Bulldogs outlast the Hornets

FRESNO – As Fresno State football hosted Sacramento State this past Saturday, the Bulldogs were looking to achieve a major milestone in the young Tim Skipper era. The interim head coach is a former Fresno State linebacker who played from 1997 to 2000, so he was looking to get his first win coaching  at Valley Children’s Stadium. 

Hoping to help Skipper get that big win, the Bulldogs used big plays on offense and special teams to race out to a 25-3 lead on Sept. 7. The Hornets battled back to make it a 25-17 game, but the Fresno State offense found its groove in the second half to pull away for the 46-30 victory to give Skipper his first win at Valley Children’s Stadium. 

“It feels great. You celebrate all the wins but to get that first one in that stadium makes it that much more special,” Skipper said. “We got up early and they fought back. There were too many turnovers and those types of things but the end result is what we wanted and that’s all that really matters.”

It was a bounce-back game for Fresno State as they improved to 1-1 and amassed 513 yards on offense. In their season opener on the road against Michigan, the Bulldogs lost 30-10 with only 244 yards of offense. 

Senior wide receiver Mac Dalena helped the Bulldogs get on track with seven catches for 235 yards and a score. His monster performance was the seventh-best receiving game in Bulldog history and it made him the Bulldogs’ first 200-yard receiver since Jalen Cropper in 2020. While it was nice to put his name in the record books, Dalena was more satisfied with helping the Bulldogs take home the win. 

“I’m just doing my job,” Dalena said. “Just having a game like that is great but getting the win is a much better feeling.”

Dalena’s big day helped junior quarterback Mikey Keene get in a rhythm as he completed 67.6% of his passes for 356 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. After the passing attack struggled against Michigan, the Bulldogs needed this game to get on track. 

“Our motto all week was to have a big response and I think that’s what we did as a whole offense,” Dalena said. “On this offense, we have depth and we have weapons in every position.”

On the first play of the night, the Bulldogs demonstrated their explosive offense. From his own 25-yard line, Keene found Dalena wide open down the middle of the field for the easy touchdown. The Bulldogs then ran it in for two to take an 8-0 lead just ten seconds into the game. 

“We knew all week that no matter what, this was the first play and this is how it’s going to go,” Dalena said about the opening touchdown. “We didn’t know it was going to end up that wide open but it did and we didn’t panic.”

But moments later, the Bulldogs committed their first mistake that kept the Hornets in the game. As Jalen Moss returned a punt, he fumbled the ball and the Hornets recovered. With that field position, Zach Schreiner knocked in a 34-yard field goal to get the Hornets on the board. 

After his costly mistake, Moss looked to redeem himself. So on his next punt return, Moss caught the ball at his own 15-yard line and found a seam down the right sideline. He then cut back into the middle of the field to get in for the 85-yard touchdown to push the lead to 15-3.

After the Hornets fumbled on their next possession, the Bulldogs made it an 18-3 lead thanks to a 32-yard field goal from Dylan Lynch. Later in the second quarter, the Bulldogs put together a methodical drive that lasted eight plays and ended in a two-yard touchdown run from senior running back Malik Sherrod. 

But the Bulldogs struggled to finish the half. In his own territory, Keene threw back across his body into the middle of the field and Sac State safety Eian Moore picked it off. Later in the half, a blown coverage deep down the right sideline allowed Sac State quarterback Kaiden Bennett to find Jared Gipson for a 78-yard touchdown pass to make it 25-10 heading into halftime. 

With the opening possession of the second half, the Hornets marched down the field hoping to make it a one-score game. At the Fresno State 13-yard line, quarterback Carson Conklin threw a short pass to Ezra Moleni who ran in for the score to make it a 25-17 game. 

After letting their sizable lead slip away, the Bulldog offense reasserted themselves as they marched down to the Hornets one-yard line. On fourth down, Keene ran a play-action fake, rolled out to his right and found Tyler Mello open for the score to make it 32-17. 

When they got the ball back at midfield, Keene connected with Dalena for a 41-yard catch to make it first and goal. A few plays later at the one-yard line, Sherrod ran in for his second touchdown to push the lead to 39-17. 

“We came out and we were way more efficient,” Skipper said about the second-half offense. “Those guys fought. They never lost confidence in the plan, they stuck to it and they had a much better second half.”

The Hornets responded with a touchdown to keep pace, but the Bulldog offense remained in the zone. Keene got the next drive rolling with a 38-yard throw to Dalena to get the Bulldogs down to the Hornets 10-yard line. The next play, Joshua Wood ran in for a touchdown to push the lead to 46-23. 

Even though the game was out of reach, the Hornets continued to battle as they scored another touchdown to cut into the deficit. The Sacramento State offense finished the night with 469 yards, with 354 of them coming through the air. It was the second straight game where the Bulldogs allowed 30 points, so the defense will focus on playing a complete game as they prepare to host New Mexico State next week. 

“We let off the gas today towards the end of the second half,” senior safety Camryn Bracha said. “We did a lot of good things tonight but we also let a few things up. So that was a little disappointing but it’s encouraging because we can learn from it at the end of the day.”