SAN DIEGO – Junior quarterback
Hunter Rodrigues completed 22 of 37 passes for a career-high 322 yards and four aerial touchdowns while running for a 28-yard score of his own, leading No. 14/12 UC Davis to a 53-7 win at the University of San Diego in collegiate football action at Torero Stadium Saturday afternoon. Rodrigues fired a pair of touchdown strikes to tight end
McCallan Castles, plus scoring tosses of 21 and 39 yards to
C.J. Hutton and
Jared Harrell, respectively.
The Aggies improve to 2-0 for the season. The Toreros fall to 0-2.
UC Davis amassed 522 yards of total offense, including 390 in the air. The seven points allowed is also the fewest since the Aggies' home game against USD almost exactly four years prior (Sept. 9, 2017).
Harrell totaled five catches for 95 yards to lead 11 UC Davis players with at least one reception in the contest. Junior
Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr. led the Aggie ground game with 10-for-54 rushing, while pulling in three of Rodrigues' 22 completions. Hutton (4-for-43) and Castles (3-for-86) also rated among the top Aggie passing targets for the day.
Defensively, rush linebacker
Nick Eaton had six tackles, including 2.5 for losses. Freshman linebacker
Teddye Buchanan also recorded an interception that led to Castles' 29-yard score early in the third quarter, while co-captain
Jordan Perryman recovered a fumble on a muffed punt return that put UC Davis on the USD 6-yard line to start the fourth. That latter takeaway set up a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Aggie quarterback
Trent Tompkins.
Tompkins, who matched Hutton with four receptions, also replaced
Isaiah Thomas as punt returner in the fourth. He responded with an 85-yard touchdown return, tying Jesse Oliva (Weber State, 2004) with the program's No. 2 longest punt return. Joe Genasci, who ran a 91-yarder at Saint Mary's in 1991, holds that school record.
UC Davis hosts first-time opponent Dixie State for its home opener next Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at UC Davis Health Stadium.
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO system helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
