Fresno State dominates LA Bowl in special ending for seniors, with more to come

Fresno State dominated its bowl game, which is not a stunner given the way the Bulldogs had played down the stretch in winning a Mountain West Conference football championship.

It was 29-6 over Washington State on Saturday afternoon at the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium, and not really that close.

It also had the pristine fingerprints of the Bulldogs’ seniors all over every snap of it, from quarterback Jake Haener throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns, running back Jordan Mims rushing for 209 yards and two scores in earning offensive most valuable player of the bowl honors, to wideouts Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Zane Pope and Nikko Remigio making plays and big games on defense from safety Evan Williams and end David Perales.

It was a fitting way to exit, and for coach Jeff Tedford there was an emotion to it.

“I think that’s been for the last couple of weeks really every time we leave the practice field, you know, the last ... especially the last couple of days of ... kind of trying to not get too emotional because we had a game to play. But to know that we’re kind of winding down and our time together,” he said.

“But they are relationships I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. I don’t typically take a whole lot of time to reflect on things, but when you have guys like this who overcame so much and meant so much to the program. Jordan Mims has been here since I was here a long time ago and recruited him his very first year. And that’s the other really cool thing about it. I don’t think there was any talk about people not playing in this game. There’s a lot of teams where people opt out of games. I didn’t hear any talk about that because of the commitment, I think, to our players who have commitment to each other and want to do something special.

“I think that’s a real tribute to the guys on our team, and we have a lot of young guys. But these guys who are leaving this year, I’m going to miss them a lot. There are relationships I’ll have with them the rest of their life.”

But, as Tedford alluded, in winning that ninth game in a row and becoming the first team in history to get to 10-4 after a 1-4 start, the LA Bowl featured the best of everything.

The play of those seniors was large, start to finish.

But it also showed the Bulldogs, despite losing all of those players, have a solid fit headed into 2023, particularly on the defensive side of the football and with coordinator Kevin Coyle, who dialed up defenses in that winning streak that held five of nine opponents to less than 14 points.

BULLDOGS’ DEFENSE DOMINANT

Asked if he would be returning in 2023, Coyle, who turns 67 in January, didn’t hesitate. “That’s the plan,” he said.

That’s big for the Bulldogs and Tedford, who could lose an assistant coach or two in the next couple of weeks to bigger schools with bigger budgets.

“It had a lot to do with our players, that they all started learning exactly what we were trying to get done,” Tedford said. “Some of the kids who were young kids and new to our team started buying into everything like Cam Lockridge and Carlton Johnson and we had some young kids play on the defensive line.

“Our linebackers did a great job. I just think his approach to those kids, the trust level that he has in them and the trust level that they have in him, is really special, the way he communicates with them and teaches them. I thought they did a phenomenal job, and then just kept getting better every week.”

Lockridge and Johnson, who started the final six and three games at the cornerback spots, were critical pieces in the puzzle. Both juniors, their play down the stretch allowed Coyle to keep adding to his call sheet and flummox one opposing offense after another. Boise State in the conference title game averaged 4.7 yards per play, a low this season against Mountain West opponents. Wyoming had a season-low 191 yards against the Bulldogs. San Jose State scored a season-low 10 points, and averaged 31.6 points against the conference.

Washington State in the bowl: 182 yards of offense, 13 first downs, just 3.0 yards per play, its lowest since a 2.7 in a 2009 loss at Washington.

But it was also junior Devo Bridges, playing end and tackle at 242 pounds and earning the defensive MVP at the LA Bowl with eight tackles, six solo and two sacks. It was nickel junior Morice Norris, who had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in the bowl victory. Johnson had 10 tackles, with 1.0 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.

“We kind of hit about midseason when we really started to feel like we were putting it back together the way we needed to,” Coyle said. “It’s just a credit to the kids the way they kept on coming to practice every day and studying and learning the system as well as they did.

BULLDOGS FIRST TO GET TO 10-4 FROM 1-4

“They played with a great deal of confidence and we talked about it. It had nothing to do with who the opponent was, it was how good can we play each week? I think that was evident again (Saturday). They came after them, they pressured them. I think we did a good job for the most part and I’m just really proud of the way they stayed after it. They learned a lot through overcoming a lot of adversity this year, but this is a special team and they’ve done some special things.”

The 10-win season is the third at Fresno state for Tedford, who has coached four seasons in his two stints at his alma mater. The conference championship, won at Boise State, is his second. The bowl win, his third.

“Nine-game win streak. We made history today. That’s all I gotta say,” Bridges said.

The Cougars just didn’t have much of a chance, falling behind 7-0 when Haener hit Pope with a 22-yard touchdown pass on the first series of the game. Fresno State rolled up 501 yards of offense, had nine plays that covered 20 or more yards — topped by a 48-yard run by Mims in the fourth quarter.

Fresno State also had six sacks, nine tackles for loss and safety L.J. Early had an interception, the only turnover in the game.

In the second LA Bowl, the Mountain West again dominated an opponent from the Pac-12; Utah State last year beat Oregon State 24-13.

“I think it says that we can play with anyone,” Mims said. “We have the guys. We’re tough guys. We’re not just no pushover. I feel like we’re always ready. Doesn’t matter where we play or who we play, we’re going to fight for sure.”

BY THE NUMBERS

374 and 4: Rushing yards and TDs for Jordan Mims in the Bulldogs’ past two bowl games, with 209 and two against Washington State and 165 and two last season in the New Mexico Bowl win over Texas-El Paso.

67: Career touchdown passes for Jake Haener, fourth on the Bulldogs’ all-time list.

68.2: Career completion percentage for Haener, a school record.

50: Fresno State was 6 of 12 converting on third down, despite needing an average of 8.8 yards to move the sticks. The Cougars were 4 of 14 (28.6%), while needing an average of 8.0 yards for a first down.

11.5: Sacks this season for Fresno State defensive end David Perales, the most in a season by a Bulldog since 1988 when Tracy Rogers also had 11.5.

1.6: Yards per rush for Washington State.

18: Rushing touchdowns this season for Mims, one off the school record set by Ryan Mathews in 2009.

6.0: Sacks by the Bulldogs, the most they have had in a game since they had 6.0 in a 2020 victory over Utah State.

This story was originally published December 17, 2022 at 6:56 PM.