The blowout that Oklahoma forgot

Fresno State falls behind 38-0 in first half, loses 52-28 to No. 1 Oklahoma in Norman; Bulldogs get no respect before or after blowout

The Sports Corner By Eddie Hughes

NORMAN, Okla.—Wow, Fresno State must be proud. The Bulldogs outscored No. 1 Oklahoma 28-14—in the second half, that is.

Fresno State put together its highest-scoring game of the season. And Oklahoma gave up the most it has all season.

But the first half was a stuttering batch of embarrassment for the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in a 52-28 loss at 81,000-seat Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

After the opening half, the Sooners had a 38-0 lead. The Sooners had 23 first downs—Fresno State had two. Oh, and the nation’s top team had not yet punted.

It was almost like Fresno City College dressed in Fresno State’s uniforms in the first half, became overwhelmed, and turned the gear over to its rightful owners. And Fresno State came through.

Oklahoma was forced to punt on its opening drive of the second half and the Bulldogs blocked it.

Fresno State capitalized with a Bernard Berrian touchdown reception from quarterback Jeff Grady.

The Bulldogs scored three more touchdowns, giving the blushing Red Wavers in attendance something to be proud of.

“ We were trying to show as much heart as possible,” said Bulldogs running back Dwayne Wright, who had 83 yards rushing on eight carries after replacing injured starter Rodney Davis (concussion).

Fresno State coach Pat Hill should be commended. He got his team to come out and win the second half against the most vaunted defense in the land. Problem is, the 28 points just came too late.

“ Whatever we had to do to win the second half,” Hill said.

But one has to wonder, does anyone care?

After two days and nights in the state of Oklahoma, only one mention of the phrase “Fresno State” came from my rental-car radio. One mention.

It was like the game that wasn’t. The never-coming story. The game got about as much hype as an intramural semifinal on campus.

The radio personalities talked about the previous week’s win at Alabama and this week’s match-up with UCLA. The TV stations showed high school football games in their entirety. One woman didn’t know Fresno was in California. And the pizza guy said, “Oh, is that who we played today?” when he found out where I came from.

Fresno State planned on engraving a nightmarish memory into the minds of all the Oklahomans, but instead the Bulldogs were left playing for pride.

And Oklahoma will probably forget all about the game by tomorrow.