MOSCOW, Idaho -- Fresno State just keeps rolling.
The Bulldogs scored 17 first-quarter points and held off a late Idaho charge to beat the Vandals for the seventh straight time 31-21 Saturday night inside a loud Kibbie Dome.
After a 1-3 start to the season, the Bulldogs (6-3, 5-1 Western Athletic Conference) have now won five consecutive games and are bowl eligible.
With Boise State (9-0, 4-0) still holding first place, the Bulldogs continue to push for second place in the WAC, something they haven't achieved since 2003 when they tied for second with Tulsa.
Next week's game against Nevada could decide how the Bulldogs finish in the WAC.
Idaho Vandals running back De’ Maundray Woolridge has his helmet knocked off by Fresno State's Lorne Bell during the first half Saturday night at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.
"We'll need to play a lot better to win against Nevada," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "We gave away a lot in the second half. We didn't come out and play with the same tenacity that we played with in the first half. But we did finish it and get a win."
The Bulldogs pulled out to a 31-7 lead in the third quarter before the Vandals made a late run. The 12,418 in attendance and the Vandals gave full effort in the second half, but the first-half pounding by the Bulldogs was too much to rally from.
The Bulldogs were led to that dominating start by standout performances from the two Ryans: quarterback Ryan Colburn and running back Ryan Mathews.
Colburn was a gleaming 8 for 8 for 108 yards and an 18-yard touchdown in the first half and finished perfect -- 14 for 14 for 159 yards. Mathews had 105 yards and two scores in the first half, including a 77-yarder on the first play from scrimmage that set the tone for the first 30 minutes.
Mathews, who finished with 143 yards (below his nation-leading average of 164.5 per game) and three scores, slipped a tackle and sprinted for the longest run of his career to give the slightly favored Bulldogs a lead 19 seconds into the game.
"They have a very explosive offense," Colburn said. "We knew we had to come out fast or we were going to put our defense in a bad situation quick."
The Vandals -- who were playing without starting quarterback Nathan Enderle because of a bruised rotator cuff suffered last week -- fought themselves for much of the first half.
On their first drive of the game they were called for a holding penalty and the drive sputtered. Brian Reader, who played in place of Enderle, overthrew a receiver on a fly route on the right side and receiver Max Komar dropped a pass in the end zone on third down. Vandals kicker Trey Farquhar then missed a field goal wide left.
That drive was exactly how the rest of the half would go for the Vandals, who were continually victimized by drops and penalties.
Idaho, which came into the game seventh in the nine-team league in penalties and committed 13 for 105 yards last week, had seven penalties for 75 yards in the first half. They finished with eight for 90 yards.
Reader (who finished 12 of 25 for 240 yards and two scores) was 2 for 10 for 29 yards in the first half, with at least three balls dropped as the Bulldogs and Vandals worked together to dig Idaho's grave.
After claiming a 24-0 halftime lead, Fresno State punter Robert Malone pinned Idaho at its 2-yard line early in the second half, and the Bulldogs added a Mathews 1-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter.
Not even a late Idaho rally -- the Vandals scored on Maurice Shaw's acrobatic 69-yard touchdown catch with 25 seconds left, then recovered an onside kick -- could dampen the Bulldogs' key win.
There was bad news for the Bulldogs, though. Right guard Andrew Jackson, who has 31 consecutive starts, left the game in the first half after suffering what appeared to be a left knee injury. He sat on a chair near the visiting locker room with his left knee wrapped during the first half. He walked the sidelines in warm-ups in the second half.
Sophomore Leslie Cooper took Jackson's place. Cooper has played in every game this season because he is on special teams, but has filled in for guard Devan Cunningham at times this season when Cunningham has been winded.
Hawaii 49, Utah State 36
Bryant Moniz threw four touchdowns and Leon Wright-Jackson ran for a career-best 167 yards and three scores to help Hawaii snap a six-game losing streak with a 49-36 victory over Utah State on Saturday night in Honolulu.
Greg Salas had 10 catches for 187 yards and two TDs for the Warriors (3-6, 1-5), who were in the midst of their longest losing streak since going 0-12 in 1998.
Alex Green added 110 yards rushing on 10 carries, giving pass-heavy Hawaii its first pair of 100-yard rushers since Johnny Macon (141) and Brett Washington (106) in 1995.
The 49-point, 697-yard outburst was the best this year for Hawaii.
Moniz, the former Fresno City College quarterback, was 21 of 37 for 337 yards, earning his first victory in four starts.
The loss was the 12th straight on the road for the Aggies (2-7, 1-4).
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