Fresno State at No. 11 Oregon: Late touchdown carries Ducks past the Bulldogs 31-24
FINAL: Oregon 31, Fresno State 24
Fresno State fumbled the football five times, losing three, all on its side of the field and all leading to easy scores.
The Bulldogs were penalized eight times and gave up four sacks.
They had a big chance to pull off their biggest upset in 20 years, but just made too many costly mistakes in a 31-24 loss on Saturday to the No. 11 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon scored touchdowns on drives of 3 and 27 yards and in the fourth quarter kicked a field goal after gaining possession at the Bulldogs 32-yard line following a Fresno State fumble.
Ducks go ahead on TD run by QB Brown
Fresno State went three-and-out, and Oregon went right down the field to take a 31-24 lead on a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Anthony Brown on a 4th and 2 play.
Oregon ties it at 24, 7:41 to go
Fresno State tuned over the football on its side of the field for a third time, but after a Jake Haener fumble the defense was able to hold the Ducks to a 25-yard field goal.
The score is tied at 24 with 7:41 to go.
Oregon has scored 17 of its 24 points off turnovers.
Third Montano FG gives Bulldogs lead
The Fresno State defense forced a turnover on the first play of the final quarter, with defensive end Arron Mosby stripping the ball from Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown and tackle Kevin Atkins pouncing on the football.
The Bulldogs had to settle for a third field goal by Abraham Montano, but they are in the lead, 24-21, with 13:03 to go.
Oregon on its second half drives has lost possession on downs, a punt and a fumble.
Thibodeaux out
Oregon linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux, who caused the Bulldogs a lot of problems in the first quarter and set up the Ducks first touchdown with a sack and a forced fumble, is on the sidelines in sweats.
Thibodeaux, who is projected as a top pick in the NFL Draft, suffered a ankle injury in the second quarter.
Bulldogs tie the score at 21
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener with a 2-yard TD run and 2-point conversion pass to tight end Juan Rodriguez has tied the score at 21 with 6:45 to go in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs drive was 85 yards in nine plays, a big chunk of it coming on a 45-yard run by Jordan Mims on a 3rd-and-2 play.
Haener is now 23 of 32 for 242 yards and one touchdown.
Big stop by Bulldogs to start half
The Bulldogs’ defense came up with a big stop to start the second half, shutting down a 4th-and-1 run with the Ducks in the red zone.
Oregon had moved the ball 59 yards in 10 plays, establishing a run game that struggled in the first half. But there was a slip by Ducks’ running back CJ Verdell and a stop on fourth down by Levelle Bailey and the Bulldogs have the ball back at the 15-yard line.
Oregon is averaging just 32 yards per rush in the game.
Third down failures
Oregon is just 3 of 8 converting third downs, but the standout number in that equation is not the 37.5% success rate. It’s 4.5. The Ducks average yardage to gain to move the sticks.
The Bulldogs are 5 of 9 on third downs (55.6%), and their average yards to gain is 8.6
About that 220
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener has 220 passing yards at halftime. Oregon played seven games last season and allowed less than 220 passing yards in four of them – Stanford had 216, UCLA had 195, Cal had 183 and Iowa State had 156.
Jalen Cropper and Josh Kelly both have been targeted a team high six times. Cropper has four catches for 40 yards and the Bulldogs’ touchdown and Kelly has three catches for 66 yards including a 39-yard shot.
The Bulldogs and their passing game. obviously, are benefiting from a limited Kayvon Thibodeaux, who in the second quarter suffered an ankle injury.
Bulldogs’ get late TD, in it at halftime
Fresno State came right back and scored on a 17-yard pass from Jake Haener to Jalen Cropper with seven seconds remaining in the first half and the Bulldogs trail only 21-13 at the break.
Haener moved the Bulldogs 75 yards in 10 plays for the score, the drive taking only 1:09.
The Bulldogs’ quarterback is 20 of 29 for 220 yards with one touchdown. Fresno State is out-gaining Oregon 212 to 164, and has 16 first downs to only nine for the Ducks.
Oregon strikes back
The Ducks JJ Johnson beat Wylan Free with a double move and just like that Oregon has a 32-yard touchdown passes and has extended its lead to 21-6 with 1:16 to go in the first half.
Oregon went 74 yards in just six plays including a 26-yard pass to Mycah Pittman and then the scoring pass from Anthony Brown to Johnson.
Bulldogs cut deficit to one score
Fresno State put another drive together, but again had to settle for a field goal by Montano, this one from 39 yards.
With 3:31 to go in the first half, it’s Oregon 14-6.
The Bulldogs went from their own 10 to the Oregon 20, but center Matt Smith was penalized for an illegal snap while quarterback Jake Haener was check a play, then after they got those five yards back with a pass to tight end Raymond Pauwels Jr., Haener fumbled a snap from under center.
On 3rd-and-12, Haener missed trying to hit Jalen Cropper in the end zone.
Fresno State at this point has 152 total yards to just 90 for Oregon. It also has 11 first downs to six for the Ducks.
Bulldogs on the board, but just three
Fresno State is on the board, but had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Abraham Montano with 14:16 to go ion the second quarter after getting as far as the Oregon 8-yard line.
A 1st-and-10 run from the 9-yard line went for loss of 1 yard. A 2nd-and-11 pass from Jake Haener to Ronnie Rivers went for a gain of two yards. And, after an Oregon timeout, the Bulldogs tried some trickery with a reverse to Josh Kelly on 3rd-and-8 that went for a minus-8 yards.
The Ducks are dominating the edges. Not much chance for that play to go anywhere.
A special issue brewing?
Fresno State punter Carson King has a big leg, but consistency has been an issue through one game and one quarter. Here are his seven punts …
UConn: 20 yards, 40, 46, 32 and 54
Oregon: 48 yards, 34
The 54-yard punt against UConn was the longest, but not the best. It was low, and the Huskies were able to return it for 19 yards.
Ducks out to 14-0 lead
Oregon scored off the second Bulldogs’ turnover with Travis Dye going in from four yards out with 6:40 to go in the first quarter. The Ducks two scoring drives: 3 yards and 27 yards.
Bulldogs have three drives, two turnovers
The Fresno State defense is in another tough spot following a second turnover, this one a fumble by running back Ronnie Rivers at the end of a short run.
Oregon takes possession at the Bulldogs’ 27-yard line.
The Bulldogs did not turn over the ball in their 45-0 rout of UConn to open the season.
Oregon takes lead off turnover
Oregon turned a turnover into a touchdown and a 7-0 lead, scoring on a 1-yard run by CJ Verdell with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter.
The Ducks had regained possession on a sack and forced fumble by Kayvon Thibodeaux, who raced by left tackle and crushed quarterback Jake Haener, knocking the football free.
Bulldogs’ pre-game …
The Fresno State Bulldogs take on the No. 11 Oregon Ducks on Saturday morning at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
Kickoff is 11 a.m. Here is the TV and radio information …
TV: Pac-12 Network (Roxy Bernstein, Lincoln Kennedy)
- Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 759, 1759), Xfinity (434, 823), Dish Network (409)
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)
- Find it fast: Fresno (AM 1340), Bakersfield (AM 970), Visalia (AM 1130), Modesto (FM 92.9), Stockton (AM 1280), Bulldogs app, iHeartMedia app
Can Ronnie keep running?
Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers set the Bulldogs’ all-time record for touchdowns scored last week in a 45-0 victory over UConn, scoring the 45th of his career.
Rivers, who has rushed for 2,687 yards in his career at 5.1 yards per play, could move closer to the Top 5 on the Bulldogs’ all-time rushing list. How big a challenge is Oregon? The Ducks have a new defensive coordinator in Tim DeRuyter, who coached Fresno State to Mountain West Conference championships in 2012 and 2013.
But rushing defense was not a strong point a year ago. Oregon ranked only seventh in the Pac-12, allowing 169.6 yards per game and allowed 16 rushing touchdowns in seven games.
Only Oregon State (18) and Arizona (19) allowed more rushing touchdowns, and the Beavers were just 2-5 on the season and the Wildcats winless in five games.
Rivers starts the game No. 6 on the Fresno State career rushing list. Michael Pittman, who rushed for 3,017 yards from 1993 to 1997, is in fifth place.
Vegas, FWIW …
Oregon was as high as a 22-point favorite in Las Vegas, but Saturday morning the line had been bet down to 20.
Trouble in Autzen
Oregon before the COVID season a year ago had a crowd of 50,000 or more in 119 of 121 home games since Autzen Stadium was expanded before the 2002 season.
The Ducks have won 12 games in a row at home, which is the sixth-longest active streak in the country and the longest for Oregon since a 21-game streak from 2008 to 2011.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 10:23 AM.