Toreros lose to No. 5 Aggies

USD football falls to No. 5 UC Davis 38-35 on final play of game

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

It all came down to the final play as the Toreros came up short Saturday against No. 5 UC Davis. Facing a three-point deficit with seconds remaining in the game, University of San Diego football was on the verge of an upset. Inside the Davis five-yard line, redshirt senior quarterback Reid Sinnett threw to an open Emilio Martinez at the goal-line where he reached for the endzone. Suddenly, a UC Davis defender tackled Martinez just before he was able to reach the goal-line and the ball came loose and rolled in the back of the endzone for a touchback, giving Davis posession of the ball. 

“He fumbled the ball,” USD football head coach Dale Lindsey said. “My first thought was that the official made a bad call but after just seeing it, (Martinez) stuck out his hands. It was a good call by the officials.”

The Aggies then proceeded to seal the 38-35 victory by taking a knee. The Toreros are now 1-5 all-time against UC Davis with their only victory occuring in 2008.

Every year since 2011, USD has hosted Western New Mexico University as their home opener. The Toreros defeated them each season. Prior to Saturday’s loss, the Toreros had a streak of winning eight straight home openers while winning 21 straight home games in that span.  

 USD had a rough start to the game, allowing two quick touchdowns by the Aggies. After being down 14-0 early in the first quarter, senior wide receiver Michael Armstead took back a kickoff return 93 yards for a touchdown, which seemed to switch the momentum back to the Toreros. 

Armstead was awarded the Pioneer Football League (PFL) Special Teams Player of the Week honor last week when he finished with 221 return yards in the loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He once again had another solid performance with 152 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Aggies, earning himself the PFL Special Teams player of the week for the second week in a row.

“If you are going to kick the ball, (Armstead) is a weapon every play,” Lindsey said. “Every time he gets tackled around the 40-45 yard line, that is great field position for us.”  

The Toreros then tied it up at 14 with a one-yard touchdown run by Sinnett.

After interceptions were  thrown by both teams, the Aggies responded with a trick play that led to a 37-yard touchdown pass by receiver Carson Crawford to tight end Mathew Hyman. 

The score at halftime was UC Davis 21, USD 14. 

The Toreros started the second half with the ball. USD used an eight-play, 79-yard drive which was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run by Martinez to tie the score at 21. 

The Aggies responded with a four-yard touchdown run by running back Ulonzo Gilliam, taking the lead once again. From this point on, it was a battle to the finish. 

Sophomore tight end Dalton Kincaid snagged one of his two touchdowns with an acrobatic catch on the edge of the endzone, with one foot barely staying in bounds. Sinnett threw a ball to the back shoulder of Kincaid, who was the only one who could grab it tying the score at 28. 

After a field goal by the Aggies, USD drove down the field once again as Sinnett found Kincaid for another touchdown. The Toreros had their first lead of the game by a score of 35-31. 

That lead didn’t last very long as UC Davis scored their final touchdown on what was their longest possession of the game for the Aggies. The touchdown moved the score to 38-35 Aggies, with only 3:35 remaining in the game.  

However, the Toreros knew they still had a shot. After marching down the field once again, they set themselves up for either a chance at a game-tying field goal or a shot at the lead in the final seconds to win the game. They did neither and the final score was 38-35.

“I can’t fault any of our players for a lack of effort.” Lindsey said.  

The Torero defense stepped up huge, with three turnovers that kept them in the game. Redshirt junior defensive end Jacob Bergstrom had himself a day with an interception and a fumble recovery. The interception came when the Aggies were on the verge of scoring a touchdown, but Bergstrom swiped the ball from air and ran it back about 15 yards, giving the USD offense better field position. 

Like Saturday’s game demonstrated, forcing turnovers is crucial when it comes to winning a football game. 

“Creating turnovers really alters the game and getting the ball back to the offense, especially the way they were working today, is great.” Bergstrom said. “When we are on beat with each other and we are in sync, I think that we can play with anybody in the nation. I think we proved that here today.” 

The Toreros will spend the next two weeks preparing for their home game against Harvard on Sept. 21.