Signature victory: Fresno State scores in final seconds to shock No. 13 UCLA at Rose Bowl

Bulldogs pull off 1-minute drill

With 54 seconds remaining and down four points, the Bulldogs had 75 yards separating them from the end zone.

Fresno State made it happen and did it over the course of six quick plays.

Quarterback Jake Haener misfired on his first throw of the drive, but then connected five straight passes and ultimately found receiver Jalen Cropper along the sideline and just in front of the end zone.

Cropper took two quick steps then scored the go-ahead, 13-yard touchdown catch with 14 seconds as the Bulldogs prevailed 40-37 over the 13th-ranked Bruins late Saturday night from the Rose Bowl.

Fresno State (3-1) then held off UCLA (2-1) during the Bruins’ ensuing, short-lived drive and secured a win over their highest-ranked opponent since defeating then No. 10 Oregon State back in 2001.

In addition, Fresno State defeated UCLA for the fourth straight time in the all-time series and collected a third consecutive victory at the famed Rose Bowl.

There were four lead changes in final 7 minutes, 30 seconds alone Saturday, including a touchdown by the Bruins just under the 1-minute mark that had put the pressure on the Bulldogs to execute their 1-minute offense.

Haener finished with 455 passing yards and two touchdowns on 39 of 53 attempts. He also was intercepted once.

Cropper hauled in a game-high 14 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Cropper scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Fellow Bulldogs receiver Josh Kelly made eight catches for 120 yards, including a long of 31 yards.

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers, meanwhile, rushed 21 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs led by as much as 13 points during the first half before the Bruins reduced Fresno State’s lead to two points midway through the fourth quarter before the see-saw action got underway.

UCLA takes late lead

Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson connected with Kyle Phillips for a 15-yard touchdown pass to placed UCLA ahead 37-33 with 54 seconds remaining.

Haener to Brooks, and ‘Dogs lead again

Fresno State is back on top 33-30 with 2:55 to go, scoring on a 19-yard pass from Jake Haener to Erik Brooks.

Another Bulldogs’ turnover, and there goes lead

UCLA is now up 30-26 with 7:27 to go, scoring on a 3-yard run by Zach Charbonnet. The Bruins got the ball back on a fumble by wideout Josh Kelly at the end of a 13-yard pass play.

The Bruins, who needed to go only 18 yards for the score, failed on a 2-point conversion try.

Bruins cut it to 26-24

Fresno State turned it over on a Jake Haener fumble on a play that started in the red zone at the 9 and ended up with Bruins football at their 43 yard line, and UCLA scored quickly to cut the ‘Dogs lead to 26-24.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson hit Kyle Phillips with a 42-yard touchdown pass with 8:10 to go.

Rivers goes past 100-yard mark

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers has rushed 16 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter, his first game with 100 or more since he had 132 at Utah State last season.

Bulldogs lead back to 26-17

Abraham Montana has his second field goal of the game, hitting from 39 yards with 7:33 to go in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs couldn’t take advantage of a short field following a short UCLA punt and driving to the Bruins’ 22. Jake Haener missed on three consecutive pass plays, the third a drop by Erik Brooks.

UCLA with quick, easy score

UCLA is back to within 23-17, scoring on a 39-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Kam Brown.

The Bruins drive was 75 yards in six plays including an 18-yard pass from Thompson-Robinson to Kyle Phillips on a 3rd-and-12 play.

Bruins’ running game

UCLA running backs Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown have rushed for 10 yards on three plays and five yards in two plays, which is not where they have been in the Bruins’ first two games.

Charbonnet came in with 223 rushing yards and four touchdowns in just 17 plays, averaging 13.2 per play.. Brown came in with 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 30 plays, averaging 5.8 per play.

UCLA came in ranked third in the Pac-12 in rushing offense.

Where is the ball going?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is 21 of 28. He has targeted Jalen Cropper eight times and Ty Jones seven times. The Bulldogs have eight players with at least one reception and six with at least two.

HALFTIME: Fresno State 23, UCLA 10

The Bulldogs turned the UCLA turnover into three points, with Abraham Montano kicking a 21-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining in the first half.

Montana is now 4 for 4 this season kicking field goals.

In the first half, Fresno State had 276 yards of total offense while UCLA had 161. The Bulldogs ran 49 plays to just 16 for the Bruins and had 17 first downs to just three for UCLA.

Quarterback Jake Haener is 21 of 28 for 200 yards. Ronnie Rivers has 10 carries for 68 yards including touchdown runs of 1 and 36 yards.

The Bulldogs defense has 3.0 tackles for loss, with 2.0 by defensive end Arron Mosby. UCLA has had five possessions not including one play before the end of the first half, and has gone 3-and-out twice and lost possession on a fumble.

Haener picked for first time

Fresno State had a chance to end the half with a score, but Jake Haener just threw his first interception of the season after 116 attempts. Kenny Churchwell got him.

That is the longest run at the start of the season without an interception for a Fresno State quarterback going back through the 2000 season. David Carr started the 2001 season with 88 consecutive pass attempts without a pick, and Derek Carr had 86 in a row at the start of the 2012 season.

And, the Bulldogs got the ball right back with defensive tackle Leonard Payne recovering a fumble by quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Bulldogs building lead

Fresno State is now up 20-10, scoring on a 36-yard run by Ronnie Rivers with 6:37 to go in the half.

The Bulldogs drive was 75 yards in seven plays. Their TD drives, three in a row, have been 55, 79 and 75 yards.

The 36-yard run was a season long for Rivers.

Fresno State has run the ball 16 times for 73 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per play. UCLA coming into the game had allowed just 74 rushing yards in its two games – Hawaii had 26 on 21 plays and LSU had 48 on 25 plays.

FG gets Bruins back within 13-10

UCLA got a jump start on a drive with a 66-yard kickoff return by Kazmeir Allen, the former Tulare Union standout. But the Bulldogs’ defense held, allowing just six yards on three plays and UCLA had to settle for a 39-yard field goal.

With 9:43 remaining before halftime, Fresno State leads 13-10.

Bulldogs back in lead on Cropper TD run

Fresno State is back in the lead, scoring on 1-yard run by Jalen Cropper.

With 11:49 to go in the second quarter, it’s Fresno State 13-7.

The Bulldogs drive was 79 yards in 14 plays, including a 10-yard gain on a 4th-and-4 pass play from Haener to Cropper and a 4-run run on a 3rd-and-3 by Jordan Mims.

First quarter, UCLA leads 7-6

The Bulldogs have the ball at the UCLA 32 to start the second quarter.

Fresno State ran 23 plays for 133 yards in the first quarter to just eight for 79 for the Bruins.

UCLA answers quickly

UCLA hit a big gainer off play action on first down, a 38-yard shot to Kam Brown, and took a 7-6 lead on a 6-yard run by Zach Charbonnet with 3:59 to go in the first quarter.

How’s this for Haener?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener hit all five of his passes on the Bulldogs’ scoring drive. He had thrown two incomplete passes in a row, as that first possession came to an end.

The Bulldogs’ quarterback has not thrown more than three incomplete passes in a row in any game this season.

His longest streak was two in a row at Oregon and against Cal Poly, and three in a row against UConn.

Fresno State takes 6-0 lead on Rivers TD

The Bulldogs have a 6-0 lead, scoring on a 1-yard run by running back Ronnie Rivers with 5:54 to go in the first quarter. The drive was 55 yards in 10 plays and quarterback Jake Haener gave it life, hitting Ty Jones for 25 yards on a 3rd-and-19 play.

Haener the past two seasons has hit 18 of 28 passes (64.3%) on 3rd-and-10 or more with nine of those completions going for a first down.

Bulldogs, as usual, start with a punt

Fresno State had the first possession and ended up punting the football to the Bruins, after quarterback Jake Haener missed a couple of throws to open receivers.

Haener just missed Josh Kelly on a 1st-and-10 from the Fresno State 47 and then Jalen Cropper didn’t make much of an adjustment to try to get to a 3rd-and-11 pass play up the hash mark.

The Bulldogs still have not scored on an opening possession this season.

UCLA went 3-and-out, and the Bulldogs will start their second possession from their 45-yard line.

Pregame banter

Fresno State will play No. 13 UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, getting another shot at a ranked Pac-12 team.

The Bulldogs had a fourth-quarter lead at No. 11 Oregon in the second game of the season before losing 31-24.

They are an 11-point underdog against the Bruins, who opened the season with victories over Hawaii and No. 16 LSU.

Here’s how to tune into the game on TV and radio:

TV: Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson and Yogi Roth)

• Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 759, 1759), Comcast (434, 823), Dish Network (409)

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

• Find it fast: Fresno (AM1340), Bakersfield (AM970), Visalia (AM1130), Modesto (FM92.9), Stockton (AM1280), Bulldogs app, iHeartMedia app

More tinkering on the offensive line

Fresno State still is trying to put a consistent run game together – its 196 yards against FCS Cal Poly didn’t really do the trick there. The Bulldogs averaged 5.2 yards per rush against the Mustangs, but 103 came in the fourth quarter and 62 came from freshman quarterback Jaylen Henderson long after their 63-10 victory had been decided.

The Bulldogs did some tinkering with their offensive line during the week in practice, though they are expected to go with the same group that started last week against Cal Poly.

With center Matt Smith out with a knee injury, junior Bula Schmidt started at center with Mose Vavao and Dante Adkins Jr. at left and right guard and Dontae Bull and Alex Akingbulu at left and right tackle.

Fresno State is ranked eighth in the Mountain West Conference in rushing offense, averaging 143.0 yards per game.

The Bruins have been good against the run in their two victories, allowing Hawaii 26 yards on 21 plays (1.2 ypp) and LSU 48 yards on 25 plays (1.9 ypp).

Quick strikes

Fresno State has scored five touchdowns this season on drives that took less than one minute off the game clock, and is tied with Marshall for the national lead in pass plats of 40 or more yards.

UCLA is tied for 103rd in the nation in pass plays of 40 or more yards allowed, with three.

ICYMI: Defending the UCLA tight end

Fresno State hasn’t had to worry much about opposing tight ends through three games. UConn, Oregon and Cal Poly did not make great use of the position – a combined 13 targets and eight receptions for an average of 4.5 yards with two first downs and the longest play just 11 yards.

But the tight end has life in the UCLA offense with 6-foot-4 and 250-pound Greg Dulcich, who could be a challenge for the Bulldogs on early downs and off play-action given the strength of the Bruins’ run game.

“He definitely reminds me of some of the tight ends that I’ve seen, historically, at my alma mater, the University of Iowa,” Bulldogs defensive coordinator William Inge said. “He is long. He is athletic. He is aggressive.

“He is great at the point of contact, but out in space when he is running vertically down the seams you haven’t seen many guys that can run with him. It’s going to be a challenge, for sure.”

Dulcich in the past season-plus two games has caught 13 of his 30 passes on first down, averaging 27.7 yards per catch. Five of his six touchdown receptions also have come on first-down plays, with the other on second down.

He was targeted a team-high seven times in the Bruins’ 38-27 victory over LSU and caught three passes for 117 yards including a 75-yard TD that came on … you guessed it, a first-down play off play-action. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson faked a handoff to Zach Charbonnet with the running back and offensive line all headed into the boundary and then hit a wide-open Dulcich on the opposite hash mark 15 yards down field.

Dulcich slipped a tackle and took it the rest of the way, tackled and tumbling into the end zone.

The Bruins’ tight end last season caught a 69-yard TD pass against USC and a 17-yard touchdown against Stanford on first-down play-action pass plays and a 21-yard TD against the Cardinal on a second-and-6 off play-action.

This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 7:19 PM.