Davis, Calif. • Patrick Tyler was 26-of-36 passing for 370 yards and three touchdowns and Jay Green ran for two scores to help Southern Utah beat UC Davis 47-27 on Saturday night for its fifth consecutive win.
Green had 64 yards rushing on 18 carries and Ty Rutledge finished with three receptions for 105 yards and two scores for the Thunderbirds (8-2, 6-1 Big Sky Conference).
After Isiah Olave intercepted a Tyler pass at the UCD 4, Southern Utah's Jarmaine Doubs had a pick six in the end zone to make it 7-0 in the opening minutes. Terran Beasley's 49-yard catch-and-run set up Tyler's 8-yard touchdown strike to Dawson Pedersen and, after a UCD punt, a 1-yard scoring run by Green capped an 11-play, 66-yard drive — including a screen pass to offensive lineman Josh McMillin — and made it 21-0 with 10:30 left in the second quarter.
The Aggies responded with an 18-play, 98-yard drive to trim their deficit to 14 points when Jake Maier hit Wesley Preece for a 4-yard TD, but Manny Berz hit a 29-yard field goal and, after UCD went three-and-out, Alan Holsten blocked a punt that rolled through the back of the end zone for a safety and made it 26-7 at halftime.
Green scored on a 14-yard run and Rutledge had a 16-yard scoring reception in the third before he turned a short pass into a 75-yard TD that made it 47-21 with 8:49 to play.
Maier threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for UC Davis (5-5, 3-4).