The Fresno State Bulldogs came into Friday’s matchup against the Colorado State Rams as winners of five straight games, riding high after a 20-17 victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack.
Head Coach Matt Entz said after the victory that they “like to make it interesting.”
It certainly was an interesting game against the Rams, as they’ll come home with an embarrassing 49-21 loss.
Before Friday’s contest, the Rams averaged 17 points per game on the season. The Bulldogs made the Rams look like the greatest show on turf, torching them for 237 yards on their first five drives, which ended in touchdowns.
Turnovers, penalties and miscommunication didn’t help the Bulldogs’ cause.
Three plays in, and the writing was on the wall for the Bulldogs. Rams running back Justin Marshall ripped off a 73-yard touchdown run — the longest play for the Rams this season.
Last week, the Bulldogs looked vulnerable against the Wolf Pack. They were sloppy at times and were not effective in the second half. They were lucky their defense faced the fifth-worst scoring offense in the nation.
On Friday night, the defense was facing the ninth-worst scoring offense in the nation, and they let the Rams cut through them with a 1000-degree knife.
Only one of the Rams’ touchdowns in the first half was less than 20 yards.
The defense was simply rancid.
The knee-slapper is that they got a stop with the Rams up 21-7, with a chance to make it a 14-point game and salvage some momentum going into halftime.
On 4th and 4, the special teams unit jumped offside to give the Rams the ball with a fresh set of downs, and they capitalized on the next play.
What would’ve been a 43-yard field goal and a 24-7 deficit turned into a 28-7 deficit real quick.
Then, it became a 35-7 lead real quick.
Quarterback E.J. Warner scrambled for a first down, but got the ball punched out from behind, and the Rams returned it for a touchdown.
In two plays, the Rams essentially scored 14 points off one penalty.
Warner also looked visibly frustrated throughout the game with his receivers. It’s hard to know if it was miscommunication, but it just wasn’t clicking, especially in the fourth quarter. Wide receivers Jordan Malau’ulu, Jayon Farrar and Jahlil McClain all had Warner throwing up his hands after throws.
The 350 yards passing look nice on the stat sheet, but when the team is trailing by 28 at halftime, there really is no opportunity to run the ball.
I’ll give the ‘Dogs credit, they did what they needed to do coming out of halftime — stop the Rams and get a score. After a failed first drive, the offense clicked and went down the field in 3:35 to make it a 14-point game.
Then the defense forced another three-and-out.
With the game on the line, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth down but couldn’t convert. However, the defense came up with yet another three-and-out. There was still a chance to make it a seven-point game.
The offense decided to go for the home run on 3rd and 16, then again on fourth down, just to turn the ball over again.
There’s no crystal ball to know if these drives would’ve ended in touchdowns, but it for sure sealed the fate of the Bulldogs.
It feels very reminiscent of the 59-14 beatdown that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas gave the Bulldogs last season.
The season isn’t over, but the Bulldogs head into the bye week licking their wounds and have some introspection ahead. A tough month ahead will make or break the season.
