Score:  No. 15 UC Davis 31, Sacramento State 27
Location: Davis, Calif. (UC Davis Health Stadium)
Records: UC Davis 8-3 (6-2), Sacramento State 7-5 (5-3)
 
The short story: Using 14 points in the fourth quarter, capped off by Samuel Gbatu, Jr., hauling in a go-ahead 30-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left, No. 15 UC Davis football won its third straight Causeway Classic in one of the better games of the 71-year rivalry sending stingers down in its battle with Sacramento State.
 
UC Davis now awaits its spot in the NCAA FCS Playoffs, with the selection show set to air tomorrow, Sunday Nov. 23 at 9 a.m. PT on ESPNU. The Aggies will either be playing a home/road playoff game next weekend, or will get a first round bye to the second round.
 
FIRST DOWN

• The Aggies held Sacramento State to only 17 yards of total passing, the lowest the Aggies have held a team since keeping Utah Tech to 95 yards passing in their 2024 match up
• Caden Pinnick led the Aggies through the air, throwing for 306 yards going 24-for-30 with two passing touchdowns and no interceptions
• Jordan Fisher scored twice on the ground, adding a receiving touchdown for a total of 63 all-purpose yards
• Gbatu Jr., snagged seven balls for 127 yards and one touchdown to lead both sides
• Nate Rutchena finished with a game-high 12 tackles, making 10 solo
• Khalani Riddick and Jackson Sievers added 11 tackles to the mix, while Jacob Psyk made five tackles and added one sack, his ninth of the season

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY:
"This game is a perfect example of Aggie Pride and this team finding joy. What this team has done all year is unbelievable, with what they have had to overcome. This year has been for boys and I'm excited that we get to keep the trophy here. We are not a team that goes by the score, we just try to find joy in every play. Today was a great example of how the team didn't let the outcome of plays affect them. I'm just super proud of how this team never gets down, and I'm proud of them for coming away with another hard earned win."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• UC Davis started fast and aggressively taking two of their first three drives down the field for touchdowns to take a quick 14-0 lead
• Both drives were capped off by Fisher rushing touchdowns, with the first ending a seven-play 46-yard drive and the second being a nine-play 62-yard march down the field
• The next two scores would come by Sacramento State as they used an Aggie fumble and a 66-yard drive to score back-to-back touchdowns to tie things up
• Those two touchdowns by Sacramento State started a stretch where the Hornets outscored the Aggies 27-3 over the second and third quarters
• But entering the fourth period, the Aggies had eyes on coming back and locking up the Causeway Classic
• After the Hornets scored their touchdown to go up 27-17, UC Davis came out and took a shot down the field with Pinnick connecting with Stacy Dobbins for 37 yards down the left side to set the Aggies up inside Sacramento State territory
• Several plays into the fourth quarter, Pinnick hit Fisher with a shovel pass from three yards out to cash in and make it 27-24
• The Aggies would get the ball back with seven minutes and with just three plays went 61 yards for a go-ahead score
• The drive was helped early on when after a 14-yard reception by Gbatu Jr, the Hornets were called for a targeting penalty tacking on 15 more yards to get the Aggies to inside the Hornet 30-yard line
• Pinnick then hit a streaking Gbatu Jr., who ran under the 30-yard pass for the score, giving the Aggies a lead at 31-27 that they would not give back
• Sacramento State did have one last drive in them, and over 15 plays they grinded 59 yards to get to the Aggie 27, but that's as close as they would get
• After getting down to inside the 30 the Hornets had a third-and-six, quarterback Cardell Williams ran an option keeping the ball and looking for the edge
• What he found was Riddick there to make the open field tackle causing a two-yard loss for Williams
• And after the fourth-down was denied on the sideline after an incomplete pass, UC Davis kneeled down to secure its third-straight Causeway Classic, 31-27

GAME NOTES

• The 17 yards passing for Sacramento State is the lowest total by an Aggie opponent since 2013 when UC Davis held Cal Poly to 15 passing yards
• Gbatu Jr., now has six games with at least 100 yards receiving on the season and he has eight for his career
• Pinnick has thrown for at least 300 yards in four games this season, and his 80 percent completion rating is his best since Northern Arizona (Oct. 11)
• Rutchena finished with a career-high 12 total tackles, 10 solo
• Psyk recorded a sack and now sits at 9.0 on the season, it's the most by an Aggie since 2018
• UC Davis now has 23 sacks as a team, the most since 2021
• UC Davis is now 49-23 all-time against Sacramento State
• The Aggies have won the last three Causeway Classics, and have won three-straight in Davis
• Head coach Tim Plough is now 2-0 all-time against Sacramento State
• The 14,590 was the highest attended Causeway Classic at UC Davis Health Stadium in history and it was the fourth largest crowd at UC Davis Health Stadium

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