Score: No. 8 UC Davis 42, Illinois State 31
Location: Davis, Calif. (UC Davis Health Stadium)
Records: UC Davis 9-4, Illinois State 11-4
The short story: No. 8 UC Davis football's exciting season, which saw the Aggies battle to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoff Quarterfinals for the second-straight season, came to an end Saturday night against Illinois State in front of over 9,000 fans at UC Davis Health Stadium.
FIRST DOWN
- Caden Pinnick threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns on 29-for-41 passing
- Stacy Dobbins snagged 10 balls for 121 yards and two touchdowns, while Samuel Gbatu Jr., caught six balls for 99 yards
- Zach Jones had a big night, collecting 202 all-purpose yards racking up 119 kickoff return yards while adding 83 receiving yards on two catches
- Nate Rutchena made seven stops to lead the Aggies, while Ty Richardson added five tackles and one interception
WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAS TO SAY
"Obviously we are disappointed, since it's never a good feeling to lose a football game. Whenever we lose a game, I want everyone to know that I'm not a real pat on the back guy and that it starts with me. I need to do a better job of finding out what we're missing at this point of the season to get over the hump. This 2025 team will be one I'll remember for a long time. It's made up of a special group of guys who had to overcome a lot of adversity and they never quit. It's disappointing and we will figure out a way to get to that last game. I love UC Davis and I love coaching these kids. And as much as it hurts now, I know there's a way to get there and I'm going to work as hard as I can to figure out how to get to that last game."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a first quarter that saw both teams score a combined 38 points, UC Davis opened things when they took the opening kickoff 57 yards in five plays, powered by a first-play 52-yard bomb to Gbatu Jr.
- That opening drive was capped off with a 35-yard field goal from Hunter Ridley to put the Aggies up 3-0
- Illinois State then took the following kickoff back 91 yards to put seven on the board and take the lead 7-3
- Not to be outdone, the Aggies had a response going 75 yards in six plays that ended when Fisher got the edge on the left side and after keeping his balance touched the pylon for six to put the Aggie back in front 10-7
- The next two drives for Illinois State would result in touchdowns, with the second coming on a 93-yard pitch and catch after the Aggies failed to convert on a fake field goal attempt on the previous play
- With the score sitting at 21-10 after the two Redbird scores, the Aggies had one more in them before the break when the Ags went 59 yards in seven plays scoring a touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Pinnick to Dobbins making it 21-17 to end the period
- The second quarter turned out to be the entire opposite of the first, with neither team scoring any points, trading possessions throughout. In the period Derrell Porter-Smith blocked a field goal to keep Illinois State off the board and when things hit the break the Redbirds held a 21-17 lead
- In the third quarter, the Aggies would stutter a bit on offense and Illinois State would use two scoring drives to take a 35-17 lead heading into the fourth
- During that third quarter, the Aggies were two-for-four on third downs but failed in their one visit to the red zone
- Showing no quit, the Aggies battled throughout the fourth period scoring twice down the stretch, that included an onside kick recovery that lead to the final score
- In those drives, the Aggies had an explosive return from Jones that saw him take a kick back 67 yards to set up a score while a quick 53-yard drive added another score in the final minutes of the game
- When the final whistle blew, unfortunately for the Aggies, Illinois State held the lead as UC Davis ran out of time to complete a comeback ending, falling 42-31 in the season finale
GAME NOTES
- This was Stacy Dobbins first career 100-yard receiving game
- Pinnick's 402 yards was a career-high for the Aggie redshirt freshman
- Pinnick becomes only the ninth quarterback to every throw for at least 400 yards in a single game for the Aggies and it was the 19th time in program history a quarterback has thrown for at least 400 yards
- The Aggie quarterback also becomes the second Aggie to throw for at least 400 yards in a postseason game, joining Kevin Daft who owns the postseason playoff record with 482 passing yards against New Haven in a semifinal match up at New Haven
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked #1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as #1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
For more information, visit
https://ucdavisaggies.com/.
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