With hopes of an easy win and upward mobility in the Mountain West (MW) conference standings, the Fresno State Bulldogs football team hosted the Colorado State Rams on Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium. 

Fresno State lost the game 41-31, being outplayed by the Rams, who came to Bulldog Stadium as an underdog and ended up ruining the Bulldogs’ homecoming celebration while also diminishing their hopes of a trip to the MW Championship. 

The game started with the Rams on offense from their own 20-yard line. Colorado State shocked members of both the team and the crowd with a quick play action pass that went for 69 yards, ending in a touchdown. 

While on offense the Bulldogs seemed out-of-sync, with quarterback Jorge Reyna fumbling but recovering and putting the ‘Dogs in a long third down situation. The Bulldogs punted the ball, pinning the Rams back behind their own 35-yard line. 

The Bulldogs’ defense held its own and was able to hold the Rams to a three-and-out, which forced them to punt. The offense had little success in the subsequent series, committing a penalty put the Bulldogs in another third and long situation.

Fresno State punted the ball, leaving Colorado State inside its own 30-yard line. The Rams mixed it up and began to throw short passes, which opened up the middle of the field. 

Colorado State took advantage and ran the ball for 26-yards inside the Bulldogs’ territory, leaving the Rams with good field position. Fresno State was not able to stop the Rams, who scored again after a 32-yard pass and a 1-yard run. 

The offensive woes continued for Fresno State. The Bulldogs were not able to make anything happen on offense and had to punt the ball back to the Rams. 

Colorado State continued using the run and managed to get inside the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line. However, the Bulldogs’ defense finally found success, stopping the Rams offense and forcing a field goal attempt.

The Rams missed the field goal and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs inside their own 20-yard line. 

Reyna finally got going with running back Ronnie Rivers catching a screen pass that gave the Bulldogs much needed momentum in the first quarter. The Rams forced a fourth down attempt by the Bulldogs, which Reyna converted thanks to a 37-yard catch by Cam Sutton that put the ‘Dogs on the 1-yard line. 

Running back Josh Hokit took the ball in for the score, putting the Bulldogs back in the game and cutting the deficit to only seven points. 

Back on defense, the Bulldogs again continued to struggle against the run, letting the Rams back into Bulldog territory. The first quarter of the game ended with the Bulldogs trailing the Rams 14-7.

Colorado State continued to push the ball deeper into Bulldog territory and eventually scored a 9-yard run by the Ram’s running back Marcus McElroy. With the successful point after attempt, the Rams added to their lead, making the score 21-7.

Back on offense, the Bulldogs couldn’t do much thanks to the pressure put on by the Rams’ defense that forced a punt by the Bulldogs.

Fresno State’s defense forced the Rams to punt the ball, giving it back to the Bulldogs’ offense with great field position. The Bulldogs began to use the run with Hokit having several successful runs and putting the ball inside the Rams’ 10-yard line. 

After Hokit’s runs, it was Rivers’ turn to run the ball. He punched in a 7-yard run, putting seven points on the board for the Bulldogs. 

Again the Bulldogs’ defense, playing superbly, stopped the Rams from getting any traction and forced a punt. 

The Bulldogs’ offense continued to struggle while the defense stayed strong, closing out the first half of the game.

In the third quarter, the Bulldogs started with the ball, using their rushing attack to move downfield deep into the Rams’ territory. The Bulldogs got to the 1-yard line thanks to a 7-yard pass from Reyna to wide receiver Jaylen Cropper. 

Hokit ran the ball in for the touchdown, and kicker Cesar Silva’s kick tied it all up at 21 points. 

The Rams’ offense got to the ‘Dogs’ 25-yard line, but was stopped by the defense, which forced Colorado State to try for a field goal. After the successful three-point kick, the Rams were back on top of the Bulldogs, but this time only by three points. 

Fresno State’s offense took the ball in the middle of the field and moved the Rams’ defense backward with a combination of well-timed runs and accurate passes. Rivers was able to score from seven yards out to put the Bulldogs up 24-28. 

Back on offense, the Rams quickly moved down the field with a 40-yard pass that put them inside the Bulldogs’ 10-yard line. The third quarter ended with the Rams in a prime position to take the lead away from the Bulldogs.

Colorado State ran the ball from the 7-yard line, scoring again to take back the lead from the Bulldogs 31-28.

Back on offense, the Bulldogs were able to move down the field quickly thanks to a 45-yard run by Rivers, who put the Bulldogs inside the 10-yard line. Reyna struggled to get any momentum after a holding call moved them back 10 yards. They were forced to try for three points. 

After a successful kick by Silva, the Bulldogs tied the game 31-31.

The Rams’ offense moved the ball slowly down the field, gaining momentum while taking time off the clock. However, a poorly-timed pass by Rams quarterback Patrick O’Brian was intercepted by cornerback Juju Huges, giving the Bulldogs hopes of a comeback.

Again the Bulldogs struggled to get anything going. On a third and long play, Reyna was intercepted by the Rams, who took it back to the Bulldogs’ 11-yard line. In the next play, O’Brian threw a pass that was caught in the endzone, giving the Rams the lead 38-31.

Back on offense, the ‘Dogs gained good ground with the running game and moved inside Rams territory. On third and three, Reyna, with room to run for a first down, decided to instead throw the ball, missing his receiver and forcing the ‘Dogs to go for it on fourth down.

The fourth down conversion wasn’t successful, giving the ball back to the Rams with less than three minutes left in the game. 

Colorado State took the ball to the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line, but the ‘Dogs were able to stop them and force a fourth down play. The Rams successfully completed a three point try, putting them 10 points ahead of the Bulldogs. 

With the ball back on offense, the Bulldogs moved with a sense of urgency down the field, quickly getting inside the Rams’ 40-yard line. However, that wouldn’t be enough, and the Rams would take the game 41-31.

The top performers of the night were Rivers on offense, who had 146 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns, and on defense Hughes had his second game with an interception.

“[Colorado State] outplayed us, and we didn’t deserve to win this game. We have to learn from some of the mistakes,” head coach Jeff Tedford said. “We gave up too many big explosive plays to the receivers … the objective is to get better every week and learn from the mistakes that we make.”