- Fresno State safety Derron Smith grabs San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey during the Bulldogs’ 24-13 victory over the Aztecs Friday at Bulldog Stadium. Photo by Darlene Wendels/The Collegian
On a night when 33,928 fans attended Bulldog Stadium for Friday’s “Night in Navy” game, the Fresno State football team’s defense stepped up when it needed to.
Back-to-back interceptions late in the game from linebacker Donovan Lewis and cornerback Jamal Ellis allowed the Fresno State football team to seal the 24-13 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs.
The win gives Fresno State (3-3, 2-0 Mountain West) its third straight victory over the Aztecs (2-3, 1-1 MW) in the Battle for the Oil Can under head coach Tim DeRuyter. It also gives the ‘Dogs a sole first-place spot in the West Division of the conference.
“I thought we had a tough football game tonight,” DeRuyter said. “Our guys had a really gritty performance out there. We knew going in that we were going to be playing a very tough San Diego State team that was very well coached, and they played like it tonight.
“Our guys know that every time we play San Diego State, it is going to be a fight. They were into it, our guys were into it, and I am just really pleased at the way that we continue to make plays to win football games.”
For the first time this season, Fresno State was able to get on the board in the first quarter. The ‘Dogs drove the field early in the first but settled for a Kody Kroening 37-yard field goal to go up 3-0. Later in the quarter, the Bulldogs scored when Brandon Connette came in on a short-yardage situation to punch it in to give his team the 10-0 advantage.
The Aztecs managed to put up just three points in the first half from a Donald Hageman 24-yard field goal to trail 10-3 going into the locker room.
SDSU would get within four points of the Bulldogs after another field goal midway through the third. However, the Bulldogs responded with a Josh Quezada 2-yard touchdown run later in the quarter to lead 17-6.
Again, the Aztecs fought back and shortened Fresno State’s lead to four after true freshman quarterback Nick Bawden connected with fullback Adam Roberts for a 5-yard score to make it 17-13.
Fresno State running back Marteze Waller ran it in from five yards out for a touchdown with about three and a half minutes remaining to seal the game and give Fresno State the 24-13 lead.
Bawden made the start at quarterback this week for the Aztecs, taking over for regular starter Quinn Kaehler, who suffered a shoulder injury in last week’s game.
The Bulldogs limited Bawden all night, allowing the freshman to complete just nine out of 24 passes for 84 yards.
SDSU’s run game saw some success behind running back Donnel Pumphrey. The sophomore finished the night with a game-high 96 rushing yards on 24 carries, but it was not enough to get past Fresno State.
Senior safety Derron Smith feels that despite struggling early in the season, the defense is making strides in terms of getting back on track. The defensive unit has made progress the last few weeks after allowing over 50 points in each of the first three contests this year. Tonight was its best performance of the year, as it allowed only 13 points.
“Obviously, we struggled in the first three games,” Smith said. “But we knew the mistakes that we made and what we needed to correct and fix. We went back to the drawing board and practice everyday trying to get better and better. It’s starting to pay off and show on the field now.”
For the Bulldogs, Burrell completed 13 of 25 passes for 142 yards and racked up an additional 59 yards on the ground. Senior wideout Josh Harper led all receivers with five receptions for 76 yards.
“Our team was maligned after the first three games, and rightly so,” DeRuyter said. “But our guys proved that we are capable of accomplishing our No. 1 goal: winning the Mountain West Conference.”