Fresno State wins, without much from electric passing game. How is QB Jake Haener doing?

Fresno State took down Wyoming 17-0 on Saturday, winning in a much different fashion than it had four times earlier this season and rebounding from its first Mountain West Conference football loss.

Quarterback Jake Haener, who was ranked fourth in the nation in passing with an average of 371.7 yards per game, completed just 15 of 28 passes for 96 yards, though two went for touchdowns. He had a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Juan Hernandez in the first quarter and a 3-yard scoring pass to Jalen Cropper in the third and not a lot in between, before or after those two throws.

The Bulldogs receivers dropped a lot of passes – 10, according to the official stats. It was the first time the Bulldogs didn’t throw for 100 yards in a game since they had 77 in a dismal 21-7 loss at San Diego State in 2015.

Haener, who has been dealing with injuries since taking a wicked shot while throwing a pass in the victory at UCLA in the fourth game of the season, was hobbling slightly at times. How is he feeling?

“A lot better,” he said. “The training staff is doing everything it can to get me feeling as good as possible coming into each game. They’re doing a really good job of keeping my body up and coming into each week as healthy as possible.”

Haener had spent the Bulldogs’ bye week with his right foot in a protective boot, the result of a low and late hit in the third quarter of the loss at Hawaii. But now seven games into the season the Bulldogs quarterback, like just about everyone else on a college football roster, is playing through something.

““He’s probably not 100%, just to be real honest,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Things always nag you a little bit here and there. But he made some plays that extended drives and some scrambles that were typical Jake, so I felt like he was still confident moving around even though maybe he’s not at quite at 100%.

“He worked hard to get himself ready, I know that, the last two weeks, and I’m sure proud of him for that, for sure.”

Haener was sacked only once in the game, but did have to dodge the Cowboys’ pass rush on a number of occasions, scrambling for an 8-yard gain on one third-and-4 play to extend a drive that ended with a missed field goal attempt and another 8-yard gain on a first-and-10 to get the Bulldogs some space after starting at their 13-yard line.

This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 8:07 PM.