Bulldogs are bowl eligible
Gaining bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014, the Fresno State Bulldogs football team picked up its sixth win of the season, defeating BYU 20-13, on Saturday night at Bulldog Stadium.
“It is nice,” first-year Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford said of being bowl eligible. “That was one of our goals we set going into the year, getting into a bowl game. We still have a lot of work to do, but it is nice to get that sixth win. The players deserve it, they work really hard. The staff has done a phenomenal job. It is always gratifying to see hard work pay off, especially in a game like tonight where it could have gone either way. We found a way to get that sixth win and I am very proud of our players and our staff.”
Fresno State (6-3), who improved to 4-1 at home this season, totaled 310 yards of offense as junior quarterback Marcus Mcmaryion went 14-of-20 through the air for 174 yards while spreading it out to five different Bulldog pass catchers. Leading the way was senior Da’mari Scott with 61 yards on four receptions while junior Keesean Johnson added 47 yards on a team-high five receptions.
On the ground, the Bulldogs gained 136 yards on 40 carries (4.5 yards/ carry) as the duo of Josh Hokit and Jordan Mims churned out 113 yards in the backfield. Hokit led the way with 59 yards on 13 carries while Mims added 54 yards on a teamhigh 20 carries and had his second consecutive multi-touchdown game with two scores.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Jeffrey Allison tied his careerhigh with 14 tackles (10 at halftime) making six solo stops and added a sack and a fumble recovery. Sophomore free safety Mike Bell had his second double-figure tackle contest with 10 tackles, seven solo, and added a fumble recovery.
The Bulldogs’ defense added two sacks, 10 pass breakups, two quarterback hits and created its 15th turnover of the season with Bell’s forced fumble in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs return to Mountain West play next week opening a two-game road swing at Hawai’i (3-6, 1-5 MW) at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be carried locally on KSEE 24-TV.