Score:  No. 6 UC Davis 27, Northern Colorado 16
Location: Greeley, Colo. (Nottingham Field)
Records: UC Davis 6-1 (4-0), Northern Colorado 3-5 (1-3)
 
The short story: No. 6 UC Davis football used an explosive first half to build out a lead big enough to hold off the late charging Northern Colorado Bears, coming away with a hard earned road victory to remain undefeated in the Big Sky.
 
FIRST DOWN

• Redshirt senior quarterback Grant Harper stepped into the starting quarterback role, after Caden Pinnick contracted an illness during the week. The fifth-year senior led the Aggies, throwing three first half touchdowns before finishing 15-for-31 with 216 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions
• Wide receiver Samuel Gbatu, Jr. finished with 108 receiving yards, on five catches scoring one touchdown, it was his third 100-yard receiving game of the season
• The Aggies rushed for 236 yards as a team, the second-most this season and the most in a conference game
• Nate Rutchena finished with a career-high 11 tackles, seven solo
• UC Davis finished with three sacks, getting two from Sam Goligoski and one from Jacob Psyk
• Goligoski added three tackles for loss and seven total tackles to go along with his two sacks
• Rayne Mayo Jr., blocked a field goal while Jacob Psyk blocked an extra point for a pair of highlight special teams plays
• Hunter Ridley hit kicks from 40 and 41 yards in both the first and fourth quarters respectively

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY
"I'm grateful and thankful for the team. To find a way to win on the road is not easy, but I am disappointed because I feel we did not play our best football in the second half. And I take full responsibility for that, along with my staff. I thought that Ed Lamb (UNC head coach) did a great job adjusting in the second half and had answers for us. But thankfully the defense and coach [Matt] Coombs did a great job of taking the ball away and not allowing any big plays down the field. I also thought our special teams played the best they have all year. I am proud of Grant Harper to step in on such short notice to start his first game and get his first win as an Aggie. The way we finished the game, with a long drive and Hunter Ridley nailing a big kick is also something I feel good about and that's why he's one of the best. We have been through a lot and this is a team that keeps overcoming adversity, and even this week when we found out about losing our starting quarterback they didn't blink and just remained focused."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• For only the second time this season the Aggies lost the coin toss and started the game on defense
• Northern Colorado had a first drive that went 51 yards in 10 plays, but when the Bears got into the red zone they stalled and settled for a field goal attempt
• In that 41-yard attempt Mayo Jr., got his bear paws up and in the path of the ball creating enough of a difference to send the ball wide left of the uprights for a missed attempt
• UC Davis got on the board in their second drive when after going 52 yards in 10 plays Ridley split the uprights from 40 yards out to make it 3-0
• The next three Aggie possessions would be touchdown passes from Harper as UC Davis began to build out its eventual game winning lead
• After Psyk recovered a fumble cause by Trent Carrade, the Aggies were set up again to capitalize and build on their momentum
• As the second quarter began, Harper from Jordan Fisher streaking down the left side for a 24-yard touchdown reception making it 10-3 Aggies in Harper first career touchdown pass
• On the next Aggie drive, after forcing Northern Colorado to punt, the lead grew thanks again to Harper making plays
• The first two plays of the drive were a pair of receptions by Gbatu Jr., and Ian Simpson kickstarting the eventual Aggie scoring drive
• A handful of plays later and again Harper made it happen
• Faking the handoff on the snap Harper skirted to the left and found Gbatu Jr., wide open down the left sideline for another six points and the touchdown made it 17-0 UC Davis midway through the second period
• The Aggies held court on a fourth down attempt by the Bears on their next drive, forcing a turnover on downs that put UC Davis at midfield to start its next drive
• It took just two big plays for the Aggies to get on the board for a third-straight drive
• Things begun when Harper hit Gbatu Jr., for a 35-yard reception that put the Aggies inside the 20-yard line
• From the 18, Harper dropped back and found Laviel Pickett crossing the field after losing his defender and after Harper led him with a perfect pass the Aggie receiver scampered into the endzone for another six points for the Aggies
• Northern Colorado would open its scoring when they went 80 yards at the end of the half to score a touchdown
• But at the break the Aggies held a 24-7 lead
• In the second half, Northern Colorado would chip away at the Aggie lead, scoring a touchdown on their third drive of the half and a field goal with 7:50 remaining in the fourth to make it a close 24-16
• Offensively during the second half, UC Davis had trouble finding the scoreboard but on the final drive the Aggies knew what they needed to do
• Just under eight minutes on the clock, the game clinching drive begun, a drive where the Aggies ran the ball 14 out of the 15 plays getting big touches by Fisher and Carter Vargas as both running backs carried the load banging ahead for first down after first down as UC Davis meticulously worked its way down the field absorbing the clock along the way
• The drive would eventually come to an end at the UCN 23-yard line setting up Ridley's game clinching kick from 41 yards out
• After splitting the uprights and waving the Bears goodbye, the Aggies locked things up for good on the final play when Khalani Riddick ended the game with an interception to secure the 27-16 Aggie victory

GAME NOTES

• Gbatu Jr.'s 100-yard reception game was his third of the season, and the second-straight game he has breached the century mark. It also marked the fifth time in his career he has broken 100 yards receiving
• Harper set career-highs in touchdown passes, completions, passing attempts and rushing yards (43)
• Harper's opening touchdown pass was the first of his career
• The three touchdown passes by Harper makes him the second Aggie quarterback to do that this season, joining Caden Pinnick who threw three at Utah Tech (Aug. 30)
• UC Davis can now claim 18 team sacks on the season
• Psyk now has a nationally ranked seven total sacks on the season
• Goligoski's two sacks gives him five for the season so far
• For the second straight year the Aggies have opened their conference season with four straight wins
• Head coach Tim Plough is now 3-0 in his career coming off a bye week and the Aggies are 2-0 this season after bye weeks
• UC Davis remains tied atop the conference with the victory
• The Aggies have now won six-straight against Northern Colorado

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