Fresno State running back Jordan Mims steps forward once again in New Mexico Bowl victory

Fresno State running back Jordan Mims came in with Ronnie Rivers back in 2017, part of the first Jeff Tedford recruiting class in the coach’s first run at his alma mater.

Mims split snaps in his first season with Rivers and Josh Hokit, and with Rivers in his second, and was sidelined with a career-threatening ankle injury while Rivers established himself as the Bulldogs’ lead back.

But this season, whenever needed, Mims was there and ready.

Just as he was again Saturday in leading the Bulldogs to a 10th win of the season with a 31-24 victory over Texas-El Paso in the New Mexico Bowl.

With Rivers sitting out due to a lingering ankle injury and to get healthy and prepare for the NFL Draft, Mims rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass and was selected the offensive player of the bowl game.

“With Ronnie not being able to play today, we knew we were going to be able to rely on Jordan,” interim coach Lee Marks said. “But to be honest, he’s such a good player. He’s so one cut, get vertical, just downhill. He told me, ‘Coach I’m not going to get tired,’ and he did not.

“It’s tremendous for him and his family. His family was here watching him play and for him to be MVP of this bowl game is big time. We have a lot of trust in Mims, so to see him have that success, there’s no surprise by the way he prepares, how smart he is, and honestly, just his practices, as well. When we got here, if you saw the way he was practicing, I knew he was going to have a good game.”

Mims lugged the football 29 times against the Miners and with five receptions had 34 touches in racking up the second-most yards from scrimmage ever in the New Mexico Bowl

If that’s a preview of next season, no, he would not mind that one bit.

“It’s always what I wanted to do,” said Mims, a senior who will be returning, taking advantage of an additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 in 2020. “Me and Ronnie in the backfield, we’re both good at what we do, and I’m excited to carry that and lead our running back room next year.”

Mims’ history coming up big in big games

Getting a heavy workload with little notice would be nothing new for Mims, as Marks said.

Rivers injured his ankle in the Bulldogs’ 34-32 victory over Nevada on Oct. 23, and Mims picked up and rushed the ball 23 times for 134 yards and one touchdown. He followed that up the next week with 29 carries and 186 yards with two touchdowns in a 39-20 victory over San Diego State.

Mims carried the ball two, eight and five times for the Bulldogs (10-3) over the final three games of the regular season. But he pounded the Miners (7-6) for four quarters, putting the game away after linebacker Levelle Bailey forced and recovered a fumble by UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison on the Bulldogs’ side of the field, a touchdown and extra point shy of tying the score and 3:55 to go.

“It’s awesome, seeing him come out here and perform so well,” said Rivers, who has not been 100% since the injury. “I’m excited to see what he does next year. I know he’s going to hold it down.”

Four-minute offense has been an elusive commodity for the Bulldogs all season, but Mims and the offensive line went for 7, 7, 2, 13 and 2 yards before quarterback Jake Haener was able to take a knee and watch as the clock wound down to zero and set off a celebration on the Fresno State sideline.

“Fun game,” said Haener, who hit 26 of 41 passes for 286 yards and the touchdown to Mims and in the process surpassed the 4,000-yard mark for the season.

Haener, who went into the transfer portal after coach Kalen DeBoer took on a prime Power Five opportunity at Washington only to return after Jeff Tedford was hired, finished with 4,096 yards.

His wild 2020 season, which included a big upset win at UCLA, some Heisman hype, a bunch of hard hits, the trek into the portal and the 10 wins, is the fourth-best in Fresno State history behind Derek Carr in 2013 (5,082 yards), David Carr in 2001 (4,839) and Derek Carr in 2012 (4,104).

The season with double-digit wins is the 12th in school history, and the third over the past five years with a 12-2 finish and Mountain West Conference championship in 2018 and a 10-4 year in 2017.

Bulldogs win 10th game, look ahead to more

“It’s extremely important, just because of everything going on right now with the whole coaching change,” said safety Elijah Gates, who had an interception, seven tackles and was the defensive most outstanding player of the game. “I feel like this team stuck together through adversity and we were preaching all week just to get the 10th win and that’s what we did.”

It also gives the Bulldogs some momentum headed into the offseason, with Tedford taking the reins for a second time and a lot of production returning on both sides of the football.

Mims, who has 1,913 career rushing yards and is just 485 from moving into the Bulldogs’ career Top 10, obviously will be a big part of that offense next season with Haener, Josh Kelly and perhaps Jalen Cropper, who tied a New Mexico Bowl record with nine receptions and has yet to announce whether he will enter the NFL Draft.

“I’m excited for it,” Mims said. “Obviously, enjoy this win now and enjoy our break that we have for winter break, but we’ll get back to it in the spring ready to work with our new staff and players.

“I’m happy for a lot of our seniors who are done playing college football. A lot of those guys, I played with coming in as a freshman. I’m excited for them, going out with a win, and I’m happy for their journey.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 5:59 PM.