C.J. Hutton is not one of the five players who have at least four touchdown receptions for UC Davis this season. The senior wide receiver is one of the four players with 500 or more receiving yards for the 10-2 Aggies, but the other three each have six or more touchdown receptions. Hutton has one.
Junior tight end Ian Simpson has two touchdown catches even though he has just eight receptions and missed the first eight games. With 41 catches apiece, Hutton and Montana’s Aaron Fontes are the only players in the Big Sky Conference to have 40 receptions with just one going for six points.
Hutton has carried the ball one time this season after having 74 carries in the past three years. At least he added another statistic to his resume by throwing the first pass of his career. And Hutton completed it for 29 yards to Simpson in the fourth quarter of the Aggies’ 30-14 victory at Montana.
Everything was right for the left-handed Hutton to make the play work. UC Davis led 20-14 early in the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-2 at Montana’s 41-yard line. Coach Tim Plough gambled despite the Aggies ranking last among FCS teams by converting two of 10 fourth-down tries.
Lan Larison would have made it 3-of-11 had the Grizzlies not been penalized for having 12 players on the field. The ball was moved to the 36 and placed on the right hash mark. Hutton split out to the right and came in motion across the field to catch the lateral from quarterback Miles Hastings.
Hutton had the option of running the ball if Montana cornerback Kyon Loud did not react to the lateral and covered Simpson. Loud rushed at Hutton, who put his pass “on a good line, but I could have led (Simpson) a little more. I knew I couldn’t throw an interception if (Loud) dropped back.”
Loud made the play easy for Hutton, who had little experience with trick plays before trying his luck at passing. “I’ve been in three trick plays – there were two in practice that week and that one in the game,” Hutton quipped. “I played baseball in high school, but I wasn’t known for my arm strength.”
UC Davis scored two plays after Hutton’s trickery to build a 27-14 lead on its way to just its second victory in 11 meetings with Montana. UC Davis coach Tim Plough said few folks gave the fourth-ranked Aggies much of a chance against the No. 7 Grizzlies and their boisterous fans in Missoula.
Hutton’s statistics do not reflect his value. UC Davis has so many offensive weapons that Hutton has had to make the most of any opportunity to contribute. Be it his pass at Montana or his 40-yard touchdown dash at Eastern Washington, Hutton has delivered whenever his number is called.
A loss to Montana would have cost UC Davis a shot at the Big Sky championship Nov. 16 in a showdown with No. 2 Montana State. The Bobcats claimed the title with a 30-28 victory, but no team has come as close to ending Montana State’s perfect season than Plough’s spirited squad.
Montana State rolled into Davis after winning its first six Big Sky games by an average of 29 points. Montana State routed Portland State 44-14. UC Davis won 27-26 by scoring on the game’s final play. Hutton ignited the comeback from a 14-0 deficit with his only touchdown catch of the season.
UC Davis had to beat Eastern Washington for the first time in 12 meetings to remain in contention and did so with a 48-38 victory in Cheney. The Aggies punted on their first four possessions before running back Lan Larison’s 50-yard touchdown dash. Hutton followed with a 40-yard scoring run.
Larison is averaging 5.2 yards on a career-high 255 carries. Hutton will likely not carry the ball again in his final season, so he will finish as the team leader in average yards per carry with one for 40. And that run may be the only reason he made it through the monumental victory at Eastern Washington.
Hutton’s day would have likely ended in the first quarter had he told the team trainers that he had injured his left knee. He only revealed it in the second quarter after the longest run of his career put the Aggies ahead 14-3 because “there was no way they were going to pull me out after I scored.”
A brace on his left leg was not needed this week as Hutton and the Aggies prepared to host Illinois State in a second-round FCS playoff game Saturday at 1 p.m. UC Davis received a first-round bye as the fifth seed. Illinois State, the 12th seed, advanced by beating Southeast Missouri Sate 35-27.
The Aggies believe they deserved a playoff spot last year after beating Sacramento State 31-21 in the Causeway Classic. Four Big Sky teams made the 2023 playoffs. The Hornets were awarded the Big Sky’s only at-large berth despite finishing in a tie for sixth place at 4-4. The Aggies were 5-3.
UC Davis left nothing to chance this year with Plough in charge. The Aggies won nine consecutive games after a season-opening loss at Cal, where Plough was the tight ends coach in 2023 before returning to his alma mater to become a head coach for the first time after 14 years as an assistant.
His commitment to UC Davis has been reciprocated by his players’ drive “to be our best,” Hutton said. “We were no longer going to be a tweeter team for the playoffs. We know what we can do.”
