Bulldogs fire DeRuyter as losses mount
Fresno State fired coach Tim DeRuyter on Sunday after the Bulldogs dropped to 1-7 in his fifth season.
After winning the Mountain West title in each of his first two seasons at Fresno State, DeRuyter’s teams struggled once star quarterback Derek Carr left for the NFL.
MOUNTAIN WEST
“Tim DeRuyter is a man of high character — a class individual who is a leader of young men,” athletic director Jim Bartko said. “Over the time I’ve been here, the football program has shown it has the ability to be a product the Red Wave can be excited about, but the results have not been to the standard we anticipated and expect.”
Offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau was named interim head coach. The Bulldogs host Air Force on Friday night.
DeRuyter was 30-30 at Fresno State, but he went 20-6 his first two seasons. The Bulldogs won a total of nine games the next two seasons and lost Saturday 38-20 at Utah State.
DeRuyter has two years left on a five-year contract worth $7.5 million.
In the Bulldogs’ loss to Utah State on Saturday night, Aggies quarterback Kent Myers passed for 188 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 yards.
Utah State (3-4, 1-3 Mountain West) never trailed but allowed Fresno State (1-7, 0-4) within 17-14 after a touchdown late in the first half on Chason Virgil’s 1-yard pass to Jared Rice.
The Aggies then pulled away steadily in the second half, twice trading touchdowns for field goals and adding a third TD on Damion Hobbs’ 4-yard run to cap the scoring with 7:14 left.
Wyoming 42, UNR 34 — At Reno, Brian Hill had career highs with 289 yards rushing and three touchdowns, quarterback Josh Allen ran for two more scores and Logan Wilson intercepted a pass in the final minute to help the Cowboys holds off the Wolf Pack.
Wyoming (5-2, 3-0 MW) had a season-high 403 yards rushing. Hill had runs of 20 and 39 yards during a nine-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Allen’s 7-yard TD run that made it 42-27 with 2:52 left.
On their ensuing drive, the Wolfpack (3-5, 1-3) went 75 yards in 2:12 and James Butler recovered his own fumble in the end zone to pull within 42-34.
UNR recovered an onside kick, but on its next play from scrimmage Wilson’s interception sealed it.