Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fresno State rolls in Vegas Bowl
LAS VEGAS — Ronnie Rivers rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, Anthoula “Tank” Kelly had a 70yard interception return for a touchdown and No. 21 Fresno State beat Arizona State 31-20 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.
Marcus McMaryion rushed for a touchdown and was 15-of-29 passing for 176 yards to help the Bulldogs (12-2) set a school record for victories in a season. He also threw two interceptions.
Eno Benjamin rushed for 118 yards a one touchdown for the Sun Devils (7-6) in their third consecutive bowl loss. Manny Wilkins threw for 129 yards, with a 3-yard scoring pass to Kyle Williams and two interceptions.
Rivers put Fresno State back in front 24-20 with a 68yard touchdown run up the middle in the third quarter and had a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to seal Fresno State’s second victory over a Pac-12 opponent this season.
Wilkins sustained an apparent knee injury on the final pass of his college career, which was intercepted by Juju Hughes.
Arizona State took a 20-17 lead on Brandon Ruiz’s 44yard field goal in the third quarter after Asashari Crosswell intercepted McMaryion at the Fresno State 39.
McMaryion’s pass was intercepted by Chase Lucas on his next throw, an ill-fated heave downfield after reversing field under pressure. The senior had thrown three interceptions in 398 pass attempts during the regular season and Mountain West title game.
With the teams tied at 17 after the first half, it looked as if Fresno State was going to go back in front on its first possession of the third quarter on a throwback screen from McMaryion to Dejonte O’Neal but video review showed the senior wide receiver lost possession of the ball diving for the pylon and Shannon Forman recovered in the end zone.
Benjamin set the record with a 13-yard run in the second quarter, passing Woody Green’s mark of 1,565 yards rushing in 1972. Benjamin scored his 16th rushing touchdown of the season on the following play from scrimmage, giving Arizona State its first lead at 14-10.
The Sun Devils will be disappointed to finish with the exact same record as last season, but signs of progress under first-year Coach Herm Edwards are evident. The defense found several young playmakers and mostly played well without freshman linebacker Merlin Robertson. The offense, which played without star wide receiver N’Keal Harry after he declared for the NFL Draft, will have to be upgraded to contend in the Pac-12.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Bulldogs used a strong second half to secure its best season in school history. The senior-heavy offensive line led the way for Rivers, who will be the focal point of the offense in 2019 considering the upcoming turnover in the passing game. With a 22-6 record in two seasons at Fresno State, Jeff Tedford has reminded everyone why he is one of the best coaches in college football.
Fresno State could finish the season ranked for the third time in school history and should earn its highest final-ranking ever. Arizona State could merit consideration from voters in the preseason poll.
Arizona State will need to replace Wilkins, and with commitments from three top high school quarterbacks, it seems his successor might not have been in uniform at the Las Vegas Bowl. If Arizona State can find stability there quickly, the pieces look to be in place to challenge Utah and Southern California in the Pac-12 South.
For Fresno State, the Bulldogs are looking at a major roster overhaul, losing McMaryion, all three starting wide receivers, four of five starting offensive linemen and four defensive starters. However, a return to the Mountain West Conference title game isn’t an unreasonable expectation based on what Tedford has accomplished in his first two seasons at Fresno State. Arizona St ....................... 7 10 3 0 — 20 Fresno St ...................... 10 7 7 7 — 31 First Quarter
FRE—FG Fuller 39, 7:02
FRE—Kelly 70 interception return (Fuller kick), 4:58 ASU—Ky.Williams 3 pass from Wilkins (B.Ruiz kick), 1:25
Second Quarter
ASU—Benjamin 17 run (B.Ruiz kick), 12:43 FRE—McMaryion 10 run (Fuller kick), 8:03 ASU—FG B.Ruiz 20, :51
Third Quarter
ASU—FG B.Ruiz 44, 5:33
FRE—Rivers 68 run (Fuller kick), 1:00
Fourth Quarter
FRE—Rivers 5 run (Fuller kick), 5:19 Attendance—37,146.
ASU FRE
First downs ................................... 18 18 Rushes-yards ............................ 38-164 35-260 Passing ......................................... 129 175 Comp-Att-Int ............................. 19-31-2 15-29-2
Return Yards ................................ 132 64 Punts-Avg . ................................ 6-37.83 3-32.33 Fumbles-Lost ................................ 0-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards ............................ 3-20 3-20
Time of Possession .................... 31:00 29:00
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Arizona St., Benjamin 23-118, Wilkins 11-36, Carter 2-5, Floyd 2-5. Fresno St., Rivers 24212, McMaryion 4-41, O’Neal 2-8, K.Johnson 1-5, (Team) 4-(minus 6).
PASSING—Arizona St., Wilkins 19-31-2-129. Fresno St., McMaryion 15-29-2-175. RECEIVING—Arizona St., Aiyuk 9-61, Ky.Williams 4-17, Hodges 2-19, Benjamin 2-16, Chatman 1-9, Hudson 1-7. Fresno St., Ja.Rice 4-40, Rivers 4-33, O’Neal 2-41, K.Johnson 2-33, Jordan 1-14, Grim 1-8, Quick 1-6.