Battered and beaten: QB Haener carted off as Fresno State gets overpowered by No. 7 USC

Final: No. 7 USC 45, Fresno State 17

As much as Fresno State relished the opportunity to play against a Top 10 program in the nation, playing above the Bulldogs’ weight class proved quite costly.

More than just suffering a nonconference loss to an elite Power 5 program.

INJURY UPDATE: Latest on Jake Haener, Evan Williams

Fresno State lost its starting quarterback Jake Haener to a right foot injury Saturday, and it’s unclear how long he could be out.

Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford said after the game that Haener did not suffer a season-ending injury. But he did sustain a high-ankle sprain.

Haener was carted off the field with 13:15 remaining in the third quarter. And when he later returned to the Bulldogs sideline, Haener had to use crutches to move around.

In fact, crutches suddenly seemed like a standard piece of equipment for Fresno State players with the Bulldogs other captain, defensive tackle Evan Williams, also hobbling on the sideline.

Williams suffered a knee injury and could miss significant time.

In the end, Saturday’s showdown before an announced crowd of 67,226 at the Los Angeles Coliseum never had the vibe that an upset could be brewing.

Fresno State, which was an 11.5-point underdog entering the game, trailed by two touchdowns after one quarter, was down 11 points at halftime, then seemed to lose any chance of a comeback once Haener went down near the start of the second half.

The Trojans outscored the Bulldogs 24-7 after halftime.

And USC (3-0) handed Fresno State (1-2) a second straight loss while possibly making the Bulldogs vulnerable to future opponents should Saturday’s sustained injuries carry into the season.

For what it’s worth, Bulldogs backup quarterback Logan Fife finished the night 11 of 12 for 140 passing yards while facing many USC backup defenders.

Teammate running back Jordan Mims generated 114 yards on 15 carries.

And Fresno State receiver Erik Brooks made six catches for 89 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown from Haener in the second quarter.

Haener finished the night completing 10 of 18 passes for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

USC RUNNING AWAY

USC has extended its lead to 42-17 on a 10-yard pass from Caleb Williams to Malcolm Epps with 14:44 remaining.

Williams is now 22 of 34 for 245 yards with two touchdowns, and the Trojans have put together touchdown drives of 12, 12, 15, 5, 4 and 10 plays. They have held the ball for 28:16 so far.

HAENER UPDATE

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener is back on the Bulldogs’ sideline on crutches with his right foot and ankle in a boot

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BULLDOGS KILL OWN MOMENTUM, MISS FG

Fresno State had a drive working, but had to settle for a 48-yard field goal attempt that was no good and have turned the ball back over to the Trojans with 3:30 to go in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs reached the USC 20-yard line on a 40-yard run by Jordan Mims. But on first down, despite having success rushing the football right at the Trojans’ defense, tried to run a reverse with Jalen Moreno-Cropper.

It went for a 9-yard loss and that was pretty much the end of the drive.

Before that reverse, the Bulldogs rushing plays in the second half went for 6, 5, 2, 5, 32, 4 and 40 yards.

USC BACK IN GEAR

USC has answered right back with its second TD drive in the second half with Travis Dye scoring on a 25-yard run that included some poor tackling by the Bulldogs. The Trojans lead 35-17 with 7:13 to go in the third quarter.

The drive was 75 yards in just four plays, the big shot a pass from Caleb Williams to Mario Williams for 32 yards.

FIFE LEADS TD DRIVE

Fresno State has closed to 28-17 on a 32-yard touchdown by Malik Sherrod with 9:04 remaining in the third quarter.

Backup quarterback Logan Fife hit Jalen Moreno-Cropper for eight yards on a 3rd-and-5 play and tight end Raymond Pauwels for a gain of 26-yards to set up the touchdown run.

The touchdown was the first for Sherrod in his Fresno State career.

TROJANS TURN TURNOVER INTO TD

USC turned the turnover by Haener into a touchdown and 28-10 lead, with running back Austin Jones scoring on a 3-yard run with 11:14 remaining in the third quarter. The drive was 46 yards in five plays.

HAENER CARTED OFF

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener was sacked and fumbled on a 1st-down play on the Bulldogs’ opening series of the third quarter and appears to have suffered a right leg injury.

A cart is coming onto the field for Haener.

Logan Fife is the Bulldogs’ backup quarterback. He has yet to attempt a pass this season and was 7 of 13 (53.8%) for 51 yards with one touchdown and one interception last season.

RED ZONE

Fresno State is 1 for 1 in the red zone, scoring three points on a field goal. USC is 3 for 3, scoring 21 points.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE

Fresno State is averaging 7.1 yards per play at halftime. The Trojans are averaging 5.5.

ONE HAENER STREAK ENDS

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener had a Hail Mary throw into the end zone at the end of the half intercepted by the Trojans’ Jaylin Smith, ending a streak of consecutive passes without a pick at 219.

That is the third longest in school history behind Trent Dilfer (318) and Derek Carr (306).

HALFTIME: USC 21, BULLDOGS 10

Fresno State is down 11 at halftime, and its defense goes into the half having out together back-to-back stops after allowing touchdowns on the Trojans’ first three drives.

USC has run 47 plays to only 26 for Fresno State and has a 259 to 184 edge in total yards. It also has held possession for 20:41 to just 9:19 for the Bulldogs.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams is 16 of 26 for 143 yards with one touchdown. The Bulldogs do have three sacks, which fueled stops late in the second quarter. Defensive end David Perales has two of the sacks, his first of the season. Perales was tied with tackle Kevin Atkins for the team lead with 7.0 sacks last season.

BULLDOGS PUNT, TROJANS GET SHORT FIELD

Fresno State went three-and-out and set up USC with a short field following a 36-yard punt by Carson King.

The Trojans start at midfield.

King has punted the ball twice, for 35 and 36 yards.

‘DOGS DEFENSE GETS A STOP

USC was hit with an offensive pass interference penalty on a first down play, but that and three solid stops including a sack by defensive end David Perales led to the Bulldogs’ first stop of the game.

Fresno State has the ball back with 4:19 remaining in the half, and starts from its 6-yard line following the Trojans’ first punt of the game.

BULLDOGS ANSWER ON HAENER TD PASS

Fresno State has cut the Trojans lead to 21-10, scoring on a 39-yard pass play from Jake Haener to Erik Brooks with 6:30 to go in the second quarter. The drive was 75 yards in five plays, including a nice 24-yard run by Jordan Mims.

Haener is 5 of 19 for 72 yards and the touchdown.

This is Haener’s 22nd consecutive game with at least one touchdown pass, the third longest streak in Mountain West Conference history behind only the Bulldogs’ Derek Carr and Carson Strong (Nevada) with 26 in a row.

TROJANS ARE 3 FOR 3, LEAD 21-3

USC has extended its lead to 21-3, scoring on a 1-yard run by quarterback Caleb Williams with 8:04 remaining in the second quarter. The Trojans have scored on all three of their series, which have covered 83 yards in 12 plays, 65 yards in 12 plays and now 83 yards in 15 plays. They lead time of possession 17:05 for 4:53.

The Bulldogs again had chances to get the Trojans off the field, but USC converted a 4th-and-4 and a 4th-and-1 after it was stopped on third down. The Trojans are 3 of 6 converting on third down and 3 of 3 on fourth down.

BULLDOGS FAIL IN RED ZONE, AGAIN, KICK FG

Fresno State had a drive working, but Abraham Montano ended up having to kick a 23-yard field goal with 14:52 remaining in the second quarter. The Bulldogs, obviously, need more than field goals here.

The Bulldogs had a first down at the USC 8-yard line, but Jake Haener missed a throw in first down and Jordan Mims rushed for a gain of three yards to the 5 on second down.

Fresno State had to burn a timeout, then Haener had a pass over the middle of the field intended for Josh Kelly broken up by UC linebacker Eric Gentry and Montano kicked the field goal.

TROJANS 2 FOR 2

USC has extended its lead to 14-0 on an 8-yard touchdown run by quarterback Caleb Williams with 3:35 to go in the first quarter. The Trojans’ drive was 65 yards in 12 plays.

The Bulldogs’ defense has had no answers on third downs. They’ve put the Trojans in some difficult down-and-distance situations, but haven’t closed. USC is 3 of 4 on third downs, and on the one they missed they picked up a first down with a fourth-down run.

USC has picked up a 3rd-and-11, a 3rd-and-7 and a 3rd-and-10. Williams is 4 of 4 on third downs for 43 yards.

BULLDOGS GO THREE-AND-OUT

Fresno State could not answer the Trojans score, going three-and-out and picking up just one yard. Quarterback Jake Haener missed his first two throws, but his intended receiver slipped on his first attempt.

Punter Carson Kind didn’t help the Bulldogs’ defense, getting off a punt that traveled only 35 yards. The Trojans will start their second series from their own 35-yard line.

USC strikes

USC takes a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard pass from Caleb Williams to Jordan Addison with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter. The drive was 83 yards in 12 plays.

The Bulldogs helped the Trojans along, rushing just three on a 3rd-and-11 from the Fresno State 26-yard line that Williams and Addison teamed up for an 11-yard gain and first down and a pass interference penalty on cornerback Bralyn Lux, defending Addison on a 3rd-and-7 from the Bulldogs’ 12-yard line.

FOX TO DEBUT?

It looks like Fresno State will have defensive end Andres Fox for the first time this season. The Stanford transfer is in uniform, after missing the first two games working through an eligibility issue.

Fox has been in practice getting reps with the second defense.

PREGAME NOTES

The Fresno State Bulldogs are in a tough spot Saturday, not only up against No. 7 USC at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, but in bouncing back from a rough last-second loss last week to Oregon State.

The Bulldogs put together a 75-yard touchdown drive to take a lead with 1:05 to go, but could not hold off the Beavers, who scored on a 2-yard run on the final play of the game.

That could leave a mark.

And coach Jeff Tedford has had issues in the past in getting his teams to recover from emotional defeats.

At Cal in 2007, Tedford’s Golden Bears were ranked No. 2 in the country when they lost to the Beavers after botching a scoring opportunity in the final seconds.

Cal was 5-0 at the time, then lost to Oregon State and lost the following week to a bad UCLA team that finished 6-7 en route to losing six of its final seven to end the regular season.

That stretch of losses included falling to a Washington team that finished 4-9 and a Stanford team that went 4-8.

At Fresno State, Tedford’s Bulldogs have an opportunity to take out a Top 10 team for the first time since the 2001 season, which should be good reason to bury that loss to Oregon State and refocus on what’s ahead.

“We have a 24-hour rule where you let it sting after a loss and you do whatever you can to correct it and after 24 hours, it’s dumped, it’s gone,” safety Evan Williams said. “We have a new opponent this week, and we know we have a huge opportunity to shake things up and shock a few people this week.

“It’s definitely easier to get psyched up for it. Sometimes with, say, a lesser opponent, you could take it for granted the next week and it’s harder to build up for that. But I feel like everybody in this program understands the chance and the opportunity we have this week. People are counting us out and we love that type of game, we’ve all said it before, where we come in as an underdog. We have everything to prove, everything to show what our organization is about. I think we;re ready for the challenge.”

Here’s how to catch the game on TV and radio:

When: Saturday, 7:45 p.m.

TV: FOX (Noah Eagle, Mark Helfrich)

• Find it fast: Channels 26 on AT&T Uverse, 6, 706, 1026 on Comcast, 26 on DirecTV, 5263 on Dish Network

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

• Find it fast: 1400 AM in Visalia/Tulare; 1340 AM in Fresno; 1280 AM in Stockton; 970 AM in Bakersfield; 92.9 FM in Modesto; 96.7 FM in Fresno.

TV SLIDE

Kickoff for the game has been pushed back to 7:45 p.m. to accommodate TV.

QUICK HITTERS

Fresno State has 39 wins over teams from Power Five conferences. Can they make the Trojans No. 40?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener has thrown 203 consecutive passes without an interception, which is the fourth-longest streak in school history behind Trent Dilfer (318), Derek Carr (306) and Billy Volek (206).

The Bulldogs have not intercepted a pass or recovered a fumble in two games. They started the season with at least one turnover gained in 13 games in a row and 18 of 19.

They have not had a stretch of three games in a row without a turnover gained since 2006.

Fresno State slot receiver Nikko Remigio has had 100 receiving yards in his first two games. Can he make it three? Jalen Moreno-Cropper is the last Fresno State receiver with three consecutive 100-yard games, racking up 202 at Utah State, 107 at Nevada and 134 against New Mexico during the COVID season in 2020.

KeeSean Johnson, the Bulldogs’ all-time receiving yards leader, had 10 career 100-yard games, but never three in a row. The last Bulldogs receiver with three in a row before Moreno-Cropper was Davante Adams in 2013 with 246 yards against New Mexico, 264 at San Jose State and 168 against Utah State in the Mountain West title game.

Josh Harper also had three games in a row with 100 or more receiving yards that season.

The Bulldogs are likely to be without offensive tackle Braylen Nelson due to an injury, but the starting lineup is expected to remain intact. In the loss last week to Oregon State, Bula Schmidt played every snap at center, Dontae Bill played all but two snaps at right tackle and Mose Vavao played all but eight at right guard. Jacob Spomer and Jacob Isaia started at left tackle and left guard, both playing 60 or more of 81 snaps.

Haener has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 21 consecutive games, tied for the third-longest streak in Mountain West Conference history with Andy Dalton (Texas Christian).

The Trojans rank fifth in the Pac-12 in passing defense and have allowed just one touchdown pass while picking off six passes. USC also has played teams in Rice and Stanford that are 95th and 45th in the nation in passing.

Haener on the loss to Oregon State: “I think that we need to do a better job at finishing games. There were opportunities to finish that game, and we just let things slide. We had that clutch drive at the end, but I think there were opportunities that we had to not put ourselves in that situation. I could have done a better job in certain situations, and give the team a better chance at the end to not have to go through that last two minutes. I am going to be better for it, and the team is going to be better for it as well.”

Fresno State sold 4,120 tickets after it announced that former star wideout Davante Adams would have his jersey No. 15 retired during the Bulldogs’ Oct. 15 Homecoming game against San Jose State.

This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 6:29 PM.