SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Quarterback Treynor Cleeland threw five touchdown passes to lead No. 6 UC Davis (2-0) to a convincing 49-17 nonconference win against San Diego on Saturday evening at Torero Stadium. Samuel Gbatu Jr. was the recipient of two of Cleeland's five touchdown passes that were one shy of J.T. O'Sullivan's school-record six against Mesa State in 2000. Gbatu Jr. finished with nine receptions for 129 yards that were the third-most receiving yards of his career and his 11th 100-yard receiving game. Matteo Perez ran for a career-high 123 yards on nine carries including a 79-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was the longest of his career and tied for the 13th-longest in UC Davis history.
In his second career start, Cleeland finished 22-of-31 for 294 yards with his five touchdown passes and one interception.
5 TD's For No. 5
Jordan Fisher scored a pair of touchdowns and marked the third time in his career he has had both a rushing and receiving score in the same game. Fisher finished with a team-high 12 rushes for 64 yards, while he had four receptions also for 64.
Edward Khutsishvili and Tyler Hennessy both had the first touchdown receptions of their career.
The Aggies' took control of the game early in the second period by turning three short drives into touchdowns after taking advantage of a poor San Diego punt and coming up with a pair of critical second-quarter interceptions on tipped balls. In a span of just over five minutes that began in the waning seconds of the opening period, UC Davis turned a 7-0 deficit into a 21-7 advantage.
UC Davis started the stretch by gaining possession on the Toreros' 32-yard line with 0:20 remaining in the opening period following a 15-yard punt by San Diego's Emiliano Salazar. Cleeland then connected with Gbatu Jr. for a 22-yard gain on the final play of the first period and found him on the first play of the second quarter for a 10-yard touchdown to knot the score at 7-7.
Cleeland made one of his few mistakes on the Aggies' next possession when he was picked off by Ruben Lopez in the Toreros' end zone but UC Davis got the ball back two plays later when Brayden Rosa came up with an interception on a throw that was tipped by teammate Devin Huegel to give the Aggies the ball on the Toreros' 31-yard line. Three plays later the Aggies were back in the end zone on Fisher's 1-yard run.
On the third play of the next San Diego possession, Nick Afato came up with the Aggies' second interception on a ball tipped by Sam Goligoski to give UC Davis the ball at the Toreros' 13-yard line. Cleeland made quick work of the Toreros by finding Khutsishvili for a 13-yard touchdown on the first and only play of the ensuing drive.
The Aggies added a fourth touchdown in the second period with 1:53 remaining when Cleeland found Fisher out of the backfield for a 31-yard scoring strike. A quick two-play, 55-yard drive that took all of 13 seconds had been set up by a 32-yard punt return by Zach Jones that went even longer before part of the return was negated by a penalty. Cleeland connected with Gbatu Jr. on the first play of the drive for 24 yards.
UC Davis closed out its scoring with two touchdowns in the third quarter and one in the fourth. Cleeland and Tyler Hennessy capped an 8-play, 96-yard drive on a five-yard scoring strike with 9:57 to go in the third before Perez' 79-yard run with 7:11 to go in the third. Cleeland and Gbatu Jr. hooked up for a second time with 7:30 remaining in the fourth for the Aggies' final score.
Dom Nankil found Cole Monarch on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 5:03 to go in the third and Salazar made a 34-yard field goal with 13:59 remaining in the fourth to account for the Toreros' second-half points. San Diego had scored the game's opening points with 3:24 remaining in the opening period when Omar Mbakwe capped an 11-play, 68-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Rosa had a team-high six tackles in addition to his interception, a forced fumble and 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard). Hayden John had a game-high three pass breakups that were also the first of his UC Davis career, while Huegel picked up the Aggies' lone sack for a five-yard loss of Nankil.
The Aggies' offense did not allow a single sack after giving up just one in the team's season-opener last Saturday at Portland.
"I feel like the team improved from week one to week two, even though I think we're playing below the standard of where we can play in all three phases," head coach Tim Plough said. "But figuring out ways to win on the road, that's what good teams do."
UC Davis will be on the road for the third consecutive week to begin the 2026 season in its next contest with a nonconference game at SMU of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday (1 pm PT, ACC Network Extra). SMU (0-0) opens its 2026 season on Monday with a Labor Day showdown at ACC foe Florida State (1-0) in a 6:30 pm CT contest that will be televised live nationally by ESPN. The Mustangs are ranked No. 19 in the Week 1 AP Top 25 and are No. 20 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
"Everyone in the FCS, for the most part, is going to have a game like this," Plough said about the Aggies' upcoming contest at Power 4 FBS opponent SMU. "That's the way college athletics works. I'm super proud that as a football program we have the opportunity to play in a game like this that will help support our athletic teams financially … I take that as a pride point for our football program."
"There's a formula to winning every game," Plough added. "You've just got to decide if you're willing to take it to the lengths to get that formula done. I've been on teams that have won games like this, and I've been on teams that have gotten beat by 100. But what a great challenge against a really great opponent. I know our guys are looking forward to going down there and taking a swing."
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS
UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 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 ucdavisaggies.com/.
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