Fresno State Bulldogs get 10th win with Haener at QB in New Mexico Bowl victory over UTEP
FINAL: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24
Fresno State won its 10th game and it came during a season in which the Bulldogs lost coach Kalen DeBoer to a prime Power Five opportunity at Washington and almost lost quarterback Jake Haener to the Huskies, as well, after barely holding off Texas-El Paso 31-24 on Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl.
“For any program, getting 10 wins, it’s a big deal,” said Lee Marks, the Bulldogs’ interim coach, who is now headed to join DeBoer at Washington. “It hasn’t happened a whole lot in our program, to be honest with you. But it happened today. Again, that’s huge for our program moving forward.
“It’s about our brand, right, and making sure these kids remember this for the rest of their lives because now they go down in history as one of the best teams in Fresno State history. We always say, you’re writing your book, right and this is just a chapter ending the season the right way and we can honestly say, we finished the right way.”
The Bulldogs got three touchdowns from running back Jordan Mims, who scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards, as well as on a 22-yard pass from Haener.
The Bulldogs quarterback, who returned to Fresno State after it was announced Jeff Tedford had been hired to replace DeBoer, hit 26 of 41 passes for 286 yards and surpassed the 4,000-yard mark for the season. Haener is only the third quarterback in school history to hit that mark.
Derek Carr holds the record with 5,082 yards in 2013 (also threw for 4,104 in 2012), and David Carr passed for 4,839 yards in 2001.
Fresno State has won 10 or more games in a season 12 times, including three times in the past five years. The Bulldogs were 12-2 with a Mountain West Conference championship in 2018 and 10-4 in 2017 under Tedford, who watched the game from the athletics director’s suite at University Stadium.
The Bulldogs struggled to get away from the Miners through three and a half quarters, putting down their final drive when linebacker Levelle Bailey forced and recovered a fumble by quarterback Gavin Hardison at the Bulldogs’ 48-yard line with 3:55 to go.
Fresno State and Mims put the game away from there, pounding away at the Miners’ defense and burning time off the clock. Mims finished with 165 yards on 29 carries.
Mosby forced fumble in end zone, ‘Dogs get safety
Fresno State is now up 31-24, the defense getting two points on a safety when defensive end Arron Mosby sacked quarterback Gavin Hardison and stripped the ball free. The Miners recovered the fumble, but in the end zone.
The Bulldogs will get the ball back with 7:05 to go.
Silva’s third FG extends ‘Dogs lead
Fresno State is now up 29-24, scoring on a 21-yard field goal by Cesar Silva with 9:04 to go.
It was the third field goal of the game for Silva, who also has hit from 42 and 45 yards.
UTEP back within two, 26-24
UTEP just cut into the Bulldogs lead with Trent Thompson pulling in a short play-action pass from Calvin Brownholtz and going 51 yards for a touchdown to get the Miners within 26-24 with 14:10 to play.
It was the Miners’ sixth pass playing of 20 or more yards and second of 50 or more yards.
Mims’ third TD extends ‘Dogs lead, Haener past 4,000
Fresno State running back Jordan Mims has two rushing TDs and now one receiving, a 22-yard strike from quarterback Jake Haener giving the Bulldogs a 26-17 lead with 1:17 to go in the third quarter.
Haener is now 20 of 31 for 233 yards with one touchdown and with that pass has gone past the 4,000-yard mark this season. He came in with 3,810 passing yards and is the third Fresno State quarterback to top 4,000 in a season.
Derek Carr holds the record, passing for 5,082 yards in 2013. David Carr is second with 4,839 in 2001 and Derek Carr passed for 4,104 yards in 2012.
Mims past 100-yard mark
Fresno State running back Jordan Mims now has 103 rushing yards on 17 plays with two touchdowns. It is his third game with 100 or more yards this season – he had 134 and 186 in wins over Nevada and San Diego State.
No go from 52
After UTEP missed a 52-yard field goal attempt, Fresno State kicked Cesar Silva gave it a try. His kick was short, and the Miners take over at the 35-yard line.
Bulldogs’ defense gets stop to start second half
Fresno State gave UTEP a fresh set of downs with a pass interference penalty on a 3rd-down play, but the Bulldogs ended up scuttling the Miners’ opening drive in the second half with a 52-yard field goal missing right.
The Bulldogs start at the 35-yard line, up 19-17.
Where the ball is going …
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener has hit seven receivers, not including the pass that was batted at the line and he ended up completing to himself.
Jalen Cropper has been targeted four times and has three receptions for 24 yards. Tight ends Tre Watson and Raymond Pauwels Jr. and wideout Josh Kelly have been targeted three times.
\Watson, who is from Rio Rancho, a short drive from Albuquerque, and has a big cheering section behind the Bulldogs’ bench, has two receptions for 41 yards. The freshman has a career high of four catches in the Bulldogs’ 30-20 victory over San Diego State in October.
Halftime stats
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is 12 of 20 for 136 yards at halftime with no touchdowns or interceptions. UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison is 8 of 17 for 197 yards with one TD and one interception.
The Miners have 246 yards of total offense to the Bulldogs 248.
Fresno State held the ball for 17:09 and UTEP for 12:47, though it feels like ESPN is leading in time of possession.
Bulldogs’ running back Jordan Mims has rushed 15 times for 82 yards and two TDs. Ronald Awatt is leading UTEP in rushing with 20 yards in eight plays.
Linebacker Malachi Langley is leading Fresno State with five tackles. The Bulldogs have 2.0 tackles for loss (Tyler Mello has 1.0, David Perales and Kevin Atkins have 0.5) and no sacks.
Silva FG gives ‘Dogs lead going into halftime
Fresno State took advantage of the final 42 seconds UTEP gave it by taking those deep shots down the field and ended with half with a 45-yard field goal by Cesar Silva and a 19-17 lead.
Quarterback Jake Haener hit three consecutive passes to get the Bulldogs into field goal position – 14 yards to Jalen Cropper, 11 yards to Jordan Mims and 19 yards to Keric Wheatfall.
Empty shots
UTEP took a couple of shots to its big-play wideout Jacob Cowing late in the first half, both with freshman Cale Sanders in coverage. Sanders knocked the ball away on the first and the second was caught but out of bounds.
Cowing, who has 1,343 receiving yards and is sixth in the nation, has one reception for 14 yards.
Mims has second TD run
Fresno State running back Jordan Mims has his second touchdown run, this one from 1-yard out with 1:52 to go before halftime to get the Bulldogs within 17-16.
Mims has rushed the ball 15 time for 82 yards and the two scores.
This is the fifth time the senior back has rushed for two or more touchdowns in a game. He had two as a freshman in 2017 against UNLV and BYU, three against Idaho in 2018 and two in the Bulldogs’ 30-20 victory at San Diego State this season.
UTEP extends lead with TD, 17-9
UTEP has extended its lead to 17-9 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ronald Awatt with 6:54 to go before halftime.
The Miners’ drive was 70 yards in 10 plays.
Quarterback Gavin Hardison is 7 of 13 for 183 yards, averaging 14.1 yards per attempt.
The Miners have 232 yards of offense to only 118 for the Bulldogs, who are averaging 4.9 yards per play. The lowest this season for Fresno State is 3.7 yards per play in a 17-0 win at Wyoming. UTEP is averaging 8.3 yards per play, and the most allowed by the Bulldogs’ defense is 7.5 in a win at UCLA.
Bulldogs backed up
Fresno State was backed up at the 3-yard line following the Gates interception. Offensive coordinator Kirby Moore didn’t take any chances with a rush for no gain on first down and a rush for three yards on second down. A third down pass by quarterback Jake Haener to Jalen Cropper was low, and fell incomplete.
Gates with a pick, puts down UTEP drive
UTEP had a drive working and then safety Elijah Gates shut it down, picking off a pass by Gavin Hardison at the 3-yard line. It is the first interception of the season for Gates and the Bulldogs’ 11th. Evan Williams is leading the Bulldogs with three picks, cornerback DaRon Bland and linebacker Levelle Bailey both have two and linebacker Malachi Langley, cornerback Cale Sanders, safety LJ Early and now Gates have one.
UTEP back in lead
The Miners followed the Fresno State field goal with one of their own, this one from 38 yards. With 14:49 to go in the second quarter, UTEP lead 10-9.
Cowing gets a target
UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison has 117 yards passing, but just targeted leading receiver Jacob Cowing for the first time on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. It fell incomplete, low and away.
The Miners have three explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards already.
Hardison has hit Ronald Awatt for 22 yards, James Tupou for 41 and Reylando Flores for 53.
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is 7 of 11 for 65 yards including a 20-yard shot to freshman tight end Tre Watson.
Bulldogs back in lead
Fresno State has regained the lead on a 42-yard field goal by Cesar Silva with 1:31 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs drive was 52 yards in 11 plays, but stalled at the UTEP 25-yard line. Fresno State is 1 of 3 on third downs.
Not the play to make
Fresno State is punting the ball away on its second possession, unable to make a play on 3rd-and-16.
The Bulldogs got there with Jake Haener trying maybe a little too hard to make a play. On a 2nd-and-8 play, a pass to the left flat was batted at the line of scrimmage and rather than swat it or let it fall to the turf for an incomplete pass, Haener caught it and was tackled for an 8-yard loss. It was his first pass reception of the season.
Tight end Juan Rodriguez dropped a third-down pass, but was nowhere near the sticks.
UTEP answers, takes lead
UTEP scored on its first possession, quarterback Gavin Hardison throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Trent Thompson with 9:03 to go in the first quarter. The point after was good and the Miners lead 7-6.
The Miners’ drive was 80 yards in seven plays, the big one a 53-yard pass play to Reynaldo Flores. That was the 11th pass play of 50 or more yards for the Miners this season, second-most in the nation.
Through one series, Fresno State is averaging 16.2 yards per play and UTEP 11.4.
Bulldogs on the board
Fresno State has taken a 6-0 lead on a 2-yard run by Jordan Mims. The Bulldogs’ Tre Watson scored a 2-point conversion, but that was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty. Cesar Silva then missed the PAT.
Jake Haener was 2 of 2 for 37 yards on the drive and Mims rushed it three times for 44 yards including a 38-yard gain on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage.
Haener gets the start
UTEP won the coin toss and elected to defer. Quarterback Jake Haener and the Bulldogs will start at the 12-yard line, following a touchback and personal foul penalty on the Bulldogs.
Ouch
It was 35 degrees at kickoff, one degree of the record low set in 2007. Coach Jeff Tedford, in case anyone is wondering, is watching the game from the athletics director’s suite.
Rivers and Maeva out, TV change
Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers and linebacker Tyson Maeva did not go through pregame.
The New Mexico Bowl broadcast also will start on ESPN News.
Pregame chatter
Fresno State takes on the UTEP Miners in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, and one of the pressing questions for the Bulldogs: Who starts at quarterback? The Bulldogs are expected to start Jake Haener, who spent a week in the NCAA transfer portal before returning to the team and jumping right back into bowl practices.
Haener obviously gives the Bulldogs a best chance at winning a 10th game this season, and he has been stellar in four games against non-conference opponents, hitting 73.5% of his passes with 10 touchdowns and only one interception while throwing for an average of 366.0 yards per game.
Here’s the breakdown:
UConn:
20 of 26 (76,9%), 331 yards with 3 TDs
at Oregon:
30 of 43 (69.8%), 298 yards with 1 TD
Cal Poly:
17 of 22 (77.3%), 380 yards with 4 TDs
at UCLA:
39 of 53 (73.6%), 455 yards with 2 TDs and 1 Int.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 in those games, the loss at No. 11 Oregon. Fresno State had a lead in the fourth quarter at Autzen Stadium, but could not hold off a late charge by the Ducks, who tied the score at 24 on a field goal with 7:41 to go and scored the game-winner on a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Anthony Brown with 2:57 to go.
Fresno State is averaging 43.0 points against non-conference opponents.
TV, radio info
Here’s where to catch the game on TV and radio:
When: Saturday, 11:15 a.m.
Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque
TV: ESPN
Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 602, 1602), Comcast (32, 724, 1205), DirecTV (206), Dish Network (140)
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
New Mexico Bowl history
Fresno State is 0-2 in the New Mexico Bowl, losing 40-35 to Colorado State in 2008 and then 35-28 to Wyoming in 2009.
UTEP also is 0-2 in the game, losing 52-24 to Brigham Young in 2010 and 21-6 to Utah State in 2014.
Atkins nearing career Top 10
Fresno State defensive tackle Kevin Atkins has 7.0 sacks this season and entering the New Mexico Bowl is just 0.5 away from cracking the career Top 10 at Fresno State.
The senior has 18.0 career sacks. Here is the Top 10 …
1, Ron Cox (1987-89) 50.0
2, Jethro Franklin (1986-87) 31.5
3. Garrett McIntyre (2002-05) 25.0
Nick Burley (1999-2002) 25.0
5. Tyler Clutts (2004-07) 23.5
6. Ejiro Ederaine (2012-15) 21.0
Alan Harper (1998-2001) 21.0
8. Chris Carter (2007-10) 19.5
Zack Rix (1989-92) 19.5
10, Logan Harrell (2008-11) 18.5
Nick Ruggeroli (1987-90) 18.5.
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 10:21 AM.