Turnovers spell doom for team
Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian
Wendell Mathis’ fumble in the second quarter was the second in the game and it came right after Bryson Sumlin’s. Louisiana Tech scored off both of those fumbles. |
By Chhun Sun
The Collegian
Luck wasn’t on Fresno State’s side, to say the very least.
Turnover after turnover, personal foul after personal foul have been a recurring theme in the past three games.
But the Bulldogs took their hardest fall in a 40-28 loss against Louisiana Tech in the season finale Friday night.
Many of the 36,525 fans at Bulldog Stadium weren’t shy about booing their home team after a turnover.
Some even made their way toward the exit as early as the start of the third quarter when the Bulldogs were down 33-10.
Can you blame them? Nope.
In the first nine games of the season, Fresno State committed nine turnovers. The Bulldogs showed why some considered them the best team in school history when they blew out teams by as many as 38 points, which they did twice this year (against Weber State and San Jose State).
But in the last three games, the Bulldogs, who finished the season 8-4, looked like they had lost the flair that had them ranked No. 16 in the nation about two weeks ago.
“We can’t have that many turnovers,” coach Pat Hill said. “Five against S.C. Five against Louisiana Tech. I don’t know how many we had against Nevada. Three? Two? Twelve in three games. That’s not good.”
Bryson Sumlin and Wendell Mathis each had a fumble and Paul Pinegar had three interceptions, bringing his season grand total to 13.
“I don’t understand five turnovers. I don’t understand personal fouls in that game. I don’t have the answers for those things,” Hill said.
Louisiana Tech — now with a 7-4 overall record and 6-2 in the Western Athletic Conference — capitalized on all but one of the turnovers with three touchdowns and a field goal. Four of the turnovers came in the first half.
“Obviously, we came out and made a lot of mistakes and that put us behind big in the second half. That kind of stuff happens and we can’t overcome,” Pinegar said.
Turnovers weren’t the only dark spots. Four personal fouls revealed a team that couldn’t hold in its emotions after losing two straight before the season finale.
“A lot of it is frustration,” Hill said Friday. “I have a lot of men in the locker room and a lot of them are dying inside. Maybe it’s frustration. That’s no excuse. You can’t have a lot of mistakes in a tight football game.
You have to play good, hard, disciplined football at all times.”
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