Drake Runs All over Davidson in a 51-32 Shootout
Davidson threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns and lost by 19. Casey Bullock did his part. The Wildcats ran the ball 17 times for 36 yards, and Drake ran 36 times for 231, and that was the difference.
Davidson struck first, a 31-yard pass from Bullock to AJ Adams with 12:47 left in the first quarter. Drake tied it at 7-7 on a 15-yard pass from Riley Warzynski to Willis Nofsinger, then added a 4-yard run by Cody Blicharz and a 37-yard pass to Nofsinger again. It was 21-7 after one, 28-7 early in the second, and 31-14 at the half after a Griffin Kollhoff field goal with 0:50 left.
Davidson kept scoring, and kept missing the extra point that mattered. Its last three touchdowns each ended in a failed two-point try. Kick all three and it is 35; make all three and it is 38. Either way it loses, by 16 or 13. Adrien Robbins broke a 62-yard run to make it 45-20 in the third, and Chase Spellman added a 45-yard run at the start of the fourth for 51-26. Brodey Berg's 4-yard catch with 5:48 left was the last score.
Drake finished with 623 yards to 381 and is 1-2. So is Davidson. Drake trailed 7-0 at the start and never trailed again, which is a fine way to fix a record.
Fantasy owners got plenty out of this one. Bullock's 46.7 was the best score of the game, and Nofsinger and Warzynski were right behind him for Drake.