Nolan McWilliams caught a game-tying touchdown pass towards the back of the endzone in the first half of Saturday’s family weekend game between the Idaho Vandals (4-6, 2-4) and the 12th-ranked University of California, Davis, Aggies (7-2, 5-1).
Unfortunately for the Vandals, McWilliams stepped out of bounds on his own accord before he caught Wood’s pass, so not only was the touchdown called back, but the loss of down caused a turnover on downs. This play represented a massive momentum swing in the game, as UC Davis scored a touchdown on the following drive and held the lead for the remainder of the game as they grabbed a 28-14 victory over the Vandals.
The Vandals’ second home loss of the season signifies the end of the team’s playoff hopes. In the postgame press conference, head coach Thomas Ford Jr. emphasized how important it is to respond as the team’s focus shifts to the final two games of the season. He said that the team is going to give it everything they have despite not having a chance to clinch a postseason berth.
Over the past few weeks, Ford has mentioned how some people’s expectations for this season were a bit unrealistic, and that he is going to do everything he can to help the program operate at a high level moving forward.
“We can use this lesson to really compel us into the future, because I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Ford said.
Idaho struggled on special teams in this game, missing a field goal and losing a fumble on a kick return. If the Vandals want to be a competitive team in the Big Sky Conference, they need to clean up some things on special teams.
Defensively, it was a clean game from Idaho, and Ford was happy with defensive coordinator Cort Denison’s scheming. Freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick has been successful using his legs throughout this season, and Idaho made it a point to limit his scrambling ability. Aside from a 22-yard score in the second quarter, the Vandals did a great job of preventing Pinnick from hurting them on the ground.
“I’m very proud of the way our defense played,” Ford said. “I thought our defense did an amazing job of getting the stops when we needed to. We took the ball out of the air; we sacked a quarterback that’s been really hard to sack this season.”
Throughout the entire game, the Aggies used their signature up-tempo offense, and at times the Vandals struggled to catch their breath against it. However, Ford believes his defense did a good job responding to the Aggies’ no-huddle offense.
“It’s something they’ve done all year, and I honestly thought we handled their tempo stuff pretty well,” Ford said. “I think that that side of the ball has really played pretty consistent most of the year. We’ve just got to match them on the offensive side. We’ve got to get better on offense, and that is a fact, and something that we will not run away from.”
UC Davis had a strong offensive start, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Idaho responded with a two-play, 75-yard drive. This drive was highlighted by Idaho’s best play of the game, a 68-yard missile from Joshua Wood to Michael Graves.
Graves hauled the pass in by holding the ball against his shoulder with his right hand. This was one of Graves’ two touchdowns in his 112-yard performance. The senior set career records for yards and touchdowns.
Graves has been battling injuries all season but had a breakout game against the Aggies.
“That Joker can run,” Ford said. “I was so proud of the way he played. He’s another example of the culture of this program. Guys are not going to quit.”
Joshua Wood set a career high for passing yards, throwing 297 yards and two touchdowns. Wood’s 38 passing attempts were the most he has thrown all season as Idaho attempted to mount a comeback.
After scoring early in the third quarter, UC Davis held a 28-7 lead. Idaho stayed resilient and tried to mount the comeback, coming up with a huge goal line stand and hauling in two interceptions. However, the inconsistency of the offense was Idaho’s demise, and for the first time since 2021, Idaho will not be in the FCS playoffs.
Defensively, UC Davis was very efficient in the second half, preventing Idaho from scoring on six of its last seven possessions. Idaho only converted one of its 11 third-down conversion attempts, which almost always is a losing formula.
“We need to look at how we’re developing the plan and what our guys are comfortable executing, because again, it wasn’t good enough,” Ford said. “That was not what we’re looking for at all, especially on those conversion downs, and that’s something that we got to get fixed in a hurry.”
After the 2024 season, Idaho lost a significant number of players to the transfer portal. While Ford has credited some of this season’s struggles to the team’s youth that was caused by those departures, he doesn’t get the feeling that a lot of his players are interested in transferring.
“I think they want to stick together,” Ford said. “They want to see this through, and they know how close we are to being a great football team.”
The Vandals have two games remaining on their schedule, starting with a trip to Sacramento to take on the Hornets of Sacramento State next Saturday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m.
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].