Fresno State lands back in Mountain West championship game with convincing win at Nevada

FINAL: BULLDOGS 41, NEVADA 14

Fresno State set up a Mountain West championship showdown with Boise State, securing the West Division crown and its spot in the title game with a victory over Nevada at Mackay Stadium.

The Bulldogs (7-4, 6-1) captured their six straight game and had arguably their most convincing win during that stretch vs. the Wolf Pack.

Quarterback Jake Haener hit 29 of 42 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns, running back Jordan Mims rushed for 156 yards to go over 1,000 for the season and wideout Jalen Moreno-Cropper caught seven passes for 136 yards.

Mims now has 1,028 rushing yards, and is the first Fresno State back to surpass 1,000 yards in a season since Marteze Waller had 1,368 in 2014.

Fresno State, which entered the season with high expectations only to lose four straight at one point this season, managed to grind its way back to the conference championship for the first time since 2018 when the Bulldogs beat Boise State in overtime on the Broncos’ blue turf.

Earlier Saturday, the Broncos clinched the Mountain Division title with a 20-17 victory at Wyoming when the Cowboys, in range for a tying field goal, threw an interception in the final minute.

The Mountain West championship will be played Dec. 3 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise.

The Bulldogs (7-4, 6-1 in the MW) still have one more regular-season game to play before the championship, hosting Wyoming on Friday.

Fresno State made quick work of the Wolf Pack, which has now lost nine games in a row. The Bulldogs led 24-0 at halftime, limiting the Wolf Pack to just 91 yards of offense and four first down in the first two quarters.

Nevada did not run a play on the Fresno State side of the field in the first half, and failed on its first scoring opportunity when David Perales stopped quarterback Nate Cox for a 1-yard gain on a 4th-and-3 from the Bulldogs’ 20 on its opening drive in the third quarter.

Quarterback Jake Haener, who at one point hit 11 passes in a row in the second and third quarters, hit . of . passes for . with touchdown passes of 22 yards to wideout Mac Dalena and 3 yards to tight end Raymond Pauwels Jr.

It is Haener’s 18th career game with 300 or more passing yards, two shy of the Fresno State record set by Derek Carr.

MIMS GETS TD, BULLDOGS LEAD 34-7

Fresno State responded to some dull offensive series in the second half, turning the interception by defensive end David Perales into a 22-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mims and with 10:03 remaining lead 34-7.

The TD run was the 11th this season for Mims, who until that run had been limited by the Nevada defense. With the 22-yard touchdown he now has 74 yards on 18 plays.

PERALES PICK

Fresno State out down the Nevada drive with an interception by defensive end David Perales, who also has six tackles including 2.0 tackles for loss and one sack.

WOLF PACK PLAYING FOOTBALL. BULLDOGS?

Nevada has the football back, attempting and recovering an onside kick following its first TD.

NEVADA MAKES A PLAY

Nevada has cut the Bulldogs lead to 27-7 on a 73-yard pass play from Nate Cox to Dalevon Campbell with 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs’ defender in coverage fell down on the play, leaving Campbell wide open in the middle of the field, and safety Evan Williams plowed into an official trying to get back into the play.

AND, A FIELD GOAL MAKES IT 27-0

Fresno State has extended its lead to 27-0 with a 35-yard field goal by Dylan Lynch with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs have hit the red zone on two of its three drives in the second half, but has only the three points.

HAENER OVER 300, TIES RECORD

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener just hit Nikko Remigio for a gain of 27 yards and he has now hit 24 of 36 passes for 322 yards with two touchdowns.

With the touchdown passes in the first half, he has now thrown at least one in 26 consecutive games, tying a Mountain West record set by the Bulldogs’ Derek Carr and later tied by Nevada quarterback Carson Strong.

It is his sixth game with 300 or more passing yards this season.

33.3%

Nevada has hit only 7 of 21 passes, 33.3%. The last time the Bulldogs’ defense held an opponent to a lower completion percentage? It wasn’t all that long ago. Wyoming was just 9 of 30 (30%) last season.

BULLDOGS MISS FG TO START 2ND HALF

Fresno State whiffed on its opening drive of the second half, settling for a field goal attempt from 37 yards. The kick missed. Quarterback Jake Haener had his run of complete passes ended at 11, misfiring on a second-down pass play to Zane Pope on the drive, but he is now 21 of 30 (70%) for 261 yards with two touchdowns.

AT THE HALF

Fresno State has 242 yards of offense and is averaging 5.9 yards per play. Nevada has just 91 yards and is averaging 3.1 yards per play. The low this season for a Bulldogs’ opponent is 3.1 yards per play by New Mexico.

Jake Haener is 18 of 25 for 219 yards with two touchdowns and Jalen Moreno-Cropper has five receptions for 106 yards. The Bulldogs haven’t done much int he run game, with Jordan Mims averaging 2.4 yards in 11 carries.

Haener ended the half hitting his last eight passes.

Safety Evan Williams, linebacker Malachi Langley and defensive end David Perales all have three solo tackles. Williams and Perales have tackles for loss.

The most yards Nevada has gained on any of its drives is 19, twice.

The Wolf Pack has punted five times in six series not ended by the half, with one lost fumble. The high for Nevada punts in a game this season is 10, set in a 27-0 loss at Iowa. Nevada came into this game averaging just 14.7 points in its first six conference games.

Nevada quarterback Nate Cox is only 3 of 13 for 27 yards and the Wolf Pack has yet to run a play on the Fresno State side of the field. The closest they have come is its own 44-yard line.

ANOTHER PUNT

Fresno State punter Carson King is busy. He just punted for the second time. The Bulldogs have punted three times or fewer in four games in a row, with two at New Mexico, three against San Diego State, one against Hawaii and none last week at UNLV.

MORENO-CROPPER 100+

Fresno State wideout Jalen Moreno-Cropper just caught an 11-yard pass from Jake Haener and now has five receptions for 106 yards. It is his third game this season with 100 or more yards and second in a row.

HAENER ON A ROLL

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener has hit his last five passes and is now 68.2% for the game.

RED ZONE TIGHT END SIGHTING

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener hit tight end Raymond Pauwels Jr. with a 3-yard touchdown pass, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 24-0 with 6:34 remaining in the first half.

Haener is now 15 of 22 for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

The touchdown for Pauwels was his second this season, and first since the opening victory over FCS Cal Poly.

NEVADA, AND ITS PENALTIES

Nevada was just penalized for the seventh time already, a roughing the passer call against linebacker Drue Watts. The Wolf Pack has 55 penalty yards. Fresno State has no penalties to this point.

Nevada is averaging 5.9 penalties per game, eighth in the Mountain West.

Watts upon a review has been ejected for targeting.

BULLDOGS’ DEFENSE DOING A JOB

Nevada just punted the ball for the fourth time. It also has lost a fumble. Here are its series so far:

3 plays, 8 yards, punt

4 plays, 13 yards, punt

6 plays, 8 yards, lost fumble

6 plays, 19 yards, punt

3 plays, 4 yards, punt

Defensive end David Perales is leading the Bulldogs with three tackles and has 1.0 sacks with a forced fumble. He now has 10.5 sacks on the season, the most by since defensive tackle Logan Harrell had 10.5 in 2010.

Perales also has been credited with three quarterback hurries. And Nevada has attempted only 10 passes.

A PUNT?

Fresno State on its fourth possession had to punt away the football. It is the first punt for Carson King since the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs’ victory over Hawaii.

DALENA’S SECOND CAREER TD, EXTENDS LEAD

Fresno State is now up 17-0, scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jake Haener to Mac Dalena with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The TD reception was the first this season for Dalena and the second of his career. He also had a TD catch in the 2020 COVID season against New Mexico.

Haener is 6 of 11 for 121 yards with the touchdown and the Bulldogs have 140 yards of offense to 49 for the Wolf Pack.

PERALES +1 TURNOVER

Fresno State has the ball back on a fumble by quarterback Nate Cox, who was hit in the pocket by defensive end David Perales. The ball was recovered by defensive tackle Matt Lawson.

The Bulldogs have the ball at the Nevada 31 with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter.

LYNCH FG PUSHES LEAD TO 10-0

Fresno State has extended its lead to 10-0 on a 43-yard field goal by freshman Dylan Lynch with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs big play on the drive was a 45-yard pass play from Jake Haener to Jalen Moreno-Cropper on a 3rd-and-9 play. With the field goal, the Bulldogs have scored on 19 of their past 21 drives.

HAENER TD RUN GIVES BULLDOGS LEAD

Fresno State is on the board, taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Jake Haener with 9:29 remaining in the first quarter.

NEVADA STARTS, THREE-AND-OUT

Fresno State has good field position for its opening drive, starting at the 35 after the Bulldogs’ defense forced a punt. The Bulldogs have scored on 17 of their past 19 series that were not ended by the end of a half or game.

JUST A REMINDER

If Fresno State advances to play Boise State in the Mountain West title game, what statistically is one of the best passing defenses in the nation will get a different test than it is used to.

Jake Haener did not play when the Bulldogs lost at Boise State, obviously. And, here are where the Broncos’ FBS opponents ranked in passing offense going into the weekend:

Oregon St. - 94th

New Mexico - 127th

UTEP - 88th

San Diego St. - 120th

Air Force - 131st

Colorado St. - 108th

BYU - 35th

Nevada - 119th

Wyoming - 125th

The Wyoming quarterback, who threw an interception when the Cowboys were in position for a tying field goal with 39 seconds to go, was 3 of 16 for 30 yards and three interceptions.

Haener has thrown only 11 incomplete passes in the Bulldogs’ past two games, going 24 of 29 against Hawaii and 28 of 34 at UNLV.

BOISE WINS MOUNTAIN DIVISION

If Fresno State takes out Nevada, it knows who it will be playing in the Mountain West championship game. Boise State just beat Wyoming 20-17 to win the Mountain Division.

The championship game will be played on Dec. 3 at Albertson’s Stadium.

PREGAME NOTES

Fresno State can clinch a spot in the Mountain West Conference championship game with a victory at Nevada on Saturday, winning the West for a fifth time in 10 seasons of divisional play.

The Bulldogs are averaging 36.4 points during a five-game winning streak and take on a Wolf Pack defense that is ranked 11th of 12 in the Mountain West Conference in scoring defense. They also could crack a few milestones against Nevada, which has lost eight games in a row.

Running back Jordan Mims and wideout Jalen Moreno-Cropper are closing in on 1,000 rushing and receiving yards.

Who will get there first?

Mims has 872 rushing yards and last season had a big game against Nevada, rushing for 134 yards and one touchdown and catching four passes for 20 yards and a second score. Mims has at least three and likely four more games to play this season and get to the 1,000-yard mark. If he does, he will be the first Bulldogs’ running back to rush for 1,000 or more yards since Marteze Waller had 1,368 in 2014.

Moreno-Cropper has 828 receiving yards and in 2020 had one of seven career 100-yard games against the Wolf Pack, catching seven passes from quarterback Jake Haener for 107 yards. If he were to reach 1,000 yards this season he would become the first Fresno State receiver to get there since KeeSean Johnson had 1,340 in 2018.

The Wolf Pack is ranked 10th in the conference in rushing defense and eight in passing defense.

Here’s where to catch the game on TV and radio:

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Mackay Stadium, Reno

TV: CBS Sports Network (Chris Lewis, Robert Turbin)

• Find it fast: Channels 643 and 1643 on AT&T Uverse, 418, 732 on Comcast, 221 on DirecTV, 158 on Dish Network

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

• Find it fast: 1400 AM in Visalia/Tulare; 1340 AM in Fresno; 1280 AM in Stockton; 970 AM in Bakersfield; 92.9 FM in Modesto; 96.7 FM in Fresno.

KEEPING THE DRIVE ALIVE

Fresno State has scored on 17 of its past 19 offensive series that were not ended by the end of a half or a game.

Can the Bulldogs keep it going? Nevada gives them a shot to at least get off to a good start. The Wolf Pack has allowed 85 points in the first 15 minutes of their games, the most of any four quarter.

INJURY LIST

Fresno State is not expected to have defensive tackle Leonard Payne, who was injured in the victory last week at UNLV.

IS THIS A TEST?

Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener has completed 86 of 108 passes (79.6%) of his passes since returning from an ankle injury, including 82.8% in a victory over Hawaii and 82.4% in a win at UNLV.

Nevada, for what it’s worth, has allowed opponents to complete only 59.3% of their passes this season, ranking fifth in the Mountain West.

Haener has not faced the top four in the conference -Utah State (51.7%), Boise State (51.9%) and Air Force (58.2%).

Fresno State is ranked third, allowing opponents to hit 55.6%.