Lifting curse a big relief
The 27-13
victory is the first for the Bulldogs at Hawaii since Pat Hill's arrival
Jesse
Bowman / The Collegian
Garrett McIntyre, who
played with a cast because of a broken hand, sacked Hawaii quarterback
Colt Brennan three times in Saturday’s 27-13 victory. |
By Robert Shikina
The Ka Leo (University of Hawaii)
Wendell Mathis ran for more
than 229 yards with three touchdowns to help the Bulldogs beat the Warriors
at Aloha Stadium 27-13
The win, the 12th in Fresno State’s last 13 games, moves the Bulldogs
up the national polls to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and No. 22
in USA Today Coaches poll.
Fresno State has struggled at Aloha Stadium, possessing an all-time 2-11
record. But the drought ended as the Bulldogs notched the first win in
Hawaii since 1994.
“Now I don’t have to hear about all the losses in Hawaii,”
head coach Pat Hill said. “That got old after a while.”
In the second quarter, quarterback Paul Pinegar found Jermaine Jamison
for a 58-yard touchdown and Mathis had a 49-yard rush to set up his 3-yard
touchdown.
Fresno State amassed 445 yards, 10 less than the Warriors.
“It’s a tough defense to run against because they’re
all up on the line of scrimmage,” Hill said. “I don’t
know how many yards we had, but I think we increased it a few times when
we had to.”
Even though Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan completed 35 of 54 passing
for 327 yards, the Bulldogs held Hawaii to just one touchdown.
“The fact that they came out and did that they did today, it’s
real frustrating on the offense,” Brennan said. “ Because
they showed up and played and we didn’t.”
Defensive end Garrett McIntyre had a strong showing, blocking a field
goal attempt by Hawaii’s Dan Kelly in the second quarter and finding
Brennan for three of Fresno State’s five sacks.
Fresno State sealed the win with 2:40 remaining on the clock. After a
15-yard carry, Mathis broke through Hawaii’s defensive line and
carried the ball 78 yards to Hawaii’s endzone for a total of 94
yards in three running plays.
“The main thing when you play this team is hold the points down,”
Hill said. “And that’s what we did.”
The Hawaii game marked the beginning of a strong second-half schedule
that includes games against Boise State and USC.
The only light-weight remaining is San Jose State, who will be coming
to Bulldog Stadium next week.
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