Bulldogs score twice in weekly Mountain West football honor roll

Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion and defensive end Mykal Walker have been selected as the Mountain West offensive and defensive players of the week, the fourth time and first since 2012 that the Bulldogs have had two players honored in the same week since joining the conference.

McMaryion completed 24 of 31 passes for a career-high 368 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in a 49-27 rout of Toledo. He also rushed for one score, the second game in a row he has accounted for five touchdowns.

The senior from Dinuba had four rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown in a Sept. 15 victory at UCLA, earning player of the week honors.

Walker, a junior, had four total tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack, forced one fumble and also intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown as the Bulldogs scuttled a Toledo offense that came in averaging 51.0 points per game.

Through three quarters, when Fresno State had its starters on the field, the Rockets had scored 13 points and were averaging just 3.8 yards on 52 plays.

Hawaii kicker Ryan Meskell was the special teams player of the week.

McMaryion is the first offensive or defensive player in the conference to twice be selected player of the week this season. San Diego State kicker John Baron II has been the special teams player of the week twice in the first five weeks.

The Bulldogs, who open Mountain West play on Saturday at Nevada, have taken a significant forward step up offensively with McMaryion in his second season in the offense and working with offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer.

Fresno State had five touchdown drives of 70 or more yards in the victory over Toledo and has eight in the past two games, which is as many as it had in its previous eight games against FBS opponents and as many as it had all of the 2016 season.

The Bulldogs are leading the conference and fifth in the nation converting on third downs, picking up a first down on 31 of 55 plays (56.36 percent).

They also are scoring 45.0 points per game, second in the conference and 11th in the FBS. Last season, Fresno State was eighth in the MW at 27.1 points per game

McMaryion has been the catalyst, particularly the past two weeks in victories at UCLA and over Toledo.

Through the first four games McMaryion has hit 20 of his 30 passes on third down (66.7 percent) with 17 first downs, up from 41 of 99 (41.4 percent) with 22 first downs last season; and 17 of 19 passes in the red zone (89.5 percent) with five touchdowns, up from 17 of 36 (47.2 percent) with six touchdowns.

The Bulldogs’ dynamic duos

Fresno State offensive and defensive players of the week following the same game:

Sept. 17, 2012

Offense: Robbie Rouse. Defense: Phillip Thomas

Oct. 1, 2012

Offense: Derek Carr. Defense: Andy Jennings

Nov. 12, 2012

Offense: Robbie Rouse. Defense: Travis Brown

Oct. 2, 2018

Offense: Marcus McMaryion. Defense: Mykal Walker

This story was originally published October 1, 2018 at 12:39 PM.