Bulldogs overplay final hand, losing on last-second play that could haunt them all season

There were three touchdowns scored in the final 1:50, the lead changing with each one. Oregon State, then Fresno State, then, quite painfully for the Bulldogs, Oregon State again. Over and out.

Jack Colletto, a two-way player, took a direct snap lined up in a Wildcat formation, crashed through a tackle and into the end zone from 2 yards out as time expired, giving the Beavers a 35-32 victory Saturday night at a sold-out Valley Children’s Stadium.

But the three late scores and 317 total yards between the two teams in the fourth quarter weren’t even the wild part.

The Bulldogs gave Oregon State the chance to win by calling a second timeout in a final sequence of moves and counter moves when the Beavers were lined up at the Fresno State 2-yard line to kick a field goal that would send the game into overtime.

If Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford doesn’t call that timeout, the Beavers would’ve tried for the field goal.

“Probably, because we had called a field goal,” said Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith, one of the last out of the winner’s locker room as Saturday night became Sunday morning. “I can totally see them trying to ice the kicker and then (it) just changed our mind. The way Jake Haener was playing, the way that offense was playing, we had an opportunity to win the game from the 2-yard line and we were going to take it.”

The Beavers coach said he would do the same thing that Fresno State did in that situation. “We’re going to ice the kicker, too,” Smith said. “He’s going out there for a game-tying kick ...”

But Tedford said the idea wasn’t to ice the kicker. It was a chip shot, not a 50-yarder into a gusty wind.

The Bulldogs wanted to make sure they had the right personnel on the field, and they did on that final play. Fresno State had tackles Johnny Hudson and Gavriel Lightfoot in the game, end Isaiah Johnson, linebackers Ray Scott, Malachi Langley, Levelle Bailey and Morice Norris, safety Evan Williams.

They also to that point defended short-yardage rushing plays well, allowing 2.7 yards on six plays, though one was the first of the two touchdowns by Colletto.

But, it was a chip shot. And, Oregon State was giving them an opportunity at life in overtime, if it made the field goal from 19 yards.

One timeout too many?

Ultimately they couldn’t stop Colletto, who had three carries for 6 yards and two touchdowns on offense and three solo tackles as a linebacker on defense.

Had the Bulldogs not called a timeout, who knows? Maybe the outcome still is the same. Maybe not. Haener and the Bulldogs certainly caught Smith’s attention on a final drive in which they covered 75 yards in just five plays and 45 seconds to take a 32-29 lead, with a missed extra point.

The Bulldogs quarterback, who hit 30 of 46 passes for 360 yards and one touchdown, has wideouts Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Nikko Remigio, Josh Kelly, Zane Pope and Erick Brooks, and running back Jordan Mims.

That’s a lot of firepower — Fresno State outgained Oregon State by almost 100 yards (492 to 397) and was 6 of 14 on third-down conversions compared to 2 of 10.

It would be overtime, and anything could happen.

But if the Bulldogs come out with a win, they head to USC up next with momentum. Now? It’s something that could haunt them all season.

They had opportunities to get away well before that final sequence of plays.

Fresno State (1-1) scored only two touchdowns on six trips into the red zone. It missed two field goals, from 34 yards and 52 yards, the second coming with 4:19 left in the game. If hit, the Bulldogs have an eight-point lead. Kicker Abraham Montano has a career-long field goal of 39 yards, but 52 is well within his range. “I see him kick those,” Tedford said. “Just in practice (Friday), he kicked a 55-yarder.”

The Bulldogs were penalized 10 times, including five for false starts on the offense and one delay of game.

They also broke down defensively in that fourth quarter — Oregon State (2-0) had 217 total yards through three quarters and 180 in the fourth, including three of their four chunk passing plays of 20 or more yards in the game with quarterback Chance Nolan hitting for 30, 23 and 28 yards.

“A lot of back and forth,” Tedford said. “A lot of guys battled. They fought hard. That’s a good football team over there. We answered. They answered. We couldn’t make stops when we needed to. We couldn’t convert in the red zone, settled for field goals, and missed a couple of field goals, an extra point. So, we came out on the short end.”

By the numbers

21: Consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass for Haener, tied for the fourth longest streak in Mountain West Conference history.

135: Passing yards for Oregon State in the fourth quarter. The Beavers had only 84 through the first three quarters.

122: Rushing yards for Bulldogs’ running back Jordan Mims.

0: Turnovers lost or gained by the Bulldogs in their first two games.

2: Touchdowns for the Bulldogs on six trips into the red zone. Fresno State had gone 5 for 5 on red zone touchdowns in its victory over Cal Poly.

4: Touchdowns for the Beavers on four trips into the red zone.

100: Receiving yards for Bulldogs’ wideout Nikko Remigio, the Cal transfer. He has had 100 receiving yards in both games of his games in a Fresno State uniform.

45: Seconds elapsed on the Bulldogs’ final touchdown drive. They went 75 yards, 80 including an inexplicable 5-yard delay of game penalty coming off the sideline to start the series. It is their fastest TD drive this season.

15: Total tackles for Oregon State safety Kitan Oladapo.

1: Win in seven trips to Bulldog/Valley Children’s Stadium for the Beavers.

Up Next for the Bulldogs

Saturday: at No. 7 USC, 7:30 p.m., FOX

This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 7:12 AM.