Fresno State’s slide continues. How Bulldogs dropped Mountain West opener at Boise State

BOISE STATE 40, FRESNO STATE 20 (FINAL)

Fresno State generated just three points after halftime and allowed Boise State to end the game with 20 unanswered points as the Bulldogs dropped their four straight outing.

The Bulldogs (1-4) began their once promising season with a win against FCS program Cal Poly back on Sept. 1, but it’s been all bumps, bruises, and big or embarrassing beatings since.

Check out the latest as Robert Kuwada breaks down the Bulldogs’ loss and early season struggles.

Fresno State drops fourth in a row, losing at Boise State, and its offense is shrinking

Saturday’s loss before an announced crowd of 37,663 Albertsons Stadium likely was somewhere more along the lines of frustration for Fresno State fans, if not the players and coaches, too.

Fresno State moved to 7-17 in the all-time series against Boise State, including 2-11 on the Broncos’ blue turf.

In particular about Saturday, Fresno State had two interceptions, struggled to stop Boise State’s run game that generated 316 yards, including 6.1 yards per carry, and the Bulldogs offense was nearly nonexistent in the second half.

Fresno State mustered just 45 yards and a mere two first downs after halftime.

In all, the Bulldogs amassed just 233 total yards for the game.

Bulldogs quarterback Logan Fife, who started his second straight game since starter Jake Haener sustained an ankle injury against USC on Sept. 17, completed 14 of 23 passes but just for 134 yards.

He also was intercepted twice and did not throw a touchdown all while looking uncomfortable for the most part when Fife tried to stay in the pocket.

Fife did do some damage when scrambling around. He ran in one touchdown, as did receiver Nikko Remigio.

But after kicker Abraham Montano connected on a 35-yard field goal as the first half expired then booted through a 29-yard field goal with 8:57 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 20-20, Fresno State never scored again.

Boise State (4-2), meanwhile, repeatedly gouged the Bulldogs in the second half, carrying the ball 35 times for 170 rushing yards.

Broncos running back George Holani finished the game with 157 rushing yards, and teammate Ashton Jeanty had 109 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

BULLDOGS TURN IT OVER, BRONCOS ADD 3

Boise State took advantage of another interception by Logan Fife into three more points, a 24-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas with 6:32 remaining.

Fife is 13 of 20 for 128 yards with two interceptions. His passing efficiency rating is 98.8.

BRONCOS EXTEND LEAD

Boise State has extended its lead to 30-20 with 9:52 remaining on a 33-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas.

The Broncos ran the ball on the first five plays of a 36-yard, eight-play drive before a false start penalty set them back at a 2nd-and-13.

CAN ‘DOGS GET TO 300?

Fresno State has 222 yards of total offense, this one week after it had only 189 in a loss at UConn. The Bulldogs have not had back-to-back games with less than 300 total yards since 2015 when they went three in a row with 247 in a loss at San Jose State, 89 in a loss at San Diego State and 194 in a loss to Utah State.

RECORD ATTENDANCE

The announced attendance is 37,663, a record for a game at Albertson’s Stadium.

BOISE BACK IN LEAD

Boise State is back in the lead, scoring on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Taylen Green to running back George Holani on a 3rd-and-3 play with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Broncos’ drive was 63 yards in 11 plays. Boise State converted a 3rd-and-3 and a 3rd-and-9 on the drive.

A SEASON HIGH, ALREADY

Fresno State is 8 of 11 on third downs, the eight conversions a season high. The Bulldogs came into the game having converted only 14 of 41 third downs, 34.2%, and were ranked seventh in the Mountain West.

The high for the Bulldogs to this point was a 6 of 14 against Oregon State.

‘DOGS PULL EVEN ON MONTANO FG

Abraham Montano has his second field goal of the game, this on from 29 yards and this one tying the score at 20 with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter.

The Fresno State drive was 40 yards in eight plays.

THANKS, BOISE

Boise State is averaging 11.7 yards on nine first-down rushing plays and yet has attempted four first-down passes. Quarterback Taylen Green is 1 of 4 on those plays, though that one completion did go for 17 yards.

AT THE HALF

Fresno State quarterback Logan Fife is 10 of 14 for 99 yards and one interception at the half and running back Jordan Mims has 53 rushing yards on 15 plays. The Bulldogs have 188 yards of offense and have converted 7 of 9 third down plays into a first down including one 3rd-and-9. The average distance to go is 5.5 yards.

Fife has hit six receivers with a pass, led by Mims with three catches on three targets for 20 yards. Jalen Moreno Cropper has been targeted five times and has two receptions for 23 yards.

BULLDOGS END HALF WITH FG, TRAIL 20-17

Abraham Montano hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to get the Bulldogs back within 20-17, but they might have blown a chance to get more.

A pass from quarterback Logan Fife to Jordan Mims ended with about 10 seconds remaining, but the Bulldogs chose to let the clock run down and spike it with one second remaining. According to the official stats, Fresno State had a timeout remaining in the half, and might have been able to run one more play before the field goal.

The Fresno State drive was 66 yards in 14 plays.

BRONCOS ANSWER QUICKLY

Ashton Jeanty has Boise State back in the lead, scoring on a 13-yard run to put the Broncos up 20-14 with 2:58 remaining in the second quarter.

The Boise State drive was 78 yards in three plays and just 56 seconds, the big play the first play, a 59-yard run on first down by George Holani.

BULLDOGS IN THE LEAD

Nikko Remigio has scored on a 5-yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-4 play and with the extra point by Abraham Montano the Bulldogs have a 14-13 lead with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter.

The Fresno State drive was 72 yards in 12 plays, the big one a 21-yard pass play from Logan Fife to Remigio on 3rd-and-9 after the snap got away from the Bulldogs’ quarterback.

Fife chased down the football and fired it down field to Remigio, who had escaped the Boise State coverage.

BOISE STATE EXTENDS LEAD

The Bulldogs’ defense limited Boise State to a short field goal by Jonah Dalmas after the interception by Fife, but Boise State has extended its lead to 13-7 with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter.

Fresno State after that first Boise State drive has done a nice job defending Broncos’ quarterback Taylen Green. Green is 5 of 12 for 60 yards with one touchdown and one interception and has 24 yards on six rushing plays, with a 13-yard run in there on that first drive.

FIFE TURNS IT OVER

Boise State has the ball at the Fresno State 9-yard line on an interception thrown by Logan Fife.

Fife has now thrown three interceptions in his past 28 pass attempts.

SPECIAL MISTAKE

Nikko Remigio just put the Bulldogs into a big hole, trying to field a kickoff when running hard toward the sideline. He couldn’t make a play and even if he did his momentum likely carries him out of bounds there.

Fresno State gains possession where the ball went out of bounds, at its 1-yard line.

BRONCOS SETTLE FOR FG, LEAD 10-7

Boise State has regained the lead, going up 10-7 on a 24-yard field goal by Jonah Dalmas with 13:33 remaining in the second quarter. The drive was 68 yards in 15 plays.

The Bulldogs had their chances to put down the drive, but Boise State picked up a 3rd-and-10 with a 25-yard pass play and gained first downs after Green misfired on first-down passes, leaving them in 2nd-and-10s.

On the first of those second-down plays, running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 11 yards and a first down and on the second Jeanty rushed for five yards and set up a more manageable third-down play.

BULLDOGS TURN TO INTO TD

The Bulldogs have tied the score on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Logan Fife with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter. The drive was 11 yards and it took four plays with three players taking a snap starting with Jaylen Henderson, the Fife, the running back Jordan Mims and then back to Fife for the touchdown.

The touchdown was only the third Boise State had allowed in the red zone in nine trips this season.

HENDERSON IN AT QB

Fresno State has quarterback Jaylen Henderson in for this drive. He was in for one play, a 2-yard run, with Fife returning after a timeout.

‘DOGS DEFENSE GETS A TAKEAWAY

Fresno State has a takeaway and possession at the Boise State 11-yard line after linebacker Malachi Langley picked off a pass by Taylen Green.

BOISE STATE TAKES 7-0 LEAD

Boise State went 55 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Taylen Green to Billy Bowens with 10:58 remaining in the first quarter.

The start of the drive was much too easy. The Broncos’ first three plays went for 18, 14 and 13 yards.

Green was 2 of 3 on the drive for 27 yards and rushed the ball twice for 14 yards, including the 13-yard run.

That is just the second time Fresno State has allowed its opponent to score on an opening drive. USC was the first to do it, scoring a touchdown on am 83-yard, five play drive.

The Bulldogs’ offense hasn’t scored on its opening drive since the first game of the season against FCS Cal Poly.

FRESNO STATE STARTS, 3-AND-OUT

The Bulldogs were penalized for a false start on their first snap of the game, leaving them in a 1st-and-15. Their opening drive didn’t get much farther, going three-and-out.

Quarterback Logan Fife hit his first two passes, both short throws to Nikko Remigio and Jordan Mims.

TV SLIDE

Kickoff has been pushed back to 7 p.m. to accommodate television.

PREGAME UPDATE

Fresno State linebackers Levelle Bailey and Raymond Scott, both of whom missed time during the week with injuries, are going through pregame warmups.

Freshman defensive tackle Gavriel Lightfoot appears ready to go, but Leonard Payne is out.

PREGAME READING

Fresno State did not travel quarterback Jake Haener and safety Evan Williams, its injured captains, when it played last week at UConn. Both stayed back to receive treatment on ankle and knee injuries.

But both will be with the Bulldogs on Saturday when they open Mountain West Conference play at Boise State, which could be a valuable piece as they try to break a three-game losing streak.

“Not just emotional support, but to talk guys through things, understand the game plan and be there for them, to kind of be another coach in their ear to help them along with the game plan,” Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford said.

Tedford said Haener and Williams were missed, though leadership on the sideline wasn’t an issue in the loss at UConn.

But having them along isn’t going to hurt and with the Mountain West expanding travel rosters to 74 players three years ago it’s an easy decision to bring them along.

“It was different, for sure, not having them there, because it was the first time that they haven’t been there,” Tedford said. “Were they missed? Yeah, they were missed. But other guys need to step up and some guys did. Bula (Schmidt) stepped up and things like that.

“But, of course, when you have your two captains, who are really the vocal leaders on the team, and they’re not around, yeah, you miss their voice.”

Here’s where to catch the game on TV and radio:

When: Saturday, 6:45 p.m.

Where: Albertson’s Stadium, Boise

TV: FS1 (Alex Faust, Petros Papadakis)

• Find it fast: Channels 652 and 1652 on AT&T Uverse, 35, 408, 731 and 1208 on Comcast, 219 on DirecTV, 150 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

INJURY UPDATES

The Bulldogs were banged up last week in losing at UConn, but are expected to have a few players back including freshman defensive tackle Gavriel Lightfoot and perhaps right tackle Dontae Bull.

But they also had a number of players miss practice time during the week, and they are far from healthy for the conference opener.

On defense, Williams is out. Linebacker Raymond Scott, who did not play at UConn due to a knee injury, also is expected to sit out. Linebacker Levelle Bailey, cornerback Cameron Lockridge and defensive tackle Leonard Payne also missed practice time could be out against the Broncos.

On offense, Haener and wideout Josh Kelly are out.

NOT RANKED

The Bulldogs and Boise State meet for the first time in seven matchups where at least one of the teams is not ranked in the Top 25.

Fresno State was No. 25 last season when the Broncos drilled them 40-14 in front of a sellout crowd at Bulldog Stadium.

GETTING THERE IS HALF THE BATTLE

Boise State opponents have just eight series that have reached the red zone in its five games.

That is tied for fourth in the nation with Georgia, Michigan and Syracuse. Those teams are a combined 15-0.

Once there, the Broncos have allowed opponents to score a touchdown only twice. The 25% red zone touchdown percentage is third in the nation behind Illinois (1 of 6, 16.7%) and Central Florida (4 of 19, 21.1%).

FALSE STEPS

The game at Boise State is a sellout, which means the Bulldogs will likely be dealing with a loud crowd. But a bigger issue when it comes to the false start-inducing factors might be the movement of the Broncos’ front.

Boise State opponents in its two games at Albertson’s Stadium have been called for 12 false start penalties.

It’s a tough combination.

“What it is, the kids get so fired up about trying to do their jobs, trying to protect the ball carrier, sometimes they forget the little things,” offensive line coach Saga Tuitele said. “It’s like sometimes you run out of your house and you forget to tie your shoes. Right now, we’re trying to tie our shoes and run out of the house and start the car. There’s a progression to everything and I was just getting on them about having a plan.

“When you break the huddle, what’s your plan? You just have to remind them, and it starts with the little things and then holding each other accountable. Hey, ‘That’s a free five yards.’ In college football, five yards is hard to get anyway. Don’t give anybody a free five yards.”