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Postgame Interviews: Coach Hawkins  |  M. Moe  |  K. Doss  |  I. Thomas

STANFORD, Calif. – UC Davis' defense shined throughout Saturday's game, one that saw UC Davis remain within striking distance throughout a majority of the afternoon at Stanford, the ninth-ranked team in the nation.
 
Senior linebacker Mason Moe led all Aggies with seven total and six solo tackles, earned one of the team's two sacks, two of its five tackles for losses, one of three pass breakups and one of five quarterback hurries to set new single-game career highs in each of those categories.
 
Senior defensive back Isaiah Thomas and junior linebacker Nas Anesi each collected their first career interception, senior wide receiver Keelan Doss ended his day with 106 yards on 13 catches — the 13th time in his career that he finished with 100 or more receiving yards — sophomore quarterback Hunter Rodrigues and senior quarterback/wide receiver C.J. Spencer connected on a 26-yard pass to record the first touchdown of the season for each (and for the latter, the first of his career in his Aggie debut)  in front of an announced crowd of 31,772, which included a large contingent of fans sporting UC Davis blue and gold.
 
But it was Stanford's play in the second half that ultimately helped it pull away from UC Davis and turn a 17-3 halftime lead into a 30-10 victory for the Cardinal.
 
UC Davis will enter next Saturday's Big Sky opener vs. Idaho, a 4 p.m. home game televised by ELEVEN SPORTS, with a 2-1 record; Stanford will continue its season with a 3-0 mark.

"Stanford is a good football team, it did a nice job taking away things we normally like to do. I thought we hung in there, but when you play a team like this, you need to get a lot of things going your way and maximize every opportunity. When you don't do that, you minimize your opportunities to win — it really comes down to those things," said UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins.

"[Stanford head coach] David Shaw does a nice job, these guys are a classy football team and it's an honor to play them. But we've got to get better because our schedule is going to remain challenging, so we need to keep improving as a team," Hawkins added. 

Said Doss, "Going into every single game my mindset is that I need to go out there and do whatever it takes to help the team win. Stanford is great team, they have great players. Our goal was to focus on how we play, and if we controlled that, then we could control how the game played out.

"It was a fun game to play, I'm thrilled we had this opportunity."

After each team punted to the other on their first possession, Anesi made the first clutch play of the game for UC Davis when he picked off Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello on the Cardinal's 21, and returned it nine yards before he was tackled. 

That led to a 26-yard field goal from Max O'Rourke, which gave the Aggies an early 3-0 lead.

Three plays later, UC Davis scored another six points when redshirt freshman Devon King scooped up Moe's forced fumble and sprinted 22 yards Stanford's end zone. However, that play was ultimately reversed when officials determined that Costello's arm was moving forward when Moe delivered the ball-jarring hit, which returned the Aggies' advantage back to three points.

On the very next play, the Aggies' defense responded by intercepting another Costello pass, much to the dismay of the partisan crowd in attendance.

The score remained 3-0, UC Davis, until Stanford scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 17-3 lead into the locker room at the break. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Rodrigues took over for starting quarterback Jake Maier and earned valuable playing time against a Cardinal defense that limited USC last week to only three points, and allowed an average of 6.5 points per game this season.

In his debut appearance, the sophomore transfer from American River College completed 6 of 8 passes for 64 yards, which included his 26-yard strike to Spencer — the longest completion of his day. 

"It's time to watch film and see where we need to improve," said Doss after the game. "I thought we played Stanford pretty well. Our defense had a great day, they were causing turnovers and playing well. We're going to go back, watch film and hopefully carry this momentum through the next couple weeks."

UC Davis will return to Aggie Stadium on Sept. 22 to host Idaho in its inaugural league game of the season. In addition to hosting the Vandals for the first time in program history, this is Idaho's first game as an FCS program since it previously competed at the FBS level as a member of the Sun Belt Conference before returning to the Big Sky this year. 

 
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation.
 
Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
 
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ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.
 
The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.