Game 2 - Aggies 30 - South Dakota St. 13

BROOKINGS, S.D. --- G.P. Muhammad rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while Francis Montes also scored a pair of touchdowns, as No.2 UC Davis beat South Dakota State, 30-13, in a college football game on Saturday before 3,792 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. The win gives the Aggies their first 2-0 start to a season since 1993, and dropped the Jackrabbits to 1-1 overall. Muhammad, a senior running back, carried 24 times in the game and scored on runs of two yards and one yard. It was the 11th time in Muhammad's career he went over the century mark in rushing yards. Montes had scoring catches of 22 and 34 yards, finishing the day with five catches for 134 yards. Aggie quarterback Kevin Daft completed 22 of 28 passes for 209 yards and the pair of touchdowns to Montes. "We liked our gameplan in the first half, we wanted to run outside," said UC Davis Coach Bob Biggs. "We tried to go inside in the second half and they made an adjustment. Then, when they went to man-to-man coverage, we thought we could take some shots downfield." Defensively, UC Davis forced four turnovers for the second straight week, miscues the Aggies turned into 13 points. UC Davis led 10-0 at halftime, but South Dakota State cut into the lead midway through the third quarter when Josh Ranek scored on a 1-yard plunge. The touchdown capped a 69-yard, nine-play drive. The Aggies extended their lead to 23-7 on the first play of the final quarter when Daft found Montes on a 22-yard score down the left sideline. On the first play from scrimmage, Robby Flannery sacked South Dakota State quarterback Noel Bouche and created a fumble that he recovered on the Jackrabbit 1-yard line. Muhammad went over two plays later to give the Aggies a 30-13 edge with 14:11 left to play. Bouche found Greg Niederauer with a 29-yard pass wih 11:34 remaining, but the two-point conversion failed. The Jackrabbits forced a punt, but Joe Caviglia and Josh Farrow intercepted Bouche passes later in the quarter to hold off any comeback bid. "Our defense was on the field so much in the first half," said Biggs. "I thought the defense played tremendous. It was hot and muggy, and our offense couldn't get many first downs. We were tickled to be able to keep them to no points at halftime." Eric Friend hit a 22-yard field goal to put the Aggies ahead with 4:41 left in the first quarter, and Muhammad went over from the 2-yard line midway through the second period. Bouche finished with 215 yards on 17-for-35 passing. Ranek was the Jackrabbits' leading rusher with 109 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown. Steve Heiden was the leading receiver for South Dakota State, getting seven catches for 121 yards. Muhammad added 21 yards on six catches for the Aggies, while Wes Terrell added five catches for 24 yards.

South Dakota State Players Of The Week

• Offense - G.P. Muhammad
• Defense - Jesse Johnson
• Special Teams - Greg Alley
• Offensive Scout - Matt Loratelli
• Defensive Scout - Dan Carrington

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