Bryan Cole / The Collegian

PASADENA – For Fresno State fans, the trip to Pasadena was worth the trouble.

Thousands of Red Wavers made the journey down to the Rose Bowl with the hope of witnessing a signature win over a Bowl Championship Series conference team.

What they got was a chance to witness history.

Watching the performance of Fresno State tailback Ryan Mathews was well worth the price of admission and second-degree sunburn from facing the sun in the visitors̢۪ section for four hours.

In the Bulldogs̢۪ 36-31 win over the UCLA Bruins, Mathews had the best game of his relatively short career.

Mathews was impressive statistically, rushing 21 times for 166 yards and one touchdown. He also added a 25-yard catch on a screen play that wowed both sides of the crowd.

On a third down and forever from the UCLA 25, Fresno State called a screen to Mathews and left the rest to him. Mathews hurdled -— literally jumped over — UCLA cornerback Courtney Viney in route to a touchdown right in front of the Fresno State fans.

“Sometimes you hit the right buttons in Nintendo and it was the right button,â€Â Fresno State coach Pat Hill said.

The only other way to describe the play is to hum the SportsCenter theme song. It was that amazing, but Mathews was his usual humble self.

“I was just trying to have fun out there and make plays for my team,â€Â Mathews said. “We were just playing Bulldog football out there.â€Â

Mathews was the star for Fresno State̢۪s first-ever victory in the Rose Bowl, but he came close to not playing Bulldog football.

In his senior season at West High in Bakersfield, Mathews rushed for 3,396 yards and 44 touchdowns. No really, those were his stats.

During the recruiting period, Mathews was getting attention from all over, including Pac-10 schools. But there was one problem – academic qualifying.

Mathews had all the talent in the world and the chance to play college football almost anywhere on the West Coast.

When those BCS schools found out that Mathews was going to have trouble making NCAA standards, their interests disappeared. One of those schools that stopped calling was UCLA.

“I was recruited by UCLA and they kinda fell off,â€Â Mathews said.

The one school that never swayed and never gave up on Mathews was Fresno State.

“Coach Hill was on me from the get-go and he wasn’t letting me down,â€Â Mathews said.

Hill offered Mathews a scholarship even before he was able to qualify and it looks like the gamble paid off. When Mathews did become eligible, offers came flying from Pac-10 schools like USC, but Mathews stayed with the coach and program that believed in him.

On national television against UCLA, Mathews showed everyone who they should have had faith in. And when the game was on the line, well you can guess, the Bulldogs turned to Mathews.

With 8:55 left in the fourth quarter and up 36-31, the Bulldogs got the ball on their 10-yard line following a fumble by UCLA tailback Derrick Coleman.

Mathews took the first carry of the drive for six yards, but after the run he did not return to the huddle. Mathews was helped off the field with a knee injury and the Bulldogs̢۪ drive continued on without him, until crunch time.

Later on in the drive, with only 2:53 left, Fresno State faced a fourth-and-1. Mathews lined up at his usual tailback position and everyone in the stadium knew what was going to happen.

The Bulldogs needed one yard and Mathews fought through on second and third efforts and ran for seven. The first down sealed the game and allowed the Bulldogs to run out the rest of the clock.
Following the game, Fresno State players, coaches and fans all celebrated together and relished in the moment.

It was more than just the average, ordinary game for the Bulldogs.

“Coach Hill has his vision in about 20 or 30 years having [Fresno State] be a big time powerhouse,â€Â junior safety Moses Harris said. “And this is one of the games that is going to put us back on the national stage.â€Â

If things go to plan and Fresno State does become a college football power in years to come, fans will look back at this game.

The ‘Dogs finally beat the Bruins in th Rose Bowl after six tries. The player only Fresno State believed in got them there.