SAN DIEGO – Inches away from one of the biggest wins in program history, San Diego's Emilio Martinez had the ball knocked away from his outstretched hand at the goal line with two seconds left as the Toreros suffered a tough-luck loss against No. 5/4 UC Davis, 38-35, on Saturday at Torero Stadium.
 
USD (0-2), which led by four with under four minutes remaining, used a steady dose of solid gains on the ground by Martinez and a 30-yard connection between Reid Sinnett and Alex Spadone to march down the field on its final offensive drive. After Sinnett kept the drive alive with a six-yard scramble to convert on a third down and put the ball at the four-yard line, the redshirt senior quarterback found an open Martinez running parallel to the goal line with the clock winding down. The junior reached high to allow the ball to cross the plane of the end zone, but UC Davis' Devon King jarred the ball loose before it fell for a touchback.
 
It was the Toreros' third game ever against a top-five team. In the previous two attempts, USD lost by double-digits.
 
The USD offense kept the game close, led by Martinez's 115 yards on the ground. As a team, the Toreros rushed for 174 yards.
 
The game started similar to last week's loss at Cal Poly as UC Davis (1-1) opened with touchdowns on its first two possessions. However, Michael Armstead halted the momentum of the Aggies by returning a kickoff for a 93-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter to make it 14-7.
 
The Toreros were able to get a quick stop on the ensuing possession and answer a UC Davis interception with a pick of their own in the second quarter to set up an eight-play, 27-yard touchdown drive that tied the game. Martinez rushed for 17 yards on the short drive before Sinnett ran to the corner of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown.
 
The Aggies were closing in on another touchdown-producing drive midway through the second, but Jacob Bergstrom slyly read a bubble screen in the red zone and intercepted a pass to stop UC Davis. However, the Aggies quickly picked off Sinnett for a second time in the opening half and later converted the turnover into points on one play – a 37-yard touchdown catch by Carson Crawford – to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
 
Coming out of the break, USD used an eight-play, 79-yard drive to tie the game. Martinez capped the four-plus minute march with an 11-yard rushing touchdown.
 
After the Toreros were forced to tie it again at 28-all when Sinnett found Dalton Kincaid for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, UC Davis regained the lead early in the fourth on a 28-yard field goal to make it 31-28.
 
The lead did not last long, though, as Sinnett found Kincaid once again for a touchdown, this time from 10 yards out. The drive was kept alive on a big reception by Michael Bandy, who pulled in a 16-yard reception on third-and-12 from the USD 40-yard line. Sinnett followed up the third-down conversion by delivering a 28-yard pass to Zach Nelson that put the Toreros in the red zone and set up the Kincaid touchdown reception.
 
UC Davis in turn used a 14-play, 81-yard drive that took over five minutes to seize the lead at 38-35.
 
Sinnett overcame the pair of interceptions to finish the day with 239 yards on 23-of-33 passing. He also threw two touchdowns, both to Kincaid, in his second career start.
 
Kincaid led all Torero receivers with five receptions and 55 yards. Junior Alex Spadone (4 rec, 51 yards) was the only other USD receiver to go over 50 yards as Sinnett found eight different Toreros for his 23 completions.
 
Preseason All-American Bandy was held to three receptions and 47 yards.
 
UC Davis quarterback Jake Maier finished the game 29-of-38 with 396 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The senior, who is also a preseason All-American, completed passes of 30 yards or more four times.
 
USD has a bye next week and will return to the field on September 21 when it hosts Harvard. The contest will be the season opener for the Crimson.
 
 
NOTES
It was the first 100-yard rushing game for Martinez since October 20, 2018 at Butler.
 
The Toreros out-rushed the Aggies, 174-143.
 
The 174 rushing yards were the most for the Toreros since the 2018 game at Butler (208 yards).
 
UC Davis outgained USD, 539-413, in total offense.
 
Armstead finished the day with 152 yards on kick returns. The return touchdown was the third of his career.
 
Six different Toreros registered a tackle for a loss. One of those Toreros, Kama Kamaka, led the team in tackles with nine.