Score:  No. 9 UC Davis 34, Weber State 12
Location: Davis, Calif. (UC Davis Health Stadium)
Records: UC Davis 3-1 (1-0), Weber State 2-3 (0-1)
 
The short story: No. 9 UC Davis football played out to be the more physical team using its best defensive game of the season to dampen the Weber State attack to come away with a convincing 34-12 win in its Big Sky Conference opener.
 
FIRST DOWN

• Caden Pinnick finished with a game-high 288 yards passing, scoring two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown going 16-for-27
• Samuel Gbtau Jr., had a breakout game offensively hauling in 112 yards on four catches, capped off with an 85-yard touchdown reception late in the game
• Jacob Psyk had a night, finishing with nine total tackles, 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss
• Hunter Ridley had a solid night, hitting a pair of field goals from 45 yards and 25 yards out

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY:
"It was great to get the Big Sky slate of play started with a win. I've got a lot of respect for Weber State and that coaching staff. It was a physical game tonight, just like it is every time we play those guys and tonight I am just proud of the defense. I feel they played their best game of the year, with better tackling and getting after the quarterback. I thought early on that led us as the offense was struggling. But I thought the offense was great running the ball and being physical all night against a team we have historically struggled against physically in the past. I was also happy with how we finished the game and the decisions we made late in the game to finish things."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Neither team was able to get going offensively to start the opening period, with both sides trading possessions throughout, and when the first quarter ended things were scoreless between the two Big Sky foes
• Weber State opened the second quarter by capping off a 13 play scoring drive with a 33-yard field goal to make it 3-0, it would be the only lead Weber State had the entire game
• UC Davis was ready to answer the call with its next drive, running the most plays they have run since last season at Montana on the way to a capping things off when Pinnick ran one in from two yards out to make it 7-3 for his first career rushing touchdown
• The Aggie defense forced a fourth down on the next drive that Weber State attempted to convert but failed to do so, giving UC Davis the ball back when Jayden Stanley broke up a pass attempt
• On the next drive, the Aggies struck quickly, with Pinnick hitting Carter Vargas down the right side for a 57-yard touchdown reception to make it 14-3
• But the Aggies were not done scoring before the half, holding Weber State to a field goal attempt from 27 yards out on the next drive. A field goal attempt that Weber State would push wide left, giving UC Davis the ball back with 1:13 to go in the half
• Nine plays and 53 yards later Ridley lined up from 45 yards out with seconds left in the half. And after an attempt by Weber State to ice the All-American kicker by calling a timeout, Ridley calmly split the uprights to end the half with UC Davis up 17-3 after the Aggies scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the half
• Ridley added the Aggie lead with a 25-yard field goal early in the third quarter to make it 20-3 Aggies
• Weber State answered that Aggie field goal with a 29-yard attempt of their own that split the uprights to get Weber State to six points and the score at 20-6
• A rushing touchdown from two yards out capped off an eight play 75-yard UC Davis drive to extend the Aggie lead to 27-6
• After the Aggies again forced a turnover on downs, this time after an eight-play attempt at getting on the board, UC Davis used just one play to deliver the finishing blow to Weber State
• After running a rushing play for two yards, Pinnick and the Aggie offense looked down the field for an explosive play
• That play came from one of the most explosive players in the nation when Gbatu Jr., took an 85-yard pass from Pinnick in stride for a touchdown that brought the 12,238 UC Davis Health Stadium fans to their feet and gave the Aggies a commanding 34-6 lead
• Weber State's next possession ended in a touchdown but it was to little, to late for the Wildcats as the Aggies settled things with their final drive to wrap up the 34-12 conference opening victory

GAME NOTES

• The Aggies have now won the past two games against Weber State and last three out-of-four games dating back to 2021
• UC Davis has now opened it Big Sky Conference play with a win over the past two seasons
• The 12,238 is the sixth-largest crowd in UC Davis Health Stadium history
• Pinnick recorded his first career rushing touchdown
• Pinnick had career-highs in passing yards and rushing yards
• The 85-yard touchdown pass to Gbatu Jr., was the eighth longest passing play in program history
• This was Gbatu Jr., third career 100-yard receiving game and his first this season
• Vargas' touchdown reception was the first of his career

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