nevada was able to score 21 points in the first half to key a hard-fought 31-17 season-opening nonconference football win before 21,483 fans Mackay Stadium on Thursday night.

Scott completed 32 of 47 passes for 238 yards, running back Manusamoa Luuga's eight catches for 42 yards led five Aggies with at least four receptions, and freshman Joshua Kelley picked up 43 rushing yards in his UC Davis debut.

Defensive tackle Kyle DeVaughn and linebacker Travon Brooks each had sacks while linebacker Brady Stibi had a team-high six tackles. UC Davis also held the Wolf Pack out of the endzone for more than two quarters after it took a 21-3 lead.

UC Davis trailed 24-3 late in the third quarter after a 27-yard field goal from Nevada's Brent Zuzo but put together two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter that were sandwiched around a Wolf Pack touchdown. Scott finished a 15-play, 77-yard drive with 6 minutes, 56 seconds left in the fourth when he found Vargas on a five-yard score, and then scrambled from three yards with two seconds remaining to put the exclamation point on a 12-play, 67-yard possession.

The Aggies had three drives of at least 66 yards, four with at least 10 plays and were in the Wolf Pack red-zone three times. They also didn't commit a turnover, although Nevada made the same claim as well.

Running back Don Jackson rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns for Nevada while Hasaan had five catches for 60 yards. The Wolf Pack rushed for 232 yards.

Despite the loss, Gould saw plenty of bright spots and looked forward to fixing mistakes and building on the positives ahead of next week's home opener against South Dakota.

"I'm very pleased with the effort, the heart and the grit of this football team," said third-year coach Ron Gould.

UC Davis showed good balance in the first half, rushing for 64 yards and gaining 92 more through the air. The Aggies didn't turn the ball over but after opening the game with a 10-play 50-yard drive that featured back-to-back rushes from Kelley that totaled 23 yards on his first collegiate touches, stalled on fourth down at Nevada's 28 and were later stopped on their next two drives and forced to punt.

Trailing 21-0 with 6:27 left in the half, UC Davis put together its best drive before the break. The Aggies converted a trio of third-downs behind an effective short-passing game that had Scott finding running backs Manusamoa Luuga (13 and 9 yards) and Justin Williams (13 yds). Vargas connected with Scott for the first time in 2015 on completions totaling 20 yards as UC Davis got down to the Nevada 4 with 1:07 on the clock.

But the drive was stopped there. Incomplete passes into the endzone and a false start penalty led to Brady Stuart's 26-yard field goal that gave the Aggies their first points.

"We had some opportunities to score some points in the first half," said Gould. "We though we had them on the ropes a little bit and we just didn't execute down the stretch when we needed to, and that was the in the `money-zone', and that's the red-zone."

Jackson and quarterback Tyler Stewart provided the first-half spark for the Wolf Pack. Jackson scored on Nevada's first two drives, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown run and then adding a 7-yard TD run around the right side early in the second that made it 14-0.

Stewart completed 9 of 10 passes for 106 yards in the first 30 minutes, finding Henderson four times for 48 yards. Jarred Gipson gave the Wolf Pack its third score of the half, collecting a short two-yard pass from Stewart that culminated an 80-yard drive.

Neither team was able to score a touchdown in the third quarter although both the Aggies and Wolf Pack got into each other's territory. Luuga had a 10-yard rush and then Wadman was roughed on a punt as UC Davis moved to midfield on its second drive of the period. It got down to the Nevada 42 but was stopped there.

The Wolf Pack had a long 11-play, 77-yard drive that was highlighted by Jackson's 30-yard run on the first play and a a 37-yard pass play from Stewart to Jerico Richardson. But despite getting to the Aggies' 5, Nevada couldn't get into the endzone thanks to tough play from the Aggie defense and settled for a 27-yard field goal from Brent Zuzo.

UC Davis' first scoring drive in the fourth quarter covered 77 yards and was highlighted by 28 receiving yards from Williams, a 10-yard reception by tight end Zack Boman and a 10-yard grab by Luke Williams. The Aggies converted three third-down opportunities before Vargas found pay dirt.

The Wolf Pack recovered an on-sides kick try by UC Davis after that and quickly scored on Stewart's 15-yard rush to make it 31-10. The Aggies got the ball back with 2:38 left and quickly moved with short passes over the middle to get within striking distance. Scott found Williams with a 9-yard pass to the Nevada 7 and then ran in three plays later from the 3 after not finding anyone open in the endzone.

UC Davis matched Nevada with 22 first downs, held a decisive 34:07-25:53 time-of-possession advantage and were a solid 9 of 18 on third down. The Aggies scored on all three trips into the red-zone. Nevada held a 395-327 total yards advantage.

Stibi had four solo tackles among his half-dozen while linebacker Ryan Bua and Books each finished five tackles. Brooks' sack of Stewart resulted in a six-yard loss in the third quarter that forced a Wolf Pack punt while DeVaughn's was a big 12-yarder in the third that led to another punt.

Safety Zach Jones broke up a pass while cornerback Patrick Wells had a one-yard TFL.

UC Davis will play its home opener on Sept. 12 against South Dakota. Kickoff at Aggie Stadium is 6 p.m.