DAVIS, Calif. — Miles Hastings was 25-of-33 passing for 248 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night, Lan Larison accounted for two touchdowns and UC Davis held on to beat Idaho 28-26 in a battle between two of the top teams in the FCS.
C.J. Hutton returned the opening kickoff of the second half 72 yards and two plays later Hastings hit Larison for a 26-yard touchdown that gave UC Davis (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky Conference), ranked No. 11 in the FCS coaches poll, its first lead of the game at 21-17.
Hastings connected with Winston Williams for a 13-yard touchdown with 1:45 left before the fourth quarter to make it 28-17.
Freshman quarterback Nick Josifek came in after starter Jack Wagner threw interceptions on back-to-back drives in the third quarter and led two fourth-quarter scoring drives. Cameron Pope kicked a 22-yard field goal to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive that made it a one-possession game with 4:28 to play. After a UC Davis punt, Josifek led the Vandals on an 11-play, 88-yard drive that culminated when he threw a 19-yard TD pass to Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar with 44 seconds left.
Zach Kennedy's quarterback pressure on the 2-point conversion attempt forced an errant throw and the Aggies held on to win.
Idaho (3-2, 0-1), ranked No. 3 in the FCS coaches poll, outgained UC Davis 459-312 total yards, including 185-26 yards rushing, but committed three turnovers.
Larison finished with 18 carries for 46 yards and a TD, 3-for-3 passing for 38 yards and four receptions for 54 yards and a score for the Aggies.
