After missing the previous four games with a high ankle sprain, Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener made his return on Oct. 29 in Fresno State’s 32-28 thrilling comeback win against San Diego State. 

The 18-point comeback was its biggest since Derek Carr led a 21-0 comeback win against New Mexico on Oct. 27, 2012.

Trailing 28-10 into the final play of the third quarter, Haener delivered a touchdown pass to wide receiver Zane Pope to cut the lead to 28-17. After stopping the Aztecs at the 29-yard line on 4th-and-1, the Bulldogs drove down the feld and entered the red zone. They were unable to capitalize as Haener was intercepted in the end zone.

Fresno State got the ball back three plays later after defensive end David Perales forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Johnny Hudson Jr. 

After three incompletions from Haener, the ‘Dogs still had a chance to cut the deficit to eight points. However, kicker Abraham Montaño’s field goal attempt was blocked. After the blocked kick, the Bulldogs had a 1.3% win probability, according to ESPN analytics.

The Aztecs once again had a chance to put the game out of reach, but were unable to do so as the Bulldogs forced a three-and-out. 

The ‘Dogs were able to capitalize on their drive after running back Jordan Mims scored on a 3-yard run. Haener found wide receiver Nikko Remigio in the end zone for the 2-point conversion. This cut the Aztec lead down to three. 

Fresno State recovered the onside kick attempt from kicker Dylan Lynch and had a chance to take the lead with good feld position. On the first play of the drive, Haener connected with Remigio for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The crowd, which had emptied out throughout the game, erupted as the Bulldogs came all the way back from 28-10 down. 

An interception from defensive back Carlton Johnson closed out Fresno State’s improbable come-from-behind victory. 

Bulldog wide receiver Josh Kelly and defensive back Evan Williams also returned from injuries on Saturday.

Both Haener and Williams were named to the Mountain West preseason all-conference first team. 

In the week leading up to the game, the media was not told if Haener would be playing.

The team, however, knew that Haener would play. 

“At the beginning of the week when we saw that he could move, throw on move and do all those types of things, we felt like it was going to be [Haener’s] game to play,” Head Coach Jeff Tedford said at the post game news conference.

The Fresno State football Twitter account confirmed the return of the three players with a Tweet 47 minutes before kickoff.

In Haener’s absence the team was led by sophomore Logan Fife. Despite the 2-6 TD/INT ratio, Fife kept Fresno State alive in the Mountain West race with wins over San Jose State and New Mexico.

With the run game being a non-factor with -3 total yards, the team had to rely heavily on Haener, as he completed 34 of his 45 passes for 394 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Both of the interceptions came in the red zone as Haener failed to connect with Kelly on the first one and Remigio on the second.

Haener was named as one of the eight Manning Award Stars of the Week, which is awarded to the quarterbacks with the best performance each week. 

The team was led by receivers Pope and Remigio. Both obtained their season highs in receiving yards, with Pope totaling 143 yards with a touchdown and Remigio getting 126 yards with two touchdowns, the second of which was the go-ahead score that put Fresno State ahead 32-28 with 1:05 remaining. Pope also recovered the crucial onside kick one play prior to Remigio’s 37-yard touchdown.

One week after giving up zero sacks against New Mexico, the offensive line struggled to contain San Diego State’s pass rush, as it allowed a season-high seven sacks. 

Midway through the game, the team lost right tackle Dontae Bull to an injury. Bull was also named to the preseason Mountain West team. Tedford said the injury is likely “significant.” 

After giving up touchdowns on three of the five Aztec possessions in the first half, the Bulldogs’ defense held the Aztecs scoreless on their final four drives in the second half, forcing two turnovers in the final three drives.

In his first game with Fresno State, Carlton Johnson picked off San Diego State quarterback Jalen Mayden with 44 seconds remaining to seal the victory for Fresno State. 

With the win, Fresno State retains the Old Oil Can trophy and has won four out of its last five meetings against San Diego State.

The Bulldogs are now 3-1 in Mountain West play and 4-4 overall. 

They are tied with San Jose State atop the West division. The Aztecs fall to 2-2 and are tied for third with UNLV. 

Fresno State will host the 2-7 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Nov. 5 at Valley Children’s Stadium.