SAN DIEGO — Omar Mbakwe capped an 11-play, 68-yard march with a 2-yard touchdown run, as USD football kept No. 6 UC Davis off the scoreboard for a full quarter before the Aggies pulled away for a 49-17 win Saturday night in the Toreros' 2026 season opener at Torero Stadium.
A crowd of 4,573 turned out for the Brian Fogarty Classic and Multicultural Community Night and watched San Diego carry a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Toreros built that lead with the longest drive either team put together in the first half, a 6:23 possession that started at their own 32.
Adam Criter opened it with a 31-yard run,
Dom Nankil converted a third-and-4 with a throw to
Christopher Hall, and an 8-yard completion to
Elijah Taylor put the ball at the 2. Mbakwe took it in from there and scored with 3:24 left in the quarter.
San Diego's defense set the table for it. UC Davis punted on each of its first two possessions. When the Aggies did threaten in the second quarter, reaching the San Diego 16,
Ruben Lopez cut in front of a throw at the goal line for the first Torero interception of the season.
The Toreros got the ball back in scoring position again to open the second half.
Emiliano Salazar's kickoff was muffed at the 14 and
Khalil Cueva recovered at the UC Davis 8, and San Diego pushed to the 4 before turning the ball over on downs.
The offense answered in the third quarter with a five-play, 75-yard drive of its own. Nankil found
Carter Pruitt for 20 to move into UC Davis territory, then hit
Cole Monach for a 22-yard touchdown with 5:03 on the clock. San Diego's next possession carried into the fourth quarter, an eight-play, 49-yard march that Salazar finished with a 34-yard field goal.
Nankil completed 16 of 31 passes for 177 yards and the touchdown. Monach led all Torero receivers with six catches for 72 yards, Pruitt added four for 50 and Hall had two for 38, including a 32-yarder. Criter carried a team-high 14 times for 54 yards, Mbakwe ran 13 times for 39 yards and the score, and
CJ Ceron picked up 42 yards on four fourth-quarter carries.
Salazar was 1-for-1 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points and averaged 38.4 yards on seven punts, three of them 50 yards or longer and four downed inside the 20.
Tim Hays led the defense with six tackles.
David Loch had five, one of them a punt-coverage stop that dropped a UC Davis return 10 yards behind the catch.
Ian Harrison and
Jaden Williams each finished with four.
Both teams ran 67 plays, and San Diego held the edge in time of possession at 30:08. No. 6 UC Davis (2-0) scored 28 points in the second quarter and turned four San Diego giveaways into 14 points.
UP NEXT
San Diego opens a two-game road swing Saturday, Sept. 12, at Idaho State. Kickoff at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho, is set for 3 p.m.
