No. 14 UC Davis denies No. 4 Idaho’s two-point conversion to win 28-26

DAVIS, Calif. – The Idaho Vandals, again down a quarterback, were tasked with climbing out of an 11-point deficit Saturday night.

Freshman Nick Josifek, the Vandals’ third string quarterback to start the season, nearly got the job done, but his pass on a tying-two point conversion fell incomplete and Idaho lost to the UC Davis Aggies 28-26 in their Big Sky opener at UC Davis Health Stadium.

The No. 4 Vandals (3-2, 0-1) had their three-game winning streak snapped, since narrowly losing to Oregon in the opener.

Josifek capped an impressive 11-play, 88-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar to set up the two-point try.

Josifek completed 9 of 19 attempts for 96 yards in relief of Jack Wagner, who was 13 of 25 for 178 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

The Vandals jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wagner to Cortez-Menjivar and a 1-yard run from Nate Thomas.

The No. 14 Aggies (4-1, 1-0) scored on their next two possessions to tie the score at 14-all going into halftime.

UC Davis solidified its advantage with two touchdowns in the third quarter, both passes from senior Miles Hastings, who completed 25 of 32 attempts for 248 yards and three touchdowns.

The Vandals settled for a field goal late in the fourth quarter.