Southern Utah Erases a 17-9 Hole and Runs Away from UC Davis
UC Davis led 17-9 at the half and finished with more total yards than Southern Utah, 448 to 441, and still lost 38-17. Funny how that works when you throw two interceptions and the other side throws none.
The Thunderbirds opened with a 35-yard Will Burns run (the extra point failed, so 6-0), and then the Aggies took over the second quarter. Jordan Fisher ran in from three yards and Treynor Cleeland added a 19-yard score, and a Robert Meyer field goal as the half expired made it 17-9. Southern Utah had only a 25-yard field goal to show for the quarter.
Then the third quarter belonged to one pair. Burns found Joshua Acord from a yard out and ran in the two-point try to tie it at 17. About three minutes later he hit Acord again from six yards, and it was 24-17. UC Davis never scored again. Floyd Chalk broke a 37-yard run with 10:12 left, and Burns ended it with a 41-yard run with 3:15 to go.
The real story is the ground game. Southern Utah ran 41 times for 315 yards, 212 of them from Chalk on 26 carries, and threw for just 126. The defense picked up three sacks and never gave the ball away. UC Davis ran for 194 itself, 180 of that from Fisher, but Cleeland went 20 for 37 with the two picks and the Aggies could not pull away when they had the chance.
Southern Utah goes to 3-3. UC Davis drops to 4-2. For fantasy, this was a three-way feast: Burns, Fisher and Chalk all cleared 28 points, and Acord added 23.7 with two touchdown catches. Quarterbacks who run the ball like running backs are a wonderful thing.