SAN DIEGO—After falling behind early, No. 25 San Diego mounted a second-half comeback that came up just short in a 25-31 loss to Davidson on Saturday afternoon in Torero Stadium.
 
The Toreros (3-1, 2-1 PFL) trailed 28-10 at halftime before shutting out the Wildcats (4-1, 3-0 PFL) in the third quarter and scoring 15 unanswered to pull within a field goal late in the fourth. USD held DC to a field goal with 2:25 remaining but a late interception sealed the victory for Davdison.
 
With the loss, USD's conference win streak ended at 39 games, dating back to the 2015 season. San Diego will go down in the record books with the longest league win streak in the FCS and third-longest in the NCAA (FBS and FCS), after tying Duquesne (1999-06 – MAAC) earlier this season. Only Oklahoma (44 games, 1952-59) and Nebraska (40 games, 1992-98) have more consecutive conference wins in NCAA Division I Football.
 
San Diego finished with 357 yards of offense (269 passing, 88 rushing) compared to 449 yards (189 passing, 260 rushing) for the Wildcats. The Toreros had 20 first downs and were 9-of-15 on third downs, but committed three turnovers that led to 14 points for Davidson.
 
Mason Randall finished the day 22-of-44 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Michael Carner hauled in five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Christian Brown added six catches for 74 yards. Derek Kline also added a touchdown, collecting five passes for 62 yards.
 
Emilio Martinez led the way on the ground with 12 carries for 74 yards and one touchdown. Martinez added six catches for 36 yards to finish the day with 110 all-purpose yards. Hunter Nichols continued to impress in the return game, with 106 kickoff return yards.
 
Defensively, USD was led by Kyle Bilchik with 15 tackles (five solo). Three Toreros finished with 12 tackles including Kama Kamaka (seven solo), Nichols (six solo) and Michael Hawkins (three solo). Nichols also finished the day with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup, while Kamaka added a hurry.
 
Davidson took the early lead with a 83-yard touchdown run from Dylan Sparks with 11:50 left to play in the first quarter. USD responded with a 1-yard touchdown run from Martinez to even the game 7-7 with 6:39 remaining in the first period.
 
After a fumbled punt return was recovered by Davidson, the Wildcats scored on the very next play with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Phelps to Bradyn Oakley to retake the lead 14-7 with 5:06 to go in the first quarter. After intercepting Randall's pass early in the second quarter, Davidson added to its lead with a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7.
 
Brandon Eickert drilled a 22-yard field goal with 6:17 remaining in the quarter to cut into the Wildcats lead but a 27-yard touchdown gave Davidson a 28-10 lead heading into the halftime break.
 
The USD defense shut out the Wildcats in the third quarter and Randall found Carner on a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-17 with 3:54 on the clock. The Toreros cut the lead to three with a 13-yard touchdown strike to Kline and a two-point conversion to Martinez to make it 25-28 with 8:30 remaining in the game.
 
Davidson then put together a 13-play, 63-yard drive that ate up 6:05 on the clock. The Torero defense held up on third and goal and a 27-yard field-goal by the Wildcats kept it a one-score game.
 
With 2:25 remaining, USD began its final drive at its own 29-yard line after a strong return by Nichols. However, Randall's pass was picked off on the third play of the drive to effectively halt the comeback.
 
USD will return to action next Saturday against Stetson for its final regular season game in Torero Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.