Last Saturday’s 28-26 victory over fourth-ranked Idaho should have been impossible for UC Davis. The Aggies had not overcome a 14-0 deficit to win since 2010. And they had been 0-4 since 2017 in games in which they had fewer than 50 yards rushing. They had just 26 in upsetting the Vandals.
Want more? The Aggies have never beaten a team ranked fifth or higher in the FCS poll. By doing so, UC Davis climbed from No. 14 to No. 9 in the Stats Perform Top 25 and No. 11 to No. 8 in the coaches poll. The Aggies will carry a three-game winning streak to Portland State on Saturday.
Senior Lan Larison was limited to a season-low 46 yards on 18 carries, the lowest production of his career when he has 15 or more carries in a game. Senior quarterback Miles Hastings was sacked three times and has been dropped 12 times in five games after going down just nine times in 2023.
UC Davis won the coin toss and deferred. Idaho took advantage of getting the ball first, driving 78 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. The Aggies’ first possession ended with Hastings face down on the turf after being sacked for a 10-yard loss. Idaho then scored again to lead 14-0.
Hastings remained upright on the second possession and engineered a 10-play, 74-yard drive to cut the deficit in half. He completed six of seven passes for 68 yards, including three to Trent Tompkins in the senior’s first extensive action after recovering from a knee injury.
That was all Bob Biggs needed to see to know the Aggies would not go quietly into the night. The former UC Davis coach was in Mexico City for a wedding and watched the game online. After 34 years on the sideline, including 19 as head coach, Biggs can sense when a team will not surrender.
The 73-year-old Biggs was at the helm in 2010 when UC Davis overcame a three-touchdown deficit at Cal Poly to pull out an improbable 22-21 victory. The 1969 Vacaville High graduate did not rant and rave when he addressed the team at halftime because words would not have made the 21-3 deficit go away.
“You don’t have to give a big speech and it’s not a strategy thing,” said Biggs, who added he has been impressed with the 2024 team because the players “are going to go hard for each other. They are going to play for each other. They are so unselfish. They are going be in every game they play.”
That was evident when Larsen recovered an onside kick with 42 seconds remaining to seal the win. That was two seconds after the Aggies were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when players left the sideline to celebrate after the Aggies thwarted the Vandals’ two-point conversion attempt.
The celebration resumed with Larison’s recovery and continued well after the final seconds ticked away. The Aggies danced on the field as if they had accomplished much more than winning their Big Sky Conference opener. This marked a new era at UC Davis with a new head coach, Tim Plough.
Moments such as this was why Plough returned to his alma mater instead of remaining at Cal after one season as the tight ends coach to become the Golden Bears offensive coordinator. This is why Hastings and Larison decided to stay rather than looking for greener FBS pastures in the transfer portal.
Hastings had what Biggs called “the game of his life” against Idaho by completing 25 of 32 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers were impressive, but Biggs pointed out another. Hastings did not throw an interception after being picked off five times in the first three games this season.
Larison had little room to run against the Vandals, who rank second in the Big Sky by allowing an average of 88 rushing yards per game. Hastings carried the Aggies by completing 78 percent of his passes. He eclipsed 70 percent for the second time this season and 10th in three years as the starter.
Hastings had a five-game streak of completing at least 70 percent of his passes in 2022, when he was a first-team selection in the All-Big Sky voting. He did not receive even an honorable mention last season after dropping from 3,048 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022 to 2,380 yards and 14 scores as a junior.
His name is atop the Big Sky passing leaders this season. Hastings is first in passing yards (1,330) and second in touchdowns (nine). He is fourth among FCS quarterbacks in passing yards and 10th in average yards per game (266). Hastings is averaging 50 yards more than any other quarterback in the Big Sky.
Biggs and Plough exchanged text messages after last Saturday’s game. It would be safe to say the conversation had much to do with Hastings. Since Biggs and Plough both played quarterback with the Aggies, they know what it takes to play the position. And they would agree that Hastings has it.
