Bulldogs trampled by Broncos, again

No. 19 Boise State 33, Fresno State 16

By Zack Walton

BOISE, Idaho–During the past several weeks, the Fresno State offense has taken a turn from dominant at times, to mediocre, to now downright offensive.

After two consecutive Western Athletic Conference losses, in which the Bulldogs’ offense was suspect, Fresno State managed to take the offense to new lows in its 33-16 loss Saturday night to No. 19 Boise State.

The Bulldogs (3-3, 0-3 WAC) registered season-lows in rushing yards (17), rushing attempts (17), total yards (191) and first downs (nine) while falling to WAC rival Boise State (7-0, 4-0) for the fourth consecutive season.

“We were very well contained by their defense,” Fresno State head coach Pat Hill said. “I think Boise State really dominated us on their defensive side of the football.”

For most of the season, the Bulldogs’ passing game has struggled, but Fresno State’s production in the running game had yet to be a problem, until running into the nation’s third-ranked run defense of Boise State.

Fresno State had averaged 204 yards rushing per game entering the matchup against the Broncos, but the strong defensive front for Boise dominated the usually bullying offensive line for the Bulldogs.

“Usually we can dominate teams running the ball, but whenever we don’t, it’s our own mistakes that are killing us,” senior offensive tackle Logan Mankins said.

In the first half, the physical Fresno State running game had been stifled by the Broncos, as the Bulldogs O-line failed to get a push on the Boise State defensive front and the running backs were unable to weave through almost non-existent holes.

Fresno State entered the locker room at half time with negative-16 yards rushing on 11 attempts, including 10 yards on 7 rushes from the Bulldogs’ leading rusher entering the game, junior Bryson Sumlin. Fresno State’s second-leading rusher on the year, junior Wendell Mathis, had 29 yards on four carries in the game.

The passing game for the Bulldogs didn’t fair much better. Quarterback Paul Pinegar continued his struggles, throwing two more interceptions, bring his total on the season to a career-high 12.

The junior completed only 17 of 30 passes for 174 yards and registered a fourth-quarter pick for the fourth consecutive game.

With 7:23 remaining, and trailing Boise State 26-16, the Bulldogs took possession on their own 9-yard line. On the first play, Pinegar tried to find tight end Duncan Reid along the sideline, but his pass instead found the hands of Broncos free safety Deshan Cabaong.

The Broncos scored five plays later when sophomore quarterback Jared Zabransky rolled right and found tight end Andy Weldon wide open for a five-yard touchdown pass to seal the Boise State victory and extend its nation-long winning streaks to 23 games on the blue turf of Bronco Stadium and 18 games overall.

With the victory, Boise State also delighted the sell-out crowd of 30,623—that endured the rain, sleet, hail and near freezing temperatures—by bringing its WAC winning streak to 22 consecutive games.

“For us to catch up with Boise, we have to improve the pace we play at, the execution and the making of plays,” Hill said. “For anyone in this conference to catch them, they are really going to have to come out and play a great game.”

In the four consecutive losses to Boise State, Fresno State has been outscored 166-84, and Boise State is still the only team the Bulldogs have yet to beat in WAC play.

The loss Saturday marked the first time the Bulldogs have lost three straight conference games since the 1996 season and the first time losing three straight games overall since doing so during the 1998 season, Hill’s second season as head coach.

The Fresno State offense showed some signs of life in the second half, putting together two touchdown drives.

On their second drive of the second half, the Bulldogs took advantage of the great field position after a punt return by junior Adam Jennings and marched 45 yards on six plays, the last of which was a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle by Mathis to cut the Boise State lead to 23-10.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Fresno State scored again when Pinegar connected with sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Jamison on a 25-yard touchdown pass to cap a 74-yard drive, making the score 26-16 in favor of the Broncos.

The touchdown reception was the first of the season for Jamison, who became only the second Bulldogs wide receiver to catch a touchdown pass this year.

Joe Fernadez, who led Fresno State with 93 yards receiving against Boise State, has two touchdown receptions on the season.