Game 2 - Aggies 13 - TCU 46

DAVIS, Calif. -- Quarterback Jeff Ballard threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday night while running back Aaron Brown rushed for two more scores as No. 22/23 (I-A) TCU beat No. 19/21 (I-AA) UC Davis 46-13 in a nonconference football game before 25,272 fans at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

UC Davis, which was playing its first-ever ranked NCAA Division I-A team, is 1-1 while TCU extended the second-longest active winning streak in I-A football to 12 games and is 2-0.

UC Davis redshirt freshman Chris Carter caught six passes for 109 yards - both highs for his young Aggie career - while quarterback Jon Grant threw for 211 yards but was intercepted twice. Running back Alex Garfio rushed for a team-high 33 yards on 12 carries while catching three more passes for 31 yards. Sophomore Brandon Rice had a pair of catches for 59 yards while Emmanuel Benjamin converted field goals of 28 and 33 yards.

Brown also added 59 receiving yards on five catches for TCU, which also rushed for 271 yards.

"The kids played hard. I'm very, very proud of them," said UC Davis head coach Bob Biggs. "Sometimes the score doesn't always reflect the effort. We just didn't have things go our way. We knew in order for us to really be in the game they were going to have to turn the ball over and I don't think they turned the ball over one time."

UC Davis was facing the toughest opponent in the history of its program but managed to hold the high-powered Horned Frogs to just eight yards on their first possession. That opening defensive sequence led to Benjamin's 28-yard field goal on the Aggies' first drive, which covered 48 yards on 11 plays and gave UC Davis a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Grant had an 11-yard run while also hitting receiver Tony Kays for a 12-yard gain to help highlight the drive.

TCU took the lead for good, however, on its ensuing drive, covering 80 yards on 11 plays and culminating on Ballard's 10-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

A 49-yard field goal by Peter LaCoco after TCU gained possession on a misplayed punt attempt by UC Davis extended the lead to 10-3 early in the second quarter while Ballard's 18-yard strike to tight end Shae Reagan made it 17-3 with 8:33 to go. Linebacker Marvin White intercepted Grant at the Aggies' 31 on UC Davis' next drive, setting up Brown's first touchdown; a four-yard scoring run with 5:55 left before half that gave the Horned Frogs a 23-3 lead.

UC Davis, however, cut the lead to 23-10 after putting together a 9-play, 80-yard drive that featured a 14-yard run by Garfio to the Aggies' 34 and a 56-yard pass play from Grant to Carter that gave them a first down at TCU's 30. Grant then flew over the goal-line pylon four plays later with 1:54 remaining on the clock for his 13th career rushing touchdown.

Benjamin's 33-yard field with 5:20 left in the third quarter was the Aggies' only scoring of the second half while Brown and Chris Smith had TD runs of seven and 14 yards, respectively, Ballard hit Quentil Harmon for a 10-yard touchdown strike and Chris Manfredini booted a 47-yard field goal to account for TCU's 23 points after intermission.

UC Davis finished with 251 yards of total offense, including 225 through the air, while TCU had 461 yards of total offense. Three Horned Frog rushers had at least 54 yards. Harmon had six receptions for 60 yards.

Cornerback Nevan Bergan had a career-high nine total tackles for UC Davis, free safety Jonathan Barsis added seven stops and defensive end James Amos had a sack for 12 yards among his six tackles. Linebacker Chris Buck also had six total stops.

Linebacker Jason Phillips led all players with 10 tackles, also collecting an interception.

UC Davis returns to I-AA competition next Saturday when the Aggies travel to face Montana State for a 12:05 p.m. (Pacific) kickoff. The game is third of a program-long five-game road swing to start the season that is covering nearly 11,000 miles.

Recap courtesy UC Davis ICA/Media Relations

TCU Game: Players Of The Week

• Offense - Elliott Vallejo (OT)
• Defense - John Faletoese (DT)
• Special Teams - Emmo Benjamin (PK)
• Offensive Scout - Sean Creadick (WR)
• Defensive Scout - Tom McConnell (DE)

Return to 2006 Game Summaries