Fresno State at UConn: Huskies stun Bulldogs, first win over FBS opponent since 2019
FINAL: UCONN 19, FRESNO STATE 14
UConn is not good at football and hasn’t been in a long time. But the Huskies outplayed Fresno State on Saturday in a 19-14 victory, their first over a FBS opponent since 2019.
The Bulldogs, a 24-point favorite on the road, could generate only 187 yards of offense and were never in any semblance of control against a team that was 1-4 with a win over FCS Central Connecticut State. The Huskies’ most recent victory over a FBS opponent came against Massachusetts, which went 1-11.
THE LATEST: Robert Kuwada’s exclusive analysis
UConn drove the ball 94 yards in 11 plays, scoring the winning touchdown on a 17-yard run by Devontae Houston with 2:20 to go.
Fresno State rushed for just 30 yards on 26 plays and quarterback Logan Fife, in his first start in place of an injured Jake Haener, hit 16 of 22 passes for 157 yards with two interceptions.
UConn scored one touchdown off three Bulldogs’ turnovers.
The Bulldogs, 1-3 with the victory against FCS Cal Poly, start Mountain West Conference play next Saturday at Boise State (6:45 p.m., FS1).
UCONN TAKES LEAD
UConn is 2:20 away from its’ first victory over a FBS opponent since 2019, taking a 19-14 lead on the Bulldogs on a 17-yard touchdown run by Devontae Houston.
The Huskies’ drive was 94 yards in 12 plays, taking 6:06 off the clock.
That UConn win in 2019 came against Massachusetts, which went 1-11 that year.
FADING ON THIRD DOWNS
Fresno State is 0 of 4 on third downs, failing to move the sticks on a 3rd-and-2, 3rd-and-18, 3rd-and-1 and 3rd-and-13. The Bulldogs last went a full game without a third-down conversion in 2016 in a 52-17 loss at Toledo, going 0 of 13.
HUSKIES TURN FIFE PICK INTO TD
UConn has turned its second interception into a 5-yard touchdown pass from Zion Turner to Aaron Turner and with a failed 2-point conversion attempt trails 14-12 with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.
The drive was 19 yards in six plays and was set up by a poor interception thrown by Fresno State quarterback Logan Fife, under pressure and into coverage.
Fife has not thrown a pass that has hit the ground so far, going 13 of 13 with two interceptions.
BULLDOGS’ D WITH SECOND TAKEAWAY
Fresno State has its second takeaway of the game, with L.J. Early forcing a fumble by UConn running back Devontae Houston and Elijah Gates coming up with the recovery at the Bulldogs’ 22-yard line.
MIMS’ TD RUN EXTENDS BULLDOGS’ LEAD
Fresno State took the second half kickoff and scored on a 1-yard run by Jordan Mims with 12:50 remaining in the third quarter. It is Mims’ fifth rushing touchdown and sixth on the season, with one receiving. He started the game tied for fifth in the Mountain West Conference in touchdowns scored.
The Bulldogs’ drive was 62 yards on five plays and was set up by a 37-yard kickoff return by Malik Sherrod.
HOW SHORT IS THAT PASSING GAME?
Fresno State has 94 passing yards at halftime, but it’s not exactly pushing the football down the field. Of those 94 yards, 67 have come on yards after the catch.
Tight end Tre Watson has four receptions on five targets for 39 yards and Nikko Remigio has four receptions on four targets for 36 yards.
OFFENSIVE HALF OF FOOTBALL
Fresno State has a 7-6 lead at halftime and has generated only 95 yards of total offense, with 94 of it coming through the air with quarterback Logan Fife going 10 of 11 with the interception.
The Bulldogs had a rougher game back in 2015, gaining only 89 yards in a 21-7 loss at San Diego State. Fresno State had 72 yards of total offense in the first half of that game.
The run game has generated 1 yard on 13 plays with a long of 7 yards by Jordan Mims. This is what that looks like, play by play. It’s not pretty ...
Malik Sherrod - 6 yards, 4; 10 on 2 plays.
Jordan Mims - 0, 7, 1, -1, -4, 3, 0, 0; 6 on 8 plays.
Jalen Moreno-Cropper - -4, -4 on 1 play.
Logan Fife - -12, 1; -11 on 2 plays.
BULLDOGS GIVE IT RIGHT BACK
Fresno State started to move the ball off the turnover, but gave it right back to UConn. Quarterback Logan Fife had a pass tipped at the line, tipped again by tight end Tre Watson and then picked off by Ian Swenson.
‘DOGS D WITH A TURNOVER
Fresno State has its first turnover gained of the season, coming when Bralyn Lux came untouched on a cornerback blitz and hit UConn quarterback Zion Turner as he was attempting to pass. Defensive tackle Jacob Holmes, a true freshman, ended up recovering the fumble.
4TH AND ONE, FAILURE
Fresno State just whiffed on a 4th-and-1 at midfield and turned the ball back over to UConn with 1:57 remaining before halftime.
The Bulldogs’ play, a rush by Jordan Mims into a loaded box, went nowhere. Fresno State has 1 rushing yard on 13 plays, which made the choice of plays, if not the decision a bit curious.
Will UConn now hit halftime with a lead? It starts from its 49-yard line.
UCONN CUTS DEFICIT TO 7-6
UConn hit a 39-yard pass play to set up another short field goal, 26 yards by Noe Ruelas with 4:51 remaining before halftime. The Huskies drive was 76 yards in nine plays, and they have a 106-40 advantage in total offense.
REMIGIO PUNT RETURN TD, ‘DOGS LEAD
Fresno State isn’t getting much done on offense, but it has a 7-3 on an 87-yard punt return by Nikko Remigio with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter.
It is the Bulldogs’ first punt return touchdown since 2013 when Isaiah Burse took one back 58 yards for a score against FCS Cal Poly. Burse had two punt return TDs in that game, the first 61 yards.
Fresno State has just 40 yards on offense.
The punt return TD by Remigio also is the Bulldogs’ longest since Chastin West took one back 88 yards in 2009 at New Mexico State.
The school record for longest punt return touchdown is 100 yards by Frenchy Bordagary at San Jose State in 1930. Not sure this is correct, but it’s in the record book.
FRESNO STATE ‘DRIVES’
The Bulldogs’ first three possessions of the game - fumble lost, punt, punt.
In losing last week at No. 10 North Carolina State, the Huskies did not force a single punt, and its high for a game on punts forced is five by Utah State and by FCS Central Connecticut State.
BULLDOGS’ SLUGGISH RUN GAME
Fresno State at the end of the first quarter has only two rushing yards on nine plays.
UConn came into the game allowing 4.2 yards per rush and 171.2 yards per game.
At this point, FCS Central Connecticut State had more success rushing the football than the Bulldogs. Central averaged 3.6 yards per rush in a 28-3 loss to the Huskies.
UCONN STRIKES FIRST
UConn took advantage of a 25-yard punt return and two 15-yard personal foul penalties on the Bulldogs and have the first points of the game, scoring on a 26-yard field goal with 4:06 remaining in the first quarter.
The Huskies’ drive was 24 yards in eight plays.
Fresno State was called for a face mask on Raymond Pauwels Jr. on the punt return by Victor Rosa and a face mask by linebacker Malachi Langley on a 4th-and-1 play.
UCONN, THREE AND OUT
The Bulldogs’ defense forced UConn into a three-and-out on its first two series. The Huskies went three plays for eight yards and then three plays for seven yards.
Here are the three-and-out totals for the Bulldogs’ defense through three games.
Cal Poly - 4
Oregon State - 3
USC - 1
BULLDOGS’ FIFE TURNS IT OVER ON FIRST DRIVE
Fresno State had a drive working, with an assist FROM a 15-yard face mask penalty on the Huskies. But the Bulldogs turned it over when quarterback Logan Fife lost his grip on the football and fumbled it away at the UConn 30-yard line. It will go down as a sack, a fumble and a fumble lost.
It is three games in a row now that the Bulldogs have failed to score on their opening possession.
Fife had hit his first three passes for 29 yards including a 23-yard catch and run by Jalen Moreno-Cropper.
HOME ON THE ROAD
The Bulldogs are wearing their all-red home uniforms because it’s a White Out for UConn, which is raising awareness about the fight against cancer.
The Huskies are in all-white uniforms and encouraged fans who attend to wear white as well. UConn also is wearing helmets adorned with decals that depict by colored ribbons the type of cancer that has affected their family.
BULLDOGS INJURY REPORT
The Fresno State Bulldogs have injury issues beyond quarterback Jake Haener and safety Evan Williams, but also have what could be a soft spot on the schedule on Saturday playing at 1-4 UConn.
Haener and Williams are team captains and the Bulldogs’ most productive players on offense and defense, and will be replaced by redshirt sophomore Logan Fife and either senior Steven Comstock or redshirt sophomore Crishawn Gordon. But the Bulldogs also had a number of players miss practice time during the week. Right tackle Dontae Bull, who also suffered an injury in the Bulldogs’ loss at USC is out against the Huskies.
Others who missed practice: on offense wideout Josh Kelly and on defense linebacker Raymond Scott and freshman defensive tackle Gavriel Lightfoot.
That’s a lot of snaps, along with Haener and Williams.
Bull has played 192 snaps in the Bulldogs’ first three games, third-most on the offense behind Haener and guard Mose Vavao. Kelly ranks second among the wideouts and has caught seven passes for 134 yards including a 60-yard pass from Haener, the Bulldogs’ longest play from scrimmage this season.
Scott started at USC and ranks second in the position group in snaps, and Lightfoot has made two starts and is second on the team among interior defensive linemen in snaps played.
Fresno State has six players on its depth chart for the first time this season in backup quarterback Jaylen Henderson, right tackle Rolan Fullwood, defensive tackle Johnny Hudson Jr., defensive end Da’Marcus Johnson, linebacker Phoenix Jackson and Comstock
Here is how to catch the game on TV and radio:
When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. Pacific
Where: Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn.
TV: CBS Sports Network (Meghan McPeak, Christian Fauria, Justin Walters)
Find it fast: Channels 643 and 1643 on AT&T Uverse, 418 and 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
