UC Davis football concluded its 2014 season with a heart-breaking loss to rival Sacramento State, 41-30. The Aggies led the Hornets by three points in the fourth quarter after senior running back Colton Silveria caught a 34-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Ben Scott to give the Aggies a 30-27 lead. Sacramento State, however, prevailed and came back to win the game.
The Aggies finished their season with a 2-9 overall records, including 1-7 in Big Sky play. The Hornets end their season with a 7-5 overall record and 4-4 in the conference. This was the first time that Sacramento State claimed a victory over the Aggies since 2009.
Sacramento State scored twice in the fourth quarter to defeat UC Davis. With seven minutes remaining, Jordan Robinson received a 21-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Safron to put the Hornets up by four. Sacramento State regained possession of the ball once again and scored off of a 22-yard run from De’Jon Coleman. Both of these touchdown drives stemmed from Aggie turnovers, a fumble and an interception, respectively.
Scott threw three interceptions, but also threw for 240 yards on 22 receptions, including three touchdowns. Scott threw to 10 different receivers, with six of them finishing with at least 30 yards. Senior running back Gabe Manzanares led the Aggies in the running game with 161 yards on 23 carries. Manzanares was also the top receiver, gaining 44 yards and a touchdown reception.
Despite the loss, the coaching staff was pleased with the players’ performance on the field.
“I’m proud [of] how the guys competed, overall,” said UC Davis head coach Ron Gould. “I’m very, very pleased with the effort, but execution was poor, especially in the fourth quarter. Because of that we came up short today.”
In spite of losing, UC Davis gained more total yards than Sacramento State, 463 total yards for the Aggies and 448 for the Hornets.
Safron led the Hornets with 288 yards and four touchdowns in the win in 25 completions. DeAndre Carter led the Sacramento State receiving corps with 121 yards and a touchdown in nine receptions. Robinson led the running game with 66 yards in 19 carries.
Senior linebacker Steven Pitts, who led the defense with four tackles, expressed disappointment in losing the rivalry game.
“It definitely hurts,” Pitts said. “We’re a good team. We just didn’t put our best foot forward today. Ultimately, they made plays when they needed to make plays.”
The Aggies ended the 2014 season after completing the most difficult schedule in UC Davis history. The Aggie faced four teams that were ranked in the NCAA Division 1 Football Championship Series top 25 rankings. UC Davis also played against Stanford, who was ranked 11th in the preseason Associated Press poll.
