Vandal football on the wrong end of second half comeback against UC Davis

 Ghosts of the comebacks past reared their head on Saturday evening when the Vandals gave up 14 unanswered points in the final 24 minutes of the game against UC Davis. The final score was 27-20 with the Vandals suffering a loss that was all-too reminiscent of the two squads’ spring 2021 matchup.

The Vandals started off the game strong. The first drive of the game saw a 60-yard touchdown run by redshirt sophomore running back Zach Borisch that had the Vandals up 6-0 early in the game. The Aggies responded with a field goal on their opening drive and it was back-and-forth from there.

It was an entertaining game, but the most crucial moment came from coaching. Specifically, it was the decision by UC Davis coach Dan Hawkins to pull redshirt freshman quarterback Miles Hastings for redshirt freshman quarterback Trent Tompkins. That decision essentially won the Aggies the game.

Tompkins came in with the Aggies down 20-13 at the end of the third quarter and provided a spark to an Aggies offense that had, to that point, been uncharacteristically pedestrian.

Tompkins had received some snaps earlier in the third quarter but was still splitting drives with Hastings. Tompkins ended up getting an entire drive that went through the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth that tied the game up 20-20.

After a punt in the next drive by the Vandals, the Aggies went 65 yards in only two minutes and 11 seconds to score another TD off a trick play to gain the lead 27-20 with eight minutes left in the game. This would be the last time either team scored during this game.

There’s no definitive answer whether the Aggies would’ve won the game or lost if he remained at quarterback. However, outside of one drive late in the fourth quarter, the Vandals could not stop Tompkins. He finished the game with 13 carriers for 85 yards and went 4/4 for 45 passing yards and a touchdown.

This decision to plug Tompkins highlighted what ultimately gave the Aggies a win and the Vandals a loss — and that was coaching, specifically during critical moments at the end of both halves.

At the end of the first half, The Vandals only had one timeout with a first down at the Aggies 28-yard line and decided to run the ball on first down for a one-yard gain. Instead of using the second down play to take a shot to the endzone, spike the ball or use a timeout, they let the clock run and completed a seven-yard pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Michael Noil inbounds and used their timeout with nine seconds to go in the half. The Vandals ended the half missing a 37-yard field goal attempt and UC Davis knelt the ball to end the half.

The field goal was definitely makeable, and it would’ve given the Vandals the lead going into halftime. However, the play-calling on first and second down was unusual, but the biggest headscratcher came on the Vandals’ second-to-last possession of the game.

The Vandals had brought the ball all the way down to the UC Davis 20-yard line and had faced a third-and-seven. This was a TD or bust drive, because even if the Vandals had scored a field goal, they would still be down four and would have to score a touchdown to gain the lead. There were only four minutes left in the game and Tompkins had let the Aggies to two back-to-back touchdown drives, so even with all three timeouts, this was unlikely.

On third-and-seven the Vandals handed the ball off to freshman running back Elisha Cummings for a three-yard gain to set up fourth-and-four. Instead of going for it, the Vandals elected to set out the field goal team to try and make a 34-yard attempt. The Vandals had already missed a field goal attempt and had an extra point attempt blocked earlier in this game.

UC Davis blocked the field goal and took over at their own 37-yard line. They did end up punting back to the Vandals. The final Idaho drive ended in an interception and the Aggies kneeled out the clock to end the game.

Despite mentioning these choices, the loss is not solely on the play calling for the Vandals. There were several penalties on the defense that ended up extending drives for the Aggies, the defense could’ve done better at containing Tompkins, and there were seven points left off the board for the Vandals on two, missed or blocked, makeable field goals and a blocked extra point that would’ve ended up tying the game for the Vandals if all were made.

Despite that, this still feels like a game where the players did enough to win. The Vandals rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Graduate student quarterback Mike Beaudry passed for 255 yards on 63% completion rate. The defense had two sacks and an interception. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Terez Traynor had 131 yards receiving. However, backfiring in play calling and a lack to adjust to Tompkins at quarterback made this a repeat of headlines from March: UC Davis defeats Idaho following a second-half comeback.

Teren Kowatsch can be reached at [email protected]