Catching 15 passes for 154 yards in 2024 cost wide receiver Stacy Dobbins a year of eligibility at UC Davis. He played in all 14 games, caught passes in five and would not have spent a year if he had played in just four as a redshirt. It might not seem as if Dobbins got his money’s worth in spending a year of eligibility, but his investment is paying off now.
Dobbins tied a career high for receptions with six for 71 yards on Aug. 30 as UC Davis rallied for a 31-24 victory at Utah Tech. The sophomore contributed to the comeback by catching four passes for 47 yards during the Aggies’ first touchdown drive in the third quarter that carved into a 17-point deficit.
That drive came after the Aggies went three and out on their first three possessions in the second half. The Trailblazers capitalized with two touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. The first came after Utah Tech’s Brevin Czosnyk intercepted a pass by Caden Pinnick at the Aggies 46.
Utah Tech needed just one play to score after the turnover as Reggie Graff threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Tru Tranner. Chris Street’s 1-yard scoring run made it 24-7 with 8:01 left in the third quarter. By then, the Aggies were wearing down on defense after spending far more time on the field than the offense.
UC Davis head coach Tim Plough wondered if the players would respond as they did last November in a 30-28 loss to second-ranked Montana State. The No. 4 Aggies trailed 30-8 in the third quarter and scored 20 points in the fourth. The Bobcats recovered an onside kick with 34 seconds left to prevail.
The stakes were not as high Aug. 30, but the deficit was an opportunity for Plough to gauge the Aggies’ fortitude.
“There wasn’t any panic,” Plough said. “We have talked about having a neutral mindset. If you have a negative mindset, that never works. If you have a fake positive, that doesn’t work either. You can’t be saying, ‘We’re fine, we’re ok.’ No, we’re not OK. We’re down by 17. Let’s fix the problem.”
None of the first 10 possessions for the Aggies lasted three minutes. The 11th also fell short, but it was close enough at 2:57 with UC Davis going 75 yards in eight plays to score. Dobbins kept the drive alive with a 31-yard catch on third-and-5 at the UC Davis 45. There was much more in store for the Aggies.
Pinnick’s 14-yard pass to Zach Jones made it 24-14. The redshirt freshman’s 20-yard pass to Samuel Gbatu Jr. made it 24-21. Hunter Ridley’s 29-yard field goal tied it at 24-all with 12:42 remaining. Gbatu put the Aggies ahead by turning a short pass from Pinnick into a 60-yard touchdown with 6:17 to go.
Gbatu had four receptions for 93 yards in the second two-touchdown game of his career. The junior is in his fourth year at UC Davis. Unlike Dobbins, Gbatu did not spend a year of eligibility as a freshman in 2022 by playing in two games. Dobbins used a year to play his way into action in 2024.
Playing Dobbins became a necessity last season because Trent Tompkins and CJ Hutton missed time with injuries. Even after they returned, Plough counted Dobbins among the six receivers he wanted to have available in every game and asked Dobbins if a year of eligibility was worth such an opportunity.
“He had a tremendous camp, so it felt like he was going to be our fourth, fifth or sixth receiver.” Plough said. “And if that’s the case, you might as well tell him he’s going to play. The odds of him not playing in every game were pretty slim. We always ask (the freshmen) if they’re OK with it. He was all for it.”
Dobbins leads the Aggies (2-1) n receptions with 11 and is second in receiving yards with 126. Weber State (2-2) will come to Davis on Saturday night with a defense that has allowed 892 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air. UC Davis has allowed just as many passing yards in one fewer game.
