Fresno State hosted San Jose State for its second Mountain West conference game of the season. The homecoming game welcomed a sold-out crowd for the second consecutive time this season at Valley Children’s Stadium. Both teams struggled to score in the first half, but the Bulldogs clinched the 17-10 win of the evening with alumni Derek Carr and Davante Adams in attendance.
The Bulldogs began the game with a rough start offensively. In the first minute of the game, Fresno State quarterback Logan Fife threw an incomplete pass intended for receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper, but minutes later Fife was sacked for a loss of three yards.
However, Fresno State’s defense stepped up. At around eight minutes into the first quarter, Bulldog defensive end David Perales sacked Spartan quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. The Spartans then responded with a rush up the middle of 19 yards.
With 3:42 left in the first quarter, Bulldog defensive back Bralyn Lux intercepted Cordeiro’s pass intended for a touchdown. This was Cordeiro’s first interception in 174 pass attempts.
Fresno State’s offensive line managed to move the ball up the field, but continued to struggle to defend its quarterback as Fife was sacked once again for a loss of five yards.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Fresno State switched up its play, making a direct snap to Jordan Mims, who rushed up the middle gaining one yard.
The Bulldogs’ first defensive take of the second quarter prevented the Spartans from passing Fresno State’s 50-yard line.
Fife connected a complete pass to Moreno-Cropper on the Spartans’ side of the 50-yard line, but then a pass intended for Raymond Pauwels Jr. slipped out of his hands into a turnover for the Spartans.
The Bulldog’s defensive line found itself in a hard spot as Bulldog Raymond Scott was expelled from the game for targeting the Spartan’s quarterback, with eight minutes left in the first half.
Fresno State struggled to keep San Jose outside of its red zone. The Spartans finally broke the scoreless streak of the game with a field goal, with five minutes left in the first half.
Fife connected the ball to Nikko Remigio with a 22-yard pass, setting the Bulldogs up on the 6-yard line. From there Mims rushed to the left for a 6-yard touchdown
With the extra point from Abraham Montaño, Fresno State turned the game around, improving to 7-3.
The Bulldogs built the momentum of their lead by sacking Cordeiro on the Spartans two yard line.
With 16 seconds left of the first half, the Spartans responded with a touchdown, turning around the lead. Going into halftime, the Bulldogs trailed 10-7.
Fresno State coaches, unhappy with the Spartan touchdown, broke a window from the press box. Fans sitting below the coaches’ booths were showered with broken glass and two fans received medical attention.
Going into the second half, the Bulldogs carried the ball up the field into Spartan territory. Fife’s intended 23-yard pass to Moreno-Cropper was intercepted by Nehemiah Shelton, turning the ball over to the Spartans.
The ‘Dogs’ defensive line kept the Spartans off their territory during their offensive play.
Fife then connected a pass for seven yards to Remigio for the second Bulldog touchdown of the evening. The Bulldogs snatched back the lead, leaving the Spartans trailing 14-10.
Entering the final quarter of the game, Perales knocked out Cordeiro’s pass and Elijah Gates returned in the following play to sack the Spartan quarterback.
In the final minute of the game, Fresno State held San Jose State on its own 10-yard line, preventing them from moving up the field.
Montaño closed out the game for the Bulldogs with a field goal, clinching their win 17-10.
Last season the Bulldogs claimed an outright victory over the Spartans with the score of 40-9. This year, they won by a mere four point lead to the Spartans.
Fife completed the game with over 230 passing yards, Remigio led with over 50 receiving yards and Mims rushed over 70 yards for the evening.