Bulldogs bounce back strong
After close
loss to Oregon, 'Dogs revert back to dominating ways and take victory
over defending MAC champs, 44-14
Joseph Vasquez /
The Collegian
Teammates congratulate
Bryson Sumlin after thinking he scored a touchdown in the first
half but referees later ruled him down on the 1-yard line. For the
game, Sumlin rushed for 106 yards, had 41 receiving yards and had
two touchdowns. |
By Chhun Sun
The Collegian
Toledo was the first to score,
which made Bulldogs head coach Pat Hill furious on the sideline and his
actions toward his team was repeatedly shown on national television.
But that motivated his Bulldogs (2-1) to keep Toledo from scoring again
until late in the game, when the game was out of the Rockets’ reach.
The Bulldogs showed their loss to Oregon was a distant memory as they
bounced back with a convincing 44-14 blowout in Tuesday’s nonconference
win over Toledo, which was televised on ESPN2.
“We started out sluggish, but the Bulldogs players played good,
ran well and tackled hard,” Hill said. “The game went the
way we wanted.”
In other words, there weren’t 16 penalty markers flying like confetti.
Green didn’t color the stadium. Instead, it was Bulldog red all
over, and most who donned themselves in the color cheered as if Fresno
State had never lost to Oregon.
“I don’t want to talk about that one,” Hill said, referring
to the harrowing 37-34 loss to Oregon on Sept. 17.
But early in the first quarter, Toledo (3-1) gave Fresno State a scare
when Clint Cochran threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Steve Odom to put
the Rockets up 7-0.
“We got a wake up call early and we responded well to that,”
Hill said. “They weren’t happy from that point on, so the
players took over.”
Bryson Sumlin took over as he ran for 106 yards and had a touchdown, plus
the 20-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. In the two previous
games, he had no touchdown runs on 14 carries.
“I never felt like I wasn’t a part of the offense,”
said Sumlin, who also had a fumble. “I just sat out there and waited
for my chance.”
He showed how much he wanted to play when he rushed for 12 yards in the
first quarter to the 1-yard line before getting tripped and stretching
his arms for the end zone. Two plays later, Paul Pinegar threw for a touchdown
pass to Paul Williams.
Pinegar completed 9 of 16 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Even
though his numbers don’t compare to his career game against Oregon,
where he had a career-high 418 yards and three touchdowns, Pinegar’s
offense wasn’t needed much.
The defense kept the game away from the Rockets, who played without their
star quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who suffered a concussion in the Sept.
17 game against Temple.
“Coach told us, ‘Don’t take them lightly,’”
said cornerback Richard Marshall, who had an interception and broke up
a pass. “Once we started beating them, we started pounding.”
Marshall and the rest of the defensive unit kept the Toledo offense struggling
for yardage and points. The defense had four sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Then there was impressive work from the special teams.
Adam Jennings ran back two kick returns and three punt returns for 139
yards, putting the Bulldogs in good field position for most of the night.
But a punt blocked by Richard Miller that was later picked up by Paul
Williams for a touchdown, rallied up the announced crowd of 34, 637 who
stayed for most of the game, even though the game was considered a blowout
as early as the third quarter.
The Bulldogs defense kept Gradkowski’s replacement, freshman Clint
Cochran, fighting for all of his 163 yards and one touchdown pass, as
well as his touchdown run.
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