Dalton Runberg / The Collegian
Fresno State welcomed a Southeastern Conference opponent to Bulldog Stadium for the first time in program history with Mississippi making the trip to Fresno.
Sophomore quarterback Derek Carr got the first drive of the game going with another deep pass to wide receiver Jalen Saunders. This is the third game in a row where Carr found Saunders early in the game. Carr would then led the Dogs down the field for the first touchdown of game finding junior wide receiver Rashad Evans for the two-yard pass for the early 7-0 lead. Carr finished the game going 25 of 37 for 281 yards and one touchdown.
Mississippi answered back quickly with Fresno State’s worst enemy running back Brandon Bolden, who ran for 225 yards in last year’s meeting, finding the seam for a 21-yard touchdown run to tie the score at seven apiece.
The Rebels got on the board again with quarterback Zack Stoudt finding wide receiver Melvin Harris for the 22-yard touchdown strike, but the ‘Dogs would block the extra point. Mississippi still led 13-7.
On the next drive, Carr started getting in a rhythm with his wide receivers as he led his ‘Dogs down the field. The Bulldogs’ offense got tricky with Carr handing off to Saunders for the 26-yard touchdown run to give the ‘Dogs the 14-13 lead. Saunders had his biggest game of the season with six catches for 127 yards receiving and two rushes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
In the second quarter, Bolden finds the hole and shifts his way through almost the entire Fresno State defense to get the 12-yard touchdown run to extend Mississippi’s lead to 20-14.
The Rebels’ defense got into the act with Mississippi cornerback Charles Sawyer getting his hands on the interception to impede the Bulldogs’ offensive attack.
Carr would get the offense on the same page on the next drive and the main contributor was Saunders, who torched the Rebel’s defense to put the ‘Dogs in scoring position. Fresno State would settle for a field goal, but senior kicker Kevin Goessling shanked the attempt to keep the score, 20-14.
On final play of the first half, Goessling tried to bring back memories from the Bulldogs’ game against Utah State in 2008 when he hit a 58-yarder to get the victory, this time the senior came up short on a 57-yarder.
On the first drive after the half, Carr drove the ‘Dogs down the field with another pass to Saunders to put Fresno State in scoring position. A couple plays later, running back Robbie Rouse got into the action with a seven-yard touchdown run to give Fresno State the lead 21-20. Rouse finished the game with 28 carries for 128 yards on the ground to extend his current streak of games over the century mark.
Mississippi would answer back with a score of its own as running back Jeff Scott races 69-yards to pay dirt to give the Rebels the lead 27-21.
With the ‘Dogs down by six points, Carr took it into his own hands with an 80-yard drive to get Fresno State down the field. Then, the Bakersfield Christian High School graduate called his own number with a quarterback sneak to give Fresno State the 28-27 lead.
Mississippi wouldn’t let Carr’s touchdown be the winning score as the Rebels raced down the field. Scott scored his second touchdown of the game on a 16-yard touchdown run. Scott finished with 24 carries on 148 yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels would get the two-point conversion to give Mississippi the 35-28 lead.
The Mississippi defense slowed down the ‘Dogs on offense in the fourth quarter as they didn’t allow any points. Then on the ensuing drive, the Rebels made the game a two-possession game with senior kicker David Hankins hitting the chip shot to give the Rebels the 38-28 lead. Fresno State had one more shot to put points on the board, but Goessling missed his third field goal of the game to end the game.
The ‘Dogs have a short week to prepare for former Western Athletic Conference member Boise State, who is the fourth-ranked team in the country as the game is on next Friday.