It took 40 seconds, but Fresno State’s last-minute win over UCLA will last forever

It was about 12:30 a.m. by the time Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener made it out of the locker room at the Rose Bowl, where he had just led the Bulldogs to a 40-37 victory over No. 13 UCLA with an improbable last-minute touchdown drive, going 5 for his last 5 and hitting Jalen Cropper with a blitz-beating strike from 13 yards out.

He had a bag of ice strapped to his left leg, a box lunch in one hand and a pillow clutched to his chest, which was, all things considered, including the long bus ride home, appropriate.

“It’s so surreal,” he said, walking up the ramp and out of the stadium that was, still, at that hour, lined with family and Bulldogs’ fans. “I’ve dreamed of playing in this stadium since I was 5 years old and I went out and threw the game winning touchdown against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life …”

He paused for a beat or two at the obvious next question, gave it some thought.

“No,” he said. “I never dreamed of what just happened. But our team worked so hard and stuff like that doesn’t happen for no reason. I’m proud of them. I’m happy for our o-line. They played their tails off tonight, battled for me, gave me as much time as I needed to get the ball to our playmakers and, when the ball was in the air, they made plays for me. I’m just happy to be a Bulldog, man.”

The Bulldogs, who are the first Mountain West team to beat a non-conference opponent ranked in the Top 15 since 2014 and knocked down UCLA for the fourth time in a row, all were ecstatic, as were the fans who had made the trip down the 99 for the game and were heard throughout a wild fourth quarter.

Fresno State (3-1) had failed to add much to a lead that was 13 points at halftime, its second half drives going punt, field goal, a missed fourth-down, punt, fumble and fumble.

For the Bulldogs, nothing but belief

The Bulldogs were in the red zone on the first of those turnovers and deep on their side of the football field on the second and the Bruins (2-1) turned both into touchdowns. UCLA went up 30-26, and the Bulldogs answered to go up 33-30 on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Haener to Erik Brooks.

UCLA went up again, 37-33, on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to Kyle Phillips.

But the Bruins left 54 seconds on the clock.

“I mean, I just looked at the guys,” said Haener, who was 39 of 53 for 455 yards with two touchdowns and his first interception of the season. “We all looked at each other. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s belief. We all believed we could do this. We have the firepower on offense to do whatever we want and it just takes a few good plays and a few good opportunities and, when it mattered most, we capitalized on it.”

There was not much doubt; none, really.

“I think the biggest thing is just the belief,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “I don’t think that was ever a question coming into the game and they carried it out for four quarters. We know what we’re capable of and the best thing is that there are no regrets as we went through the game.

“There were times we missed opportunities and we know that. I remember with seven minutes-plus to go in the game, just talking about the seven minutes that are left and forgetting about where we’re at right now and just focusing on your job and those guys did that.”

But, at that moment …

“Nothing but good vibes,” left guard Mose Vavao said.

“I was thinking, ‘Trust our quarterback. If we keep that guy off the ground we’re going to win that game,’” left tackle Dontae Bull said. “That guy is a warrior. He’s out there to die with us and I’m doing the same for him.

Haener and Cropper hit game-winner with 14 seconds to go

“I felt it. After the first two plays, Jake kept it alive. The first play, a little stall, but that’s OK. We’re a 1-0 mentality – 1-0 single every play no matter what happens the play prior, good or bad, you’re on to the next and you’re going to be great the next play. We kept the ball moving and we kept doing our things and we didn’t quit. We believed in ourselves and believed that we were the better team and we were going to do what needed to be done.”

That first play was a dud, an incomplete pass. But Haener hit Cropper for 10 yards, then 27 more and Josh Kelly for 26. Each time, the Bulldogs’ wideout was able to get out of bounds, stopping the game clock.

But a team that had scored five touchdowns this season on drives that lasted less than one minute was down to the 12 just that quick. The Bruins had to call a timeout, try to restore some semblance of order, and, on the next play, Haener hit Ronnie Rivers with a short pass that went for a loss of one yard.

That set up the game-winner. On 2nd-and-11 from the 13, Haener hit Cropper with a back shoulder throw and at the 1-yard line and he beat UCLA corner Mo Osling III into the end zone with 14 seconds to go.

They covered 75 yards in six plays and just 40 seconds.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to Jake,” UCLA coach Chip Kelly said. “That is as good of a performance as I’ve seen a quarterback make in my career. I’m not sure if he ever threw a bad ball. He had great command of everything we were doing. He did a good job, looking at some of the disguises, the protections, knowing to get the ball off.”

That final play, no matter what had happened before it in a game that included three touchdowns and three lead changes in the final 2:55, was executed perfectly, blocked perfectly.

UCLA, a high-pressure defense, had knocked Haener around a bit and had three sacks in the game.

But, at the snap, Vavao, center Bula Schmidt, right guard Dante Adkins Jr. and right tackle Alex Akingbulu took care of everything center and right. The danger was coming from the left, but Bull drove UCLA linebacker Caleb Johnson up field and away from Haener and Rivers took on nickel Qwuantrezz Knight and took him out of the play.

“They brought a big blitz on that last play,” Rivers said. “We saw it on film multiple times and I knew it was coming, so just being able to keep Jake protected back there and give him a chance to get the ball to Cropp, it’s an exciting feeling. Even though I didn’t make that play, I was still heavily involved and, shoot, I’m happy.”

Cropper, who caught 14 passes for 141 yards and the game-winning touchdown, ended up wide open.

It was an easy pitch and catch.

“I’m not going to lie, I was a little tired,” Cropper said. “We had a long drive. I didn’t come out. But that last play, I saw the corner drop. We work on that play all the time, and knowing Jake trusts me throwing that back shoulder into the corner of the end zone, the feeling is so surreal, I can’t really describe it in words.

“But it’s amazing to come out with the ‘W’ today against a ranked opponent and just always being able to show teams why the Bulldogs are going to be No. 1 in the Mountain West.”

This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 7:13 AM.