Broncos Bust Bulldogs

Fresno state's championship hopes sunk in 31-17 loss to Boise state

By Zack Walton

For the third straight year, Ryan Dinwiddie was a thorn in Fresno State’s side.

The Boise State quarterback dashed the Bulldogs’ Western Athletic Conference title hopes Friday night, leading the Broncos to a 31-17 win in front of 39,252 fans at Bulldog Stadium.

Dinwiddie threw for 273 yards and completed 22 of his 31 pass attempts—not big numbers for him—but he threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another one.

“ Once again, Dinwiddie made some big plays,” Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. “I think he’s an excellent player.”

Dinwiddie and the Boise State offense started strong, scoring touchdowns on four of the team’s first five possessions.

Fresno State fell behind 21-0 when Dinwiddie scored from five yards out, keeping the ball on the option.

One possession earlier, Dinwiddie found Tim Gilligan in the middle of the field and the speedy receiver raced 73 yards past the Bulldogs secondary for the touchdown.

“ [Dinwiddie] was finding the holes in our defense,” linebacker Todd Garcia said. “We have to give them credit.”

Fresno State responded with six minutes left in the first half when Pinegar eluded a Boise State defender in the backfield and scrambled to his right to find senior Marque Davis in the back of the endzone for a leaping 18-yard touchdown grab.

The score brought Fresno State within 14 points until Dinwiddie found receiver T.J. Acree on a 23-yard touchdown pass on the next possession to give Boise State a 28-7 lead.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Davis made a jumping catch in between two defenders at the Boise State 11.

Pinegar rushed to the line of scrimmage and spent a down spiking the ball to stop the clock instead of using one of Fresno State’s two remaining timeouts.

Hill said he told Pinegar to spike the ball because it would give his team two good chances at the endzone.

Fresno State couldn’t score a touchdown and had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by kicker Brett Visintainer. which left the Bulldogs down 28-10 at halftime.

In the second half, the Bulldogs held Boise State to three points but couldn’t put together a big enough comeback.

Fresno State again got within 14 points when Bernard Berrian caught a punt on the run and took it 68 yards, blowing by defenders for his first punt-return touchdown of the season.

Berrian caught 13 passes for 122 yards and the punt-return for a touchdown in his final home game.

Fresno State had 48 yards rushing—its lowest output since playing Tennessee—after being forced to abandon the running game because of falling behind early.