Too close for comfort: No. 22 Fresno State survives slow start, late-game scare to edge UNLV
Playing its first game as a nationally ranked team this season, No. 22 Fresno State nearly blew it.
The Bulldogs were held scoreless through the game’s first 18 minutes, trailed by as many as two touchdowns, and fell behind by one point midway through the fourth quarter to an opponent that was winless.
And yet, Fresno State managed to pull out the victory.
Quarterback Jake Haener connected with Jalen Cropper for four touchdowns, including a 26-yard strike for the go-ahead score with 4:53 remaining, as Fresno State escaped with a 38-30 victory against UNLV.
Many from the rambunctious announced crowd of 35,093 likely ended up feeling relieved upon exiting Bulldog Stadium.
Haener finished with 378 yards and five touchdowns on 30-of-42 passing.
Cropper hauled in 10 catches for 108 yards while being targeted 13 times. His four touchdown catches tied a Mountain West single-game record, which was last achieved by former Bulldogs star Davante Adams.
Haener and Cropper were the crunch time heroes last week, too, with the Bulldogs tandem delivering a winning touchdown with 14 seconds left during Fresno State’s 40-37 upset of then-No. 13 UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Bulldogs add a FG, still a one score game
Fresno State turned the turnover forced by Arron Mosby into a Cesar Silva field goal, but at 38-30 it still is in a one-score game with 0-3 UNLV. There is 2:29 to go, and the Rebels have one timeout remaining.
Mosby sack and fumble
Fresno State has the ball back from the UNLV 21 after Arron Mosby had a sack and forced fumble that was recovered by Kwami Jones.
That was the Bulldogs’ fourth sack in the game. The now have had 4.0 or more sacks seven times in 11 games under defensive coordinator William Inge.
Haener to Cropper for 4th TD, and lead
Jake Haener and Jalen Cropper have done it again, teaming up for a fourth touchdown on a 26-yard pass play with 4:53 to go. The Bulldogs’ 2-point try failed again and they lead 35-30 with 4:53 to go.
Haener in the second half is 17 of 20 for 271 yards and four touchdowns.
Cropper now has nine receptions for 103 yards and four of Haener’s five TD passes. Haener also hit Erik Brooks for an 18-yard touchdown back in the second quarter.
Rebels back in lead with FG
UNLV is back in the lead, going up 30-29 on a 30-yard field goal by Daniel Gutierrez.
There is 6:38 remaining in the game.
Bulldogs turn it over
Fresno State just turned it over on an interception, giving UNLV more life with a late hit penalty on the return.
UNLV starts is drive from the Fresno State 44, down two points.
UNLV has an answer
The Rebels didn’t just fold after the Bulldogs went up by eight, driving 75 yards in six plays and scoring on a 6-yard run by Courtney Reese with 9:57 remaining in the game. UNLV went for a 2-point conversion to tie the score, but pass play failed and Fresno State still is leading 29-27.
The big play on the drive was a 44-yard pass from Cameron Friel to Steve Jenkins to the Bulldogs’ 5-yard line.
Haener to Cropper, again, again and again
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener and Jalen Cropper teamed up for a third touchdown, this one from 25 yards and this one giving the Bulldogs a 29-21 lead.
Haener is now 25 of 36 for 313 yards and four touchdowns. He has passed for 300 or more yards in three games in a row, four of five this season and seven of eight dating to last season.
Cropper had four touchdown receptions coming into the game and now has seven. The last Fresno State wideout with more than seven TD catches in a season is KeeSean Johnson, who had eight in 2018.
A note on UNLV
This is the ninth game UNLV has played against a FBS opponent under coach Marcus Arroyo. The Rebels didn’t score 28 points in any of the first eight, it’s most coming in a 40-27 loss last season to the Bulldogs.
The UNLV point totals last season: 6, 19, 27, 17,14 and 21. And, this season: 10 and 3.
Haener to Cropper, again, and ‘Dogs lead
Fresno State has a lead for the first time, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Jake Haener to Jalen Cropper. The 2-point try failed, again, but with 3:47 to go in the third quarter it’s Fresno State 22-21.
The Bulldogs, following that UNLV punt that was a touch back, hit for 55 yards on their first play from scrimmage with Haener hitting a wide open Keric Wheatfall.
Haener is now 18 of 29 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. In the second half he is 7 of 9 for 128 yards and two TDs.
Cropper now has six catches for 51 yards and two TDs. Wheatfall has four receptions for 103 yards.
UNLV punts from ‘Dogs 37-yard line
Fresno State has the ball back, starting from the 20 with 5:00 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rebels broke a big pass play from Cameron Friel to Charles Williams for 50 yards, but punted from the Fresno State 37-yard line. It was 4th-and-11, but … it also was the 37-yard line and UNLV is 0-3 this season and 0-9 under coach Marcus Arroyo. The 37-yard line …
Haener to Cropper, ‘Dogs cut it to 21-16
Fresno State is back within one score, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Haener to Jalen Cropper. With 7:35 to go in the third quarter, it’s UNLV 21-16.
Haener is now 16 of 26 for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Haener back
Fresno State has the football back, starting at its 32-yard line, and Jake Haener is back in the game.
Bulldogs go 3-and-out, Haener limps off
Fresno State had no answer for the UNLV score, going three-and-out with Ronnie Rivers losing four yards on first down, Jake Haener scrambling for four on second down and then Haener missing Jalen Cropper on third down.
Haener took a shot on the third-down pass and limped off the field.
One play, One TD for UNLV
UNLV needed just one play in the third quarter to make the score 21-9, scoring on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Doug Brumfield to Tyleek Collins.
The Rebels had only 64 passing yards in the first half, and the 80-yard reception was by far their longest of the season. Wideout Kyle Williams had a 58-yard receptions against FCS Eastern Washington.
Chuck Wagon rolling
UNLV running back Charles Williams, the Bullard High alum, rushed for 75 yards and one touchdown on 12 plays in the first half. He has more yards than any of the leading rushers against the Bulldogs this season …
UConn: Mensah 31 yards
Oregon: Verdell 74 yards
Cal Poly: Dunu 32 yards
UCLA: Thompson-Robinson 67 yards
Fresno State came in allowing opponents just 2.7 yards per rush, but Williams is averaging 6.2.
Fresno State at the half
The Bulldogs have 163 yards of total offense at halftime in 33 plays, averaging 4.9 yards per play. They came in averaging 7.0 yards per play.
Fresno State is 1 of 7 converting on third downs, with the average yards to gain 8.3 yards. Quarterback Jake Haener is 2 of 5 on third downs for 17 yards. The Bulldogs came in fifth in the Mountain West, converting on 41.8% of their third-down plays.
The Bulldogs came into the game leading the conference with 25 explosive plays of 20 or more yards. They have just one so far, a 28-yard run by wideout Josh Kelly.
Running back Ronnie Rivers has 31 yards on eight rushing plays, 3.9 per play. He gained 14 of those yards on one play and has been held to two yards or less five times with another that went for just three yards.
Bulldogs get within 14-9 before half
Fresno State cut its deficit to 14-9, scoring on an 18-yard pass from Jake Haener to Erik Brooks with 32 seconds remaining in the first half. They tried a 2-point conversion reverse rather than kick, but the play was short.
The Bulldogs drive was 46 yards in five plays in 1:03.
Haener at the break is 11 of 20 for 100 yards.
Another UNLV offense note …
The Rebels have 189 yards of total offense in the second quarter. They had 155 total yards in a loss at Arizona State and 134 in a loss to Iowa State – that;s four quarters, not just the first half.
UNLV and offense
The Rebels have TD drives of 60 and 95 yards in this game. In their first three games, losses to FCS Eastern Washington, at Arizona State and against Iowa State, they had 37 possessions and on 25 of them (67.6%) they gained 20 yards or less. There also were four more that went for 22, 25, 25 and 25 yards.
UNLV came in ranked last in the Mountain West with 35 first downs, just 11.7 per game.
The Rebels have 11 first downs with 5:57 remaining in the first half.
Bulldogs on board, but settle of FG
Fresno State put together a scoring drive, but it ended with a 25-yard field goal by Cesar Silva and not a touchdown. The Bulldogs trail 14-3 with 11:38 remaining in the first half.
UNLV puts ‘Dogs in 14-0 hole
UNLV running back Charles Williams, the Bullard High alum, scored from 1-yard out to cap a 14-play, 95-yard drive and put the Rebels up 14-0 with 1:16 to go in the first quarter.
At 95 yards, that was the Rebels’ longest drive of the season. UNLV in its first three games had 37 possessions and on only eight did it gain more than 25 yards.
Another punt for ‘Dogs
Fresno State is punting the ball back to UNLV, its second possession going four plays and 14 yards.
Quarterback Jake Haener has started 1 of 6 for 13 yards. Ronnie Rivers has rushed the ball three times for five yards, his carries going for 2, 2 and 1 yard.
The Bulldogs’ running back Rivers came into the game with 62 rushing plays with 28 going for two yards or less, 25 going for four yards or more and nine for three yards.
It hasn’t mattered, good competition or … not so good.
Against UConn and FCS Cal Poly, he had run it 27 times with 12 going for two yards or less, 11 for four yards or more and four for three yards. Against Oregon and UCLA, he had run it 35 times with 16 going for two yards or less, 14 for four yards or more and five for three yards.
UNLV came in ranked 10th in the Mountain West in rushing defense, allowing 4.8 yards per play and 190.3 per game.
UNLV breaks on top
UNLV took advantage of a 25-yard punt by the Bulldogs’ Carson King and has jumped out to a 7-0 lead, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Doug Brumfield to Steve Jenkins with 10:00 to go in the first quarter.
That was the Rebels’ first passing touchdown of the season.
Stunner, ‘Dogs start with a punt
Fresno State got he first possession and after picking up one first down punted away the football.
The Bulldogs have punted on their first drive in every game this season. It has gone like this:
UConn: 3 play, 8 yards, punt
Oregon: 6 plays, 3 yards, punt
Cal Poly: 3 plays, 3 yards, punt
UCLA: 6 plays, 21 yards, punt
UNLV: 6 plays, 13 yards, punt
Fresno State picked up one first down in its initial drive at Oregon, had two at UCLA and one against the Rebels.
Pregame notes
Fresno State, which made its season debut in the national rankings earlier this week at No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, plays its first game as a ranked team on Friday since the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl.
Fresno State will host UNLV.
The Bulldogs won their last game as a ranked team, then No. 19 in the AP poll and taking apart Arizona State 31-20. Ronnie Rivers rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns in that game. The defense got a score on a Pick Six by cornerback Tank Kelly and held the Sun Devils to just 293 total yards.
But the Bulldogs’ record after hitting the rankings is not all that great.
Fresno State was 7-1 in 2018 by the time it made it into the Top 25. It beat UNLV on the road when ranked 20th in its first game in the polls, but then lost at Boise State the following week when No. 16 in the AP poll.
In 2017, the Bulldogs lost their first and only game as a ranked team, losing at Boise State in the Mountain West Conference championship game 17-14 when at No. 25 in the rankings.
Fresno State in 2013 won seven games in a row as a ranked team, getting as high as No. 15. But they lost at San Jose State in the final game of the regular season when they were ranked 16th.
In 2008, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 21 after beating Rutgers to open the season, only to lose that next week to No. 10 Wisconsin.
And in 2005, after taking No. 1 USC to the wire only to fall 50-42 and gain respect from much of the nation and remain nationally ranked the loss to the Trojans, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs lost at Nevada 38-35.
Then after dropping to No. 22 in the rankings, Fresno State lost the following game, too, upset by Louisiana Tech at Bulldog Stadium in a regular-season finale.
The Bulldogs are a 30.5-point favorite over the winless Rebels, so getting past this one shouldn’t be a big problem …
Here’s how to tune in:
TV: CBS Sports Network (Jason Knapp, Donte Whitner)
Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 643, 1643), Comcast (418, 732), DirecTV (221), Dish Network (158)
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
OL update
Center Matt Smith, who missed the past two games with a knee injury, returned to practice this week and is dressed for the game.
The Bulldogs on Friday are likely to line up the same way they did at UCLA with Dontae Bull at left tackle, Mose Vavao at left guard, Bula Schmidt at center, Dante Adkins Jr. at right guard and Alex Akingbulu at right tackle.
Will Windmon be a problem … again?
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener took some big hits in the Bulldogs’ victory at UCLA last week, and the potential is there against UNLV and linebacker Jacoby Windmon.
A year ago, the Bulldogs didn’t much much success blocking him. Windmon last season was in on nine tackles against Fresno State including 2.5 sacks. He also broke up two passes.
“They moved him inside, so they can get him in on all the tackles now, where last year he was kind of an edge rusher and a nickel player,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “Now they have him in the box. They funnel the ball to him now. He can get his hands on people a little more.”
Hot corner
Fresno State cornerback DaRon Bland, the transfer from Sacramento State, is expected to start this week opposite Bralyn Lux.
Bland would be replacing Wylan Free in the starting lineup. Free had started the first four games for the Bulldogs,
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 6:16 PM.