In a record opener for Fresno State and running back Ronnie Rivers, defense also excels

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers got his record, scoring the 45th touchdown of his career on a 61-yard pass play.

Jake Haener reached 300 passing yards for a fourth game in a row, a first for the Bulldogs since 2013 when Derek Carr was firing footballs all over the place, throwing for 331 yards before exiting a 45-0 victory over UConn on Saturday at Bulldog Stadium due to what he called “a full body cramp” on a brutally hot afternoon.

But the biggest number for the Bulldogs in their season-opening win over the Huskies also is the smallest, the zero.

It was a shutout, and it’s easy to say it was UConn. Bad team. Been that way for a very long time. Hadn’t even played a football game since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was just UConn.

But the Bulldogs’ defense thoroughly dominated the game in ways it had not when decimating overmatched opponents in the past; an Incarnate Word, a Southern Utah, an Idaho and even some FBS programs.

The Huskies (0-1) generated only 107 total yards at 1.8 yards per play, both Bulldog Stadium records for an opponent’s offensive futility.

They rushed for just 35 yards on 31 plays.

They completed 14 of 30 passes for 72 yards.

They had only nine first downs including two by way of penalty and they punted the football 11 times in 14 drives, lost possession once on a fumble and twice on downs.

Some context: Fresno State had not held an opponent to less than 2.0 yards per play going back to 2000 and had held only five to less than 3.0 yards per play over that same period.

’Dogs record-setting day includes the defense

The Bulldogs’ in their opener put a different spin on a defense that ended last season giving up 49 points in a loss to a New Mexico team that went into that game averaging just 19.7 points per game.

They had started with a new defensive scheme without a spring practice or a summer and the depth chart was fairly well decimated by that point, by injuries, by the coronavirus and contact tracing protocols.

Fresno State now — just different.

“I just feel like we came together,” defensive tackle Kevin Atkins said. “We’ve had the time to bond with each other. We’ve had the time to build relationships. I feel like that’s what made us play harder and play better.

“It’s a nice victory to have, but it’s a short-lived victory. You have to keep young. You’re on to the next.”

Next is Oregon and UCLA also is on the schedule before the Bulldogs start Mountain West Conference play, and those are much different challenges.

But Fresno State has had some time now, and it has some new pieces in linebacker Tyson Maeva, safety Elijah Gates, cornerback Daron Bland and tackle Evan Bennett. Tackle Leonard Payne is back after opting out last season. Levelle Bailey is playing in the box, after spending last season as a nickel at the Husky position.

Arron Mosby, who started his career as a safety, is playing defensive end and scored the Bulldogs’ first touchdown on a sack, forced fumble and 31-yard fumble return.

They also have depth up front that they severely lacked last season. The Bulldogs had some pieces, but never a chance to put them together.

“They were on the team, but together they were never out there on the field at the same time,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “When you’re just trying to figure out who the next guy is that next week to play a spot it’s hard to gain a lot of momentum and have some consistency.”

Defense puts different spin on Bulldogs’ prospects

Rivers, Haener and the Bulldogs’ offense will garner most of the headlines, but they also are in every week with more of a chance than they were a year ago.

“It’s great that we can count on those guys and when things are hard know that the defense is going to have our back,” said Haener, who started slowly, but completed 20 of 26 passes for 331 yards with touchdowns to Rivers, Ty Jones (9 yards) and Jalen Cropper (86 yards).

“Those guys just kept telling us, ‘Hey, keep punching, keep going, we have your back and we know that you guys are going to make plays with the offense you have.’ That was really encouraging, really exciting, just a different feeling from last year to this year. We all have each other’s back and we all know it. The guys are confident, and it’s just a great feeling to have.”

It is a different dynamic, one lost or ignored most everywhere before the season started.

Rivers, obviously, is not in that same category. His touchdown moved him past former Bulldogs back Anthony Daigle on the all-time list he is likely to dominate by the end of the season.

“It was a play that we run that gets me out in space and gets me running on some ‘backers and Jake threw a great ball,” said Rivers, who has scored 35 of his touchdowns rushing and 10 receiving.

“It was an overwhelming feeling. A great accomplishment and none of this could be done without my teammates so all the props and all the glory goes to them, really.”

DeBoer gave a game ball to the super senior running back, who is one of 14 Bulldogs taking advantage of a blanket waiver by the NCAA, gaining an additional year of eligibility with 2020 impacted by COVID.

It will, Rivers said, probably end up in the family trophy case at his parents’ home.

“The whole team just respects him so much, was so fired up just because he’s such a great teammate,” DeBoer said.

“He’s so unselfish. He could have cared less about the record. He cares more about the winning and how the day ended for the Bulldogs. He just brings it every single day in practice, the guys see that. He’s an awesome person, an awesome teammate.”

By the numbers

10 – Tackles for loss by the Bulldogs, including 4.0 sacks.

7 – Three-and-outs in 14 drives for UConn.

.125 – The Huskies converted only 2 of 16 third-down plays into a first down.

0 – Sacks allowed by the Bulldogs’ offensive line.

6 – Targets for wideout Eric Brooks, a former walk-on. Jalen Cropper was targeted with passes five times, Josh Kelly four times and Ronnie Rivers, tight end Raymond Pauwels Jr. and Keric Wheatfall three times.

8 – Plays from scrimmage run by UConn on the Bulldogs’ side of the field.

61 – Yards on the pass play when Ronnie Rivers set a school record with his 45th career TD. It was a career-long pass play for the senior running back.

5 – Touchbacks on kickoffs by Cesar Silva. The Bulldogs last season had only two touchbacks on 36 kickoffs.

538 – Yards of total offense for the Bulldogs.

221.9 – Passing efficiency rating for Jake Haener, a career high in a start.

This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 6:35 PM.