Cropper is Mountain West offensive player of the week, second in a row for Fresno State

Fresno State wideout Jalen Cropper, who caught 10 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 35-16 victory Saturday at Utah State, all career highs, is the Mountain West Conference offensive player of the week.

It is the second week in a row 3-1 Fresno State has had a player selected – running back Ronnie Rivers was player of the week after rushing for 133 yards and scoring four touchdowns in a victory at UNLV.

Cropper, one of the Bulldogs’ most dynamic weapons, had averaged only 3.4 touches through the first three games (eight receptions, three rushes). But the sophomore was a focal point from the start Saturday – he had five receptions for 65 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter and eight for 148 and two TDs by halftime.

The touchdowns came on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Jake Haener in the first quarter, a 59-yard pass from Haener in the second and a 44-yard pass from Haener in the fourth.

The three receiving touchdowns is tied for the most in the Mountain West this season – Nevada wideout Romeo Doubs had three in victories over Utah State and New Mexico. The 202 receiving yards ranks third in the conference behind Doubs’ 209 in a victory at UNLV and San Jose State’s Bailey Gaither, who had 208 in a victory over New Mexico.

It was also the 16th game in school history a receiver racked up 200 or more yards and the first since Davante Adams had 13 receptions for 264 yards and three touchdowns in a 62-52 loss at San Jose State on Nov. 29, 2013.

Before this season, Fresno State had an offensive player of the week in the conference only three times since 2013 when Derek Carr was running a record-setting offense for the Bulldogs.

Quarterback Marcus McMaryion was selected Mountain West player of the week in 2017 following a victory over Boise State, and twice in 2018 afters wins at UCLA and over Toledo.

San Jose State defensive end Cade Hall was the defensive player of the week and Boise State return man Avery Williams the special teams player of the week.

Hall had 7.0 tackles including 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks in the Spartans’ victory over UNLV, moving to 4-0 in a season for the first time since 1955. Williams blocked two punts in the 3-1 Broncos’ victory over Colorado State, returning one for a touchdown with the other returned for a score by Clovis West grad D.J. Schramm.

Next for Fresno State

Saturday, 4 p.m. vs. San Jose State at Bulldog Stadium (no fans allowed), CBS Sports Network

This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 10:25 AM.