UConn, not injuries, let all of the air out of Fresno State’s hopes for a big season

Fresno State through 100-plus years of football is sure to have a bad loss or two in there, somewhere along the line.

But the Bulldogs’ 19-14 loss on Saturday at UConn has to rank among the worst ever, and it didn’t happen because of injuries or because they were flat after a cross-country trip.

The Bulldogs were just flat outplayed when it mattered most by a team that had won only five times over its past 46 games, four of those victories coming against FCS-level opponents and the fifth against Massachusetts, an FBS program that was in the midst of a 1-11 season.

The Huskies beat FCS Central Connecticut State in September, beat FCS Yale by six points in 2021, beat FCS Wagner by three points and the Minutemen by 21 in 2019 and beat FCS Rhode Island by seven in 2018.

Now, they have beaten Fresno State, a team that had designs on a conference championship and much more at the start of the season and was without injured quarterback Jake Haener, safety Evan Williams, linebacker Raymond Scott, wideout Josh Kelly, tackle Dontae Bull.

What went wrong?

“Well, everything really,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “Turnovers, couldn’t protect the passer and really penalties that hurt us to give them plays, face mask penalties, personal fouls … just not disciplined enough. Just, not good. Couldn’t protect the passer and really couldn’t make any big plays.”

Despite 32 minutes of bad football, Fresno State still had a lead late and it got away. The Bulldogs (1-3) not only had a lead, they had UConn backed up at its 6-yard line with 8:26 remaining, the Huskies having punted on back-to-back possessions after gaining 17 yards and one first down on nine previous plays.

But UConn, which went into the game averaging 4.4 yards per play, tied for 121st in the nation, strung together an 11-play touchdown drive, its longest of the season against an FBS opponent by number of plays and yards.

It had scored only five touchdowns in four FBS games.

The Huskies (2-4) hit a big pass play for 40 yards that helped flip field position, converted a third-and-1, a third-and-7 and a third-and-10 and scored on a 17-yard run by Devontae Houston with 2:02 to go.

BULLDOGS CAN’T STOP FOURTH-QUARTER DRIVE

Fresno State in the entire second half had only 92 yards of offense.

Its first touchdown came on special teams, an 87-yard punt return by Nikko Remigio, the Bulldogs’ first since wideout Isaiah Burse had two punt return TDs in a 2013 victory over FCS Cal Poly.

Misery had a lot of company, and while the missing starters no doubt were a factor, the Huskies, again, had beaten one FBS opponent in over its past three-plus seasons and had never beaten a team from the Mountain West Conference. UConn had been 0-6, losing twice to Boise State and Utah State, once to Wyoming and 45-0 last season at Fresno State, and the defeats in those games came by an average of 22.8 points.

“It’s not like us,” Remigio said. “It’s not on brand for the type of football this program built and puts out. At the end of the day, we need to get better.”

Most surprising, an offense that had pounded out 4.6 and 5.1 yards per rush against Oregon State and No. 7 USC was sliced open by the UConn defense. The Bulldogs generated only 30 rushing yards on 26 plays and even adjusted for sacks, averaged just 1.8 yards per rushing play.

Logan Fife, making his first career start in place of Haener, hit 16 of 22 passes, but lost a fumble at the UConn 30 on the Bulldogs’ first series and threw two interceptions including one at the Huskies 27.

The Bulldogs’ passing game generated 157 yards, but, again, most of it came on short passes, some that they were able to turn into bigger plays. Of that 157 passing yards, 110 came running after the catch.

Fresno State also averaged just 3.9 yards per play and was 0 of 7 converting on third downs, facing an average of 9.4 yards to move the sticks.

And, what good the defense did against a poor UConn offense went away on that fourth-quarter touchdown drive. But it lacks a fear factor, and it also didn’t help itself along the way with four 15-yard penalties, the first two factoring into UConn scoring drives in the first half.

In losing at USC, coach Lincoln Riley expressed little concern about trying to convert fourth-down plays. UConn wasn’t the least bit concerned about the Bulldogs, either, apparently.

“We prepared hard during the week,” said Houston, who rushed for 105 yards and the game-winning touchdown on 23 plays. “We knew their front and we knew we were going to get it.”

The Bulldogs could be a little healthier this week when they open conference play at Boise State, though Haener likely will be out again. But there are more fixes than one quarterback can make, for a team that is proving to lack physicality at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

“Conference play starts and we need to be a lot better,” Tedford said. “I don’t want to use injuries as an issue, but tonight we had some offensive linemen go down during the game. We definitely need a gut check on where we’re going and what we’re doing and be able to be tougher in tight games. Tonight, we weren’t. Too many penalties, didn’t execute well enough, so back to the drawing board to start conference play.”

BY THE NUMBERS

7: Consecutive losses against FBS opponents by Fresno State teams coached by Jeff Tedford. The Bulldogs lost their last four games in 2019 to Utah State, San Diego State, Nevada and San Jose State, and their first three this season to Oregon State, USC and UConn.

2016: The last time the Bulldogs failed to convert a third down, going 0 of 13 in a 52-17 loss at Toledo.

36:36: Time of possession for the Huskies. In the past three games, Fresno State opponents have held the football 33:10 (Oregon State) 34:08 (USC) and now 36:36.

45.8: Percentage of Fresno State plays that were passes. The Bulldogs went into the game at 55.9%, its highest since 2013 when it had Derek Carr throwing the football to Davante Adams, Isaiah Burse and Josh Harper.

7.4: Yards per pass play for the Bulldogs, compared to 1.2 yards per rushing play.

187: Total yards for the Bulldogs, their fewest in a game since they had 89 in a 21-7 loss at San Diego State in 2015.

66.7: UConn conversion percentage on third downs in the final quarter. The Huskies were 8 of 17 (47.1%) in the game and considerably better than Oregon State at 20% and just about even with USC at 50%.

8: Tackles for Fresno State cornerback Bralyn Lux including seven solo, one sack and two tackles for loss.

2: Touchdowns scored by the Fresno State offense in the first half of its past three games and 15 series.

5: Bulldogs who made the first starts of their Fresno State careers - Fife, right tackle Daniel Taumalolo, defensive tackles Johnny Hudson Jr. and Jacob Holmes and safety Steven Comstock.

This story was originally published October 1, 2022 at 7:17 PM.