Quarterback Derek Carr barely misses a tackle.
Photo by Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
The Bulldogs’ faithful covered Bill Walsh field with a sea of red as they came to see their ‘Dogs battle it out with California Golden Bears.
The ‘Dogs got started with an early interception by sophomore L.J. Jones which put Fresno State in scoring position. Jones made his second career start and made his presence felt on the play.
Junior Robbie Rouse plowed it in from nine-yards out to give Fresno State the 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. He finished the season opener with 86 yards on 17 carries.
Center Richard Helepiko went down with an ankle injury during the first quarter that caused an offensive line shift for the ‘Dogs. With this blow to the offensive line, many other players had to step up new positions.
“For a lot of our kids it was an opportunity to see what they look like in a division one game,” said head coach Pat Hill after the game. “[Leslie] Cooper got his first start not only at guard, but a center when [Richard] Helepiko went down.”
The Golden Bears would answer back with a rushing touchdown of their own with junior Isi Sofele scoring from one yard out. The ‘Dogs would block the extra point to make the score 7-6 in the first quarter.
Later in the quarter, the Golden Bears would score again with Sofele’s second touchdown of the night. This time it was a 39-yard touchdown run. Fresno State blocked the extra point, but California took the lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Junior Zach Maynard found senior Marvin Jones for a 42-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first quarter to give California the 19-7 lead.
With four minutes left in the half, the ‘Dogs defense sacked Maynard to force a fumble in the endzone for a Bulldog touchdown. The score cut the Golden Bears’ lead to 19-14.
In the second half, the Golden Bears got on the board first with Maynard finding senior Marvin Jones for a 23-yard touchdown pass to extend California’s lead to 26-14. Maynard torched the ‘Dogs throughout the game with his arm and his legs finishing the game with 266 yards and two touchdowns in the air. He also rushed for 53 yards on five carries.
On the other hand, sophomore Derek Carr had little time to throw as he seen constant pressure all night with California recording four sacks. One of those sacks came from California defensive end Trevor Guyton who forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. This score gave the Golden Bears the 33-14 lead in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears would score again with a field goal by junior Giorgio Tavecchio to give California the 36-14 lead.
The game was filled with three and outs for the ‘Dogs as they had to punt eight times, but Carr did get his first touchdown pass of his collegiate career hitting freshman Josh Harper for his first touchdown catch of his collegiate career.
After this score, the ‘Dogs were still down by a couple scores. The Golden Bears would hold on to win 36-21. The Bakersfield Christian graduate talked about what the final touchdown meant to the team moving forward.
“It was crucial,” Carr said. “We needed that. You don’t like going out there and scoring just one touchdown especially when you lose. We went out there and we fought hard. They were just a good defense tonight.”