Junior Robbie Rouse was one of the few bright spots during
the season opener. He finished the game with 86 yards on
17 carries and one touchdown.
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, putting Fresno State in scoring position in Golden Bear territory. Jones made his second career start and made his presence felt early on.
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, causing an offensive line shift for the ‘Dogs. With Helepiko out, the Fresno State coaching staff was forced to shift players to unfamiliar positions and use untested linemen off the bench.
“For a lot of our kids it was an opportunity to see what they look like in a division one game,” head coach Pat Hill said 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 when junior Isi Sofele plunged in from a yard out on the ensuing drive. 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 extend their lead with Sofele’s second score of the afternoon, this time on a 39-yard touchdown run. Fresno State again blocked the extra point, but California took the lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.
It was a lead California would never relinquish.
Junior Zach Maynard starting his first game with his new team, found senior receiver 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 Bulldogs’ defense sacked Maynard to force a fumble in the end zone for a Bulldog touchdown. The score cut the Golden Bears’ lead to 19-14, but Fresno State would never get any close after a powerful California second-half effort.
In the second half, the Golden Bears got on the board first with Maynard finding Jones again 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, extending Fresno State’s long struggles against dual-threat quarterbacks.
On the other hand, sophomore Derek Carr had little time to flash his abilities facing 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. Guyton’s score gave the Golden Bears a commanding 33-14 lead in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears would score again on a field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio to push the California lead to three touchdowns at 36-14.
For Fresno State, the game was a story of numerous three-and-out drives as it was forced to punt eight times, but Fresno State saw a pair of collegiate firsts as Carr found freshman wide receiver Josh Harper for a fourth-quarter score.
After the score, the ‘Dogs still faced a daunting two-touchdown deficit with a little more than four minutes remaining.
The Carr-to-Harper connection would prove to culminate the Battle by the Bay’s scoring.
The Golden Bears held on to win 36-21. The Bakersfield Christian High School 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.”
