By admin 
UC Davis scored a victory on Saturday night against a program that had stuck it to them for years, and the Aggies saved face after a brutal reality check from last week.
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Seven days after losing by 40 to Montana in an FCS Top 10 showdown, the FCS No. 15-ranked Aggies outlasted Eastern Washington, 49-38, on Jim Sochor Field at UC Davis Health Stadium in an entertaining Big Sky Conference game in front of 8,677 fans.
Eastern Washington came in having gone 11-1 all-time against UCD, including a 5-0 record in Yolo County. By topping the Eagles, UCD kept alive the goals the program embraced entering the season.
UCD (4-2) heads into a bye week still in the Big Sky championship race, and the seasonal quest also includes securing a third consecutive FCS playoff berth under coach Tim Plough and the fifth since 2018.
UCD amassed 629 yards of offense behind Jordan Fisher, who rushed for an Aggies career-high 255 yards on 20 carries, including an 87-yard touchdown sprint, tied for the seventh-longest run in the history of a program that started its football team in 1915.
His 255 yards are the third most in an Aggies game, behind Mike Ichiyama, who in 1994 had games of 309 and 305 yards. Fisher credited his offensive line, but the senior did admit that he will not forget this night.
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“(Last week) was a humiliating, embarrassing situation, and these guys just do what Aggies do – they rose to the occasion and played with Aggie pride,” Plough said. “This is why I want to be the head coach here. Coaching these guys brings me a lot of joy.”
The joy also including the passing game.
Treynor Cleeland passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Zach Jones, who also scored on a 67-yard run. Samuel Gbatu Jr. had 92 yards receiving and a score as the senior All-American continues to soar up the Aggies’ career lists.
Said Plough of Fisher, “He was tremendous. From the very first play of the game, he had that look in his eye that he was going to do something special.”
Eastern Washington didn’t compete like a 1-win team. The Eagles had 601 yards of offense, including 413 yards passing and three touchdowns from Nate Bell, who also rushed 16 times for 137 yards and a score.
Porter Connors led UCD with 2.5 sacks, and Plough called the senior bruiser, “One of the best players we’ve had in the history of the school.”
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