Fresno State QB embracing shot at USC: ‘Little Jake Haener was too small to play there’
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is not lacking motivation this week when the Bulldogs visit No. 7 USC, which isn’t the worst thing when trying to bounce back from a devastating last-second loss. Haener grew up rooting for the Trojans and coming out of high school was hoping for a scholarship offer that never came.
“I remember through the recruiting process I really wanted to get a USC offer.” Haener said. “Little Jake Haener was too small to play there and didn’t have enough stars on his name so, you know, I never got that opportunity. But now I get to go in there and play and do everything I can to help our team get a win on Saturday.
“I think we’re going to go in there with that mindset, play as the underdogs and do everything that we can to give the Trojans a fight.”
Haener had a smirk on his face at the end of the sentence.
“I mean, no one thinks we can win this game, so, why even play this game if no one thinks we can win?” he said, sarcastically. “Let’s go, dude. It’s the No. 7 team in the country. Let’s go play some football. I mean, this is why you do this. I am gassed up. This is a big week for this program.”
Fresno State, which opened the week as a 12.5-point underdog, has not played a team ranked in the Top 10 since a 41-10 loss at No. 4 Alabama in 2017. But it has changed the dynamic under coach Jeff Tedford. That loss to the Crimson Tide, and a loss at No. 12 Washington the following week, was the end of a dreadful run against Power Five conference opponents in which the Bulldogs went 0-8 and lost by 34.5 points per game.
The Bulldogs have two wins at UCLA since then and the Bruins were ranked No. 13 when losing to Fresno State last season. They also have two close losses to Minnesota including one in overtime in 2019, when the Golden Gophers started 9-0 and were ranked as high as No. 7 in the country. The Bulldogs last season lost 31-24 at No. 11 Oregon, and the Ducks went on the road the following week and beat No. 3 Ohio State.
“No one else thinks we can win,” Haener said. “I’ve been the underdog my whole life, man, and it’s going to be no different this Saturday. You have to embrace it. You have to love it. There’s probably some things I can’t say right now that I’m feeling about this Saturday.
“USC was the team that I grew up rooting for and they never gave me a chance to go play there and now I get to go play there and play on a big stage. There’s really nothing to be nervous about. No one expects us to win. The only people that expect us to win are the people in that locker room, the people in this facility. So I’m just going to go prepare like I always do and play with a chip on my shoulder, make great decisions, stay in the moment, stay present. If I can stay patient and take what they give me early and stay in the flow of the game, the shots will present themselves.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.