Fresno State Post Game: Bulldogs 34, Abilene Christian 13

Recapping the Bulldogs’ season opening victory over Abilene Christian.

Players of the game

Zack Greenlee: Fresno State sophomore, in second career start, passed for three TDs.

Marteze Waller: Senior running back had two long runs, then took over game in third quarter en route to ninth career 100-yard game.

Chad Olsen: Bulldogs sophomore tight end had two TD catches – Nos. 5 and 6 of his career – on his only receptions of the game.

Play of the game

First quarter, 1:58 to play: Fresno State and Abilene Christian were tied 7-7, but a quick strike by Zack Greenlee changed that. He found Josiah Blandin in the end zone for 32 yards, as the Bulldogs moved up seven and never looked back. The 13-play drive covered 53 yards in 3:02.

Numbers of the game

1: First sack of the season for the Bulldogs, and it went to sophomore OLB Tobenna Okeke, who took down Parker McKenzie for a loss of six yards in the first quarter. LB Jeff Camilli recorded the team’s first interception, in the third quarter; and LB Ejiro Ederaine later made his first career pick.

1:46: Time elapsed on Fresno State’s first drive, which also led to its first score of the season. Greenlee escaped a sack attempt and hit Jamire Jordan for 25 yards at 11:29 of the first quarter. That was the first career reception and TD for the redshirt freshman receiver from Lancaster.

2: Losing streak snapped by the Bulldogs. They fell to Boise State in the Mountain West Championship game, then to Rice in the Hawaii Bowl to end last season.

3: Explosive plays of 20 yards or more by the Fresno State offense in the first half:

28: Career and consecutive starts for cornerback Charles Washington and linebacker Kyrie Wilson, the Bulldogs’ active leaders in those categories.

137: Total yards by Fresno State in the first quarter. The Bulldogs finished with 442 to Abilene Christian’s 240.

Now what

Noon PDT Sept. 12 at No. 17 Mississippi. The Rebels of the powerful Southeastern Conference face Tennessee-Martin on Saturday before hosting the Bulldogs in Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels lead the series 2-0, both wins coming at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium – 55-38 and 38-28.

Noteworthy

On night of firsts, a big one’s front and center: Fresno State center Jacob Vazquez made his first start in a college football game Thursday.

He earned it after arriving from Butte College as an invited walk-on as a sophomore in 2014. He performed well and was granted a scholarship later that spring.

“You never know what your chances are as a walk-on,” Vazquez said earlier this week. “I just hope to work hard. If they felt that I earned it then great, if not then just keep working. That’s how it went.”

“He’s extremely smart,” offensive line coach Cameron Norcross said of the 6-foot-3, 287-pounder. “He’s driven and dedicated to being better than everyone else. He wants to be the best that he can be. He has all the intangibles that we’re looking for.”

Vazquez played one season at Butte College and helped his team to a 12-0 season in 2013, capped by state and co-national championships. He was a unanimous All-Northern California Conference selection and All-California Region I first-teamer.

Ahead of his big day, Vazquez wasn’t willing to take anything for granted.

“I try to come in and work hard every day,” he said. “Every day you have to earn your spot. During camp, I tried to have that mentality and get after it, try to get mentally focused every day. That’s what I’m trying to work on.”

Plugging the middle: Fresno State sophomore Nathan Madsen understands it’s tough to replace a player such as Tyeler Davison, the departed defensive star who led the Bulldogs in sacks as well as overall tackles for loss in 2014.

It is Madsen’s job at nose guard, but he also knows his teammates are ready to take over as a unit.

“Losing Tyeler was a big hit to our defense,” Madsen said this week. “He’s on to the NFL and we have a big gash in our defense. We’ve just been focusing on what we need to do to get better every day and get to where we need to be by game time.”

Madsen knew what to expect from the Wildcats.

“They run a lot of different formations and some wildcat,” he said. “They have a lot of weapons and we’re trying to prepare for that.”

Madsen likes the makeup of the line, led by senior defensive end Todd Hunt.

“Todd is a great leader,” he said. “I look up to him and he’s a great guy that I learn off of. We feed off each other on D-line and say, ‘You need to do better on this play or that was on me. That was my fault.’”

▪ Another opening night, another win: The opener was the 94th in Bulldogs history, and the victory gave them wins in their past 10 season openers at Bulldog Stadium. They now own an all-time record of 584-398-27, the most victories of any team in the Mountain West. Fresno State has won nine of its past 11 openers overall, both losses to Pac-12 opponents – Cal (2011) and USC (2014).

▪ Rookie tosses TD: True freshman QB Chason Virgil made his Fresno State debut in the second quarter and picked up his first touchdown when he connected with Chad Olsen for 4 yards.

▪ It’s their day: Playing on a Thursday has been a good thing for Fresno State. Since 2000, the Bulldogs had won all five games on that day of the week – over Rice (2000), Louisiana Tech and San Diego State (2002), Boise State (2005) and Rutgers (2013). Make it six with a victory over Abilene Christian. Fresno State will host Nevada on Thursday, Nov. 5.

▪ Finding an early stride: Last season the Bulldogs ranked 10th out of 12 teams in the Mountain West in first-quarter scoring, averaging 4.79 points. Only San Jose State (4.6) and Nevada (2.8) started more slowly. Maybe a turnaround is coming? Fresno State scored 14 in the first 15 minutes against the Wildcats.

▪ Series edge: Fresno State now leads the series with Abilene Christian 3-2, including a game in 1963 that was postponed a week. It was scheduled to be played the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The following Saturday, the visiting Wildcats won 32-29 before 5,562.

▪ Home cooking: Fresno State improved to 18-2 at home under coach Tim DeRuyter. Entering Thursday, with DeRuyter and offensive coordinator Dave Schramm as the primary architects (and with a little help from a guy named Derek Carr for a couple of seasons), Fresno State had averaged 41.1 points and 512.2 yards per game at Bulldog Stadium.

▪ Picking on the little guy: Fresno State has done well against FCS opponents, winning the past 11, by an average of 25.5 points. Last season, Fresno State rolled past Southern Utah 56-16 – a season-high point total in the Bulldogs’ eventual 6-8 campaign.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Fresno State Post Game: Bulldogs 34, Abilene Christian 13."