Game 8 - Aggies 21 - South Dakota State 22

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Quarterback Andy Kardoes hit receiver Dusty Snyders on a 9-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 1:08 remaining on Saturday afternoon as South Dakota State rallied for its second straight come-from- behind win, beating No. 16/17 UC Davis 22-21 in a Great West Football Conference matchup before 15, 248 fans at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

UC Davis, which was led by 202 all-purpose yards from running back Marcus Nolan fell to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the GWFC. The Jackrabbits have won five straight games since an 0-3 start and are 5-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.

Nolan had 10 catches for 145 yards and now has 22 receptions the last two games.

UC Davis led Saturday's game 21-7 at halftime and 21-10 entering the fourth quarter before South Dakota State - which rallied for 23 unanswered fourth-quarter points to beat then No. 4 Cal Poly 29-28 last week - scored twice in the final period to beat the Aggies.

The Jackrabbits put together a 12-play, 91-yard drive over 5:44 of the fourth quarter to score the go-ahead touchdown. Kardoes hit Micah Johnson for 19 yards and JaRon Harris for 14 to help put South Dakota State near midfield. A personal foul against UC Davis resulted later in a first down at the Aggies' 28 with 3:17 left while a 10-yard completion to Harris stuck the ball at the 14.

After a personal foul against the Jackrabbits pushed them back to a 2nd- and-21 at the 25, Kardoes found Snyders to the 9-yard line on 3rd and 21. He then found Snyders over the middle on fourth down and Snyders turned and pushed into the endzone for the winning score.

UC Davis took over on its own 18 with 58 seconds left but its fourth-down try at its own 41 fell incomplete with 15 seconds to go and the Jackrabbits ran out the clock.

"My hat goes off to South Dakota State," said Aggie head coach Bob Biggs. "We talked all week about them being a team that plays for the full 60 minutes and they deserve to get the credit.

"It's a very frustrating loss. We just didn't do enough offensively in the second half. We left the defense on the field way too long (and we) made mistakes," he added.

South Dakota State, which got a 52-yard field goal from Parker Douglass late in the third quarter to make it 21-10, went 59 yards in eight plays early in the fourth quarter as Kardoes found tight end Chris Wagner for a 4-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-16. The Jackrabbits' try for two points failed.

Trailing 21-7 at halftime, South Dakota State scored on its opening drive of the second half, getting Douglass' field goal with 2:58 left in the third quarter to make it 21-10.

UC Davis had a great opportunity to score on its next possession after taking the ball on its own 20. A screen pass to Nolan nearly resulted in a touchdown when Nolan raced up the sideline before being caught at the 1. The Aggies, however, false started on tfirst down and then couldn't cross the goal line in its three tries. UC Davis came away scoreless after Emmanuel Benjamin's 19-yard field goal attempt from the left hashmark was blocked by defensive tackle Eric Schroeder near the end of the third quarter.

UC Davis never trailed in the first half, taking an early 7-0 lead after consuming nearly 10 minutes of the clock on the opening drive of the game. The Aggies, who had almost twice as possession time than Southern Utah in the first half of their game last week, went 74 yards in 19 plays during the drive, running the ball 12 times.

UC Davis converted both of its third-down tries and its only attempt on fourth down, handing the ball off to backup running back Demario Warren four times inside the 17-yard line. Quarterback Jon Grant finished the drive by finding Warren for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 5:30 left in the quarter.

South Dakota State tied the game on its first drive, putting together a 9- play, 76-yard drive highlighed by a 27-yard run by Anthony Watson. Watson, who ran the final four plays of the drive, scored from three yards out. He rushed for 39 yards on the drive.

The Aggies went ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter behind Nolan's rushing. Nolan carried the ball five times for 21 yards, leading to Grant's 3-yard touchdown pass to Tony Kays with 9:46 left before half.

UC Davis then took a two-touchdown lead after free safety Jonathan Barsi intercepted Kardoes in front of the Aggie bench at the Jackrabbits' 37, returning it to the 17-yard line. Nolan ran up the middle three plays later, scoring from six yards to give UC Davis a 21-7 lead with 6:26 to go. South Dakota State had a chance to get a little closer late in the half, but a 74-yard drive stalled after Parker Douglass' 35-yard field goal try missed to the right.

The Aggies, who had more rushing than passing plays last week for the first time this year, had 22 running plays in the first half on Saturday, compared to 16 via the pass. Nolan had 89 all-purpose yards before halftime, including 53 on the ground on 13 carries.

Grant finished 23 of 29 for 210 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday afternoon while Nolan rushed 20 times for 57 yards and a score. Chris Carter had six receptions for 43 yards. Kardoes was 23 of 36 for 278 yards and two touchdowns and an interception while Harris had seven catches for 110 yards. Watson broke the 100-yard barrier for 104 yards on 18 carries.

Cornerback Nevan Bergan and Barsi each had eight tackles while defensive ends James Amos and Mike Ng each hd a sack.

UC Davis returns to action on Saturday with a 1:05 p.m. home game at Toomey Field against North Dakota State.

Recap courtesy UC Davis Sports Information Media Relations

South Dakota State Game: Players Of The Week

• Offense - Tim Keane (C)
• Defense - James Amos (DE)
• Special Teams - Tyler Pringle
• Offensive Scout - Zach Mosle (OL)
• Defensive Scout - Grant Fitch (DE)

Return to 2006 Game Summaries