--- Coming off of our loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, there was no chance to settle down, as a second straight road trip, this time to Fresno State, loomed on the horizon. The Bulldogs entered the game with a 1-0 record and an offense that ranked in the top 50 in all three aspects. Our offense meanwhile, was rated in the 80s and 90s with the sole exception of our rushing offense, good enough to rate #59. We would have to hope our #20 defense would be able to keep putting up strong numbers and hope our offense would actually find a groove. All the analysts were pegging us as the underdogs going in, picking Fresno State to walk out with a win. It would be up to our offense to find the answers to prove them wrong. Fresno State won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball.
No return on the kickoff got Fresno State started at their 25 yard line to start. It was a very fast start for the Bulldogs, as Jim Bentley took the handoff on first down for a 5 yard gain, before Cedric Chavez launched a deep pass to Demetrius Howard for 28 yards and very fast first down at our 43 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Chavez was followed up with a loss of three yards on the ground by Bentley, leaving the Bulldogs with third and 8. What initially looked to be a quick scoring drive turned into nothing, as Bentley dropped the third down pass from Chavez, leaving Fresno State punting on fourth and 8 from our 41. The punt sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and our offense was in action at our 20 yard line.
Brandon Price got our running game quickly established, breaking up the middle on the first down carry for a 14 yard gain to the 34 yard line. Rushing off the right tackle on the next play, Price was able to fight ahead for a 5 yard gain, before breaking loose from a tackle attempt in the backfield, pushing ahead and getting tackled forward across the line for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 45. Brad Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, rushing for the right sideline and picking up 7 yards before being pushed out of bounds. The pitch left to Price was blown up by the defense, as Price was tackled for a loss of two yards, leaving us with third and 5 at midfield. Chad Fisher would keep the drive alive, hauling in a pass over the middle from Stephens for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. A hitch route allowed Antoine Banks to get separation from the cornerback on the next play, hauling in the deep pass from Stephens along the sideline and running towards the end zone, eventually getting pushed out by the safety at the 6 yard line for a 28 yard gain, setting up first and goal. It was no go on the ground on first down, as Price was quickly swallowed up for no gain, leaving second and goal. A pass to Randy Newman was even worse, as Newman was quickly overtaken by the cornerback and linebacker for a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and goal at the 9 yard line. Fisher was able to get the third down pass into his hands, but the safety made a timely hit, jarring the ball loose for an incomplete pass. We ultimately settled for a disappointing three points as Alphonso Pratt kicked the 26 yard field goal, giving us a 3-0 lead with 2:26 left in the first quarter.
The following kickoff went unreturned, and Fresno State was back on the field at their 25. Bentley got the drive off to a promising start with a 7 yard rush, but two straight dropped passes by Quentin Seymour left the stunned Bulldogs punting away on fourth and three. A 7 yard return by Price on the 43 yard punt got us back in action from our 31 yard line. Avoiding the blitzing linebacker, Price was able to skirt his way up the middle, picking up 7 yards before getting tackled by the safety. Stephens kept the ball for himself once again, turning it up the field just beyond the right tackle, managing to get 8 yards before being swarmed by the defense. Taking a shot on first down, the pass from Stephens intended for Nicholas Roberts was broken up by the middle linebacker, nearly intercepted, leaving us second down at the 46. Stephens was forced out of the pocket on second down, scrambling towards the far sideline, his pass intended for Roberts sailing way off target and out of bounds, leaving us facing third down. Fisher again nearly came through, again getting the ball into his hands, before a hit by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth down. The punt sailed 55 yards and into the end zone for a touchback.
Starting at the 20 yard line, Bentley got Fresno State moving on first down with a 5 yard rush. After an incomplete pass on the next play, the Bulldogs managed to convert third down as Chavez hit Seymour over the middle for a 21 yard gain to the 46 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Bentley would get the Bulldogs into our territory, as the final seconds came off the clock. The first quarter was in the books, our lead sitting at 3-0, but Fresno State in position to make a drive.
Opening up the second quarter, Evan Johnson took the ball on the ground for Fresno State, fighting forward for three yards to leave third and one. Our defense would stop the Bulldogs cold on the next play, as Chavez was sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving Fresno State punting on fourth and 10 from their 46. No return on the 43 yard punt got us underway on offense from our 10 yard line.
Price took the ball up the middle, fighting his way ahead for a 6 yard gain. Taking the ball on second down, Price was able to hit and turn the corner past the right tackle, spinning his way out of a diving tackle attempt by the cornerback and rumbling ahead for a 16 yard gain before being brought down by the safety at the 32 yard line. Roy Smith got his first action of the day, giving Price a breather, and it was a rough start, as the blitzing defense quickly overtook him for only a two yard gain. Despite being able to turn the corner, Price was only able to pick up four yards on second down, the defensive end disengaging from his battle with the left tackle to trip up Price and bring him down. Max Thompson was able to keep the drive breathing, hauling in a third down pass from 14 yard pass from Stephens to give us a new set of downs at the Fresno State 48. The success was short lived, as a blitzing linebacker left Price laying on the ground for no gain and a wasted down. Taking the ball on second down, despite being hit at the line of scrimmage, Price was able to stumble and fall forward for a 5 yard gain, leaving us third and 5. Fresno State picked the worse possible moment to blitz the entire secondary. Smith came out of the backfield and angled around over the middle. With all three linebackers blitzing, no one was there to interrupt the pass. Juking past one safety, Smith was able to sprint his way up the middle of the field for a 32 yard gain before being chased down from behind by the other safety at the 11 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Price took it straight up the gut, picking up 9 yards to leave second and one at the two yard line. Price would get us inside the end zone on the next play, taking the pitch right from Stephens, racing towards the sideline and diving inside the pylon for the two yard touchdown, giving us a 10-0 lead with 2:56 left in the half.
A 16 yard kickoff return started Fresno State on their 17 yard line. Chevez started the drive with a 5 yard rush, but the defense was able to break through on second down and tackle Bentley for a loss of two yards, leaving the Bulldogs with third and 6. An incomplete pass would continue the offensive woes for the Bulldogs. An 8 yard return by Price on the 42 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 46 yard line, 2:04 left in the half. Trying to go for the interception, the cornerback took himself out of the play, the ball sailing over his head and right into the outstretched arms of Fisher, who took the ball and raced 39 yards up the field before being tripped up at the 15 yard line, 1:55 on the clock. Price took the handoff, fighting ahead for 7 yards to leave second and three at the 8 yard line, the clock ticking towards one minute. Rushing the ball again on second down, Price drove into the pile in front of him, picking up three yards before ending up buried under a sea of red jerseys. The measurement left us short of the first down. We called our first timeout with 57 seconds left on the clock, sizing up the third and inches situation. Price would find the end zone a second time today, fighting loose of a tackle attempt at the line of scrimmage before stumbling his way forward and falling across the goal line for the 5 yard touchdown, extending the score to 17-0 with 53 seconds to go.
A touchback left Fresno State at their 25 yard line, just 46 seconds to work with but still all three timeouts. It would be a wasted drive. Chavez picked up four yards on a first down scramble, the Bulldogs calling their first timeout with 41 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass on second down, Bentley was wrapped up in the backfield for a loss of two yards, leaving fourth and 8 at the 27 yard line with 30 seconds to go and ticking. Price returned the 50 yard punt for 7 yards to our 30 yard line. A four yard rush by Price would be the final play, the remaining 12 seconds ticking off the clock as we headed into halftime with a 17-0 lead.
Opening up the third quarter, Price received the kickoff and return it for 17 yards, getting our offense on the field at our 16 yard line to start. The defense was ready and waiting for Price, as he was overrun in the backfield for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. Keeping the pressure on our offense, Stephens was forced to scramble from the pass rush, only managing to pick up three yards before being wrapped up to leave third and 10. The defense would make it strike three on the next play, as the defense end broke through his blocker, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss to leave us punting on fourth and 17. It would only get worse. The Fresno State punt return team was able to break through and blocked the punt on fourth down, Bo Sherman recovering the fumble in the end zone to get Fresno State their first points of the game. The extra point made it 17-7, nothing but domination from the Bulldogs thus far.
No return on the kickoff left our offense at our 25 yard line looking for a response. A pitch right on first down went nowhere, as Price quickly found any escape routes blocked, forced to juke away from a defender and fight up-field just to get back to the line of scrimmage for no gain. It would even worse, as the blitzing outside linebacker came storming through untouched, knocking the ball loose as Stephens tried to throw it away. Marco Holmes was there to dive on the ball for the Bulldogs, giving Fresno State a first down at our 16 yard line. Bentley got the offense moving with an 8 yard rush on first down. The Bulldogs however would seemingly piss away their best opportunity of the game, as two incomplete passes by Chavez left the Bulldogs with fourth and two at our 8 yard line. Saying hell no to the field goal, the Bulldogs elected to go for it on fourth down, Chavez connecting with Seymour in the back of the end zone for the 8 yard touchdown for the successful conversion, and our lead was cut to 17-14 a mere three minutes into the second half.
Fisher returned the following kickoff 21 yards out to the 20 yard line for our next drive. A first down pass to Smith went backwards, as Smith was tackled for a loss of one yard. A pass on second down, intended for Eric Hayden was woefully overthrown, passing way out of the reach of Hayden and incomplete to leave third down, the crowd roaring now. The third down pass intended for Fisher was jumped on by the cornerback, nearly intercepted but thankfully dropped, and we were forced to punt on fourth and 11, our offense that was impossible to stop in the first half, now suddenly inept in the second half. A 17 yard punt return on the 45 yard boot gave Fresno State the ball at our 47 yard line. Bentley took the ball on first down, breaking loose up the middle for a 13 yard gain to our 34. After being tackled for a loss of two yards on first down, Bentley came back to break our defense through the air on second down, hauling in a 15 yard pass from Chavez to set up first and 10 at the 21 yard line. After a dropped pass on first down, Seymour caught a ball from Chavez for a 5 yard gain, leaving Fresno State with third and 5. Bentley would convert the third down, taking the ball around the right side for a 6 yard gain and first down at our 10 yard line. A pair of 5 yards passes from Chavez to Alvin Hodges and to Seymour left Fresno State with third and inches from our one yard line. Bentley would plunge into the end zone on the next play for the one yard touchdown rush and a 21-17 Fresno State lead with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
A touchback on the kickoff got us underway at our 25 yard line, desperately searching for answers after seeing our 17 point halftime lead disappear into a four point deficit in less than a quarter. Our offense finally remembered out to throw and catch a ball this drive, as Fisher caught a pass on first down for a 13 yard gain to get us to the 38. A 16 yard toss to Thompson gave us another first down at the Fresno State 46, finally rebuilding the momentum we had in the first half. Despite being intended for Hayden, Fisher cut Hayden off and dove for the ball, falling to the ground for a gain of 12 yards and another first down at the 35. The pass intended for Price on the smash route sailed out of bounds, leaving second down. Hayden finally managed to haul in his first catch of the game, breaking loose from the cornerback and turning up field for a 29 yard gain, brought down at the 5 yard line to set up first and goal. Taking the ball on first down, Price was unable to find much, wrapped up by the middle linebacker for a one yard gain. Going off the left tackle on second and goal, Price was able to drive into the end zone for his third time today, falling forward through a tackle for the four yard touchdown and a 24-21 lead with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
No return left Fresno State starting at their 25 yard line. It was a drive much ado about nothing for the Bulldogs, as Bentley was tackled for a loss of three yards on first down. Chavez kept the ball on the next play for a gain of four yards to leave third and 9, before a pass to Howard only gain two yards, the punt team coming out on fourth down. A 9 yard return by Price on the 43 yard punt set our offense up at our 37 yard line as the third quarter came to an end, a late touchdown partially helping to recover from 6 minutes of utter disaster, a 24-21 lead heading into the final quarter.
Opening up the fourth quarter from our 37 yard line, it was nearly nothing going for Price on the ground, managing only gains of two and three yards to set up third and 5. Smith was able to haul in the third down pass from Stephens along the right sideline, but the linebacker was right there to push Smith out of bounds for only a four yard gain, leaving us with fourth and inches and the punt team coming out. The punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback and Fresno state began their drive from the 20. Chavez started off the drive with a 5 yard rush, but trying to keep the ball himself would end up in a setback, as Chavez was tackled for a loss of four yards on the next play, leaving Fresno State facing third and 9. Chavez threw up a deep pass to Bentley near midfield that landed in his hands, but trying to turn up field, Bentley lost control of the ball, dropping it incomplete and forcing a Fresno State punt.
Price called for a fair catch on the 43 yard punt and our offense was back out at our 35 yard line, just 6:39 away from victory. It would be a one play drive, as Price was met by the linebacker at the line of scrimmage, the ball knocked loose and recovered by Holmes, his second fumble recovery of the game, to give Fresno State possession at our 27 yard line. After a 5 yard pass to Seymour to get to our 22 yard line, our defense became a brick wall, forcing a pair of incomplete passes that left Fresno State stuck on fourth and 5. The Bulldogs would opt to go for it on fourth down, Chavez launching a pass into the end zone, but Andy Malone was there to jump the route and intercept the pass, returning it 25 yards out to our 20 yard line and keep our lead intact. A pitch to Price on first down ended in disaster, as the blitzing linebacker drove Price backwards for a loss of 6 yards, leaving us staring down the barrel of second and 16 at our 14 yard line. A second down pass from Stephens to Smith was damn near intercepted, the cornerback stepping up in front of Smith and simply standing there as the ball flew into his hands, but butterfingers would drop it, leaving third and very long. Trying to scramble from the pressure, Stephens wasn’t able to run fast enough, the defensive end diving at his feet, tripping him up for the four yard sack and forcing us to punt on fourth and 20 from our 10 yard line.
Our punt team managed to actually get the punt off this time, Howard returning the 49 yard punt 9 yards to midfield with 5 minutes left in the game. Howard would be the go to guy on first down, hauling a 22 yard pass from Chavez to get the Bulldogs to our 29 yard line. An 18 yard pass to Bentley gave Fresno State another first down, now at our 11. Chavez would try to pick up yards on the ground, but our defensive line was there to meet him, taking him down for no gain. A one yard rush by Hodges left the Fresno State offense in a bit of a rut, facing third and 9 from our 10 yard line. The defense would step up on the next play, forcing Chavez to throw the ball away to avoid the sack, leaving fourth down. This time the Bulldogs would kick the field goal, the 27 yard boot by Shaun Gschwend good to tie the game up at 24-all with 3:56 remaining.
A 23 yard kickoff return by Price advanced the ball to the 24 yard line, our offense searching for some success to at least get into field goal range. Spinning away from the defensive end, Price was able to fall forward for a 5 yard gain to get the drive started. Met at the 31 yard line, Price was rolled forward during the tackle by the middle linebacker, enough for 6 yards and a first down at the 34. Keeping it driving on the ground, Smith fought ahead for a pickup of 8 yards, leaving second and two at the 42 yard line. Breaking loose from the blitzing middle linebacker in the backfield, Price was able to find some way to drive forward enough and get pushed ahead by a tackler for a two yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line, the clock closing in on two minutes. Taking the handoff on first down, the defense gave Price nowhere to go, tackled for only a one yard gain at the 46, the clock down to 1:46 and ticking. Taking a pitch to the right, Price was again unable to find any space, barely picking up one yard before being tripped up, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:19 to play, facing third and 8 from our 47 yard line. Fisher was able to get just enough separation from the cornerback to haul in a 9 yard pass from Stephens, just getting the first down and keeping the drive breathing as we closed in on field goal range at the 44 yard line. Price never had a chance on the first down rush, tackled at the line of scrimmage for no gain, our second timeout stopping the clock with 54 seconds to go. A pass to Smith pushed us backwards, Smith barely avoiding a tackle before being pushed out of bounds for a one yard loss. While it stopped the clock for us, so we didn’t have to waste our final timeout, it did leave us with third and 11 at the 46. Facing a blitzing pass rush, Stephens was forced to dump the ball off to Newman, who was quickly tripped up by the outside linebacker for only a two yard gain, leaving fourth and 9 from the 43 yard line, Fresno State using their first timeout to stop the clock.
Unfortunately outside of field goal range, we were forced to punt it away with 46 seconds to play. The punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback, Fresno State starting from the 20 yard line with just 40 seconds to work with. Chavez found Howard for a 5 yard pass on first down, Fresno State’s second timeout of the half stopping the clock with 34 seconds to go. An encroachment penalty on our defense gave Fresno State a new set of downs at the 31 yard line, 30 seconds remaining. Our defense stood firm, sacking Chavez for a one yard loss, leaving the Bulldogs with second and 11, 24 seconds to go and ticking. Bombing it deep, the pass from Chavez intended for Howard was broken up by the cornerback and safety at our 25 yard line, the incomplete pass leaving third and 11 and only 12 seconds to go. Fresno State decided to take their chances in overtime, Bentley rushing forward for a 6 yard gain on third down, leaving fourth and 5 as the final 5 seconds ticked off the clock. That was the end of regulation, we headed to overtime tied 24-24.
We won the coin toss at the beginning of overtime and elected to go on defense first. Fresno State started their drive with an 8 yard pass to Howard, leaving second and two at the 17. Two dropped passes would leave the Bulldogs stranded. Even worse for Fresno State, the 34 yard field goal by Gschwend was wide left, and our offense took over needing only a field goal to win. A pair of rushes by Price left us moving nowhere but backwards, as Price was tackled for losses of one and four yards to leave us pushed out to the 30 yard line and facing third and 15. It would end up even worse, as multiple blitzing defenders broke through the line, sacking Stephens for a 9 yard loss, leaving us with fourth and 24 at the 39 yard line. Now out of field goal range, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. Throwing deep down the left sideline intended for Hayden, the pass from Stephens sailed long and out of bounds. With that, we headed for a second overtime, still tied at 24-all.
Opening up the second overtime on offense, we had to find some points here. Stephens was finally able to get a pass off on first down, but the completion to Fisher was only able to pick up two yards, leaving second and 8. Newman hauled in a pass from Stephens, just barely getting it off before getting hit, picking up only three yards to leave third and 5 at the 20 yard line, the Fresno State defense refusing to give up anything. Taking a long shot on third down with Price, he was only able to gain one yard on the ground, leaving fourth and four. The 36 yard field goal by Pratt was good, and we at least had a lead, up 27-24. Bentley got Fresno State moving quickly, with rushes of two, three and 5 yards to leave second and two at the 14 yard line. The defense would push back, tackling Chavez for a loss of three yards to leave the Bulldogs with third and four. Our defense would seal the victory on the next play, as Spencer Jones intercepted Chavez’s pass in the end zone to end the game in double overtime, a 27-24 victory.
With the much unexpected win, we improve to 2-1. With the loss, Fresno State drops to 1-1. Up next, it’s the start of conference action in 2016, as we head home to take on North Texas. The Mean Green enter the season 1-1, opening up the year with a 41-10 win over FCS Midwest, before losing 37-16 at #13 Nebraska.
Final Score
27,
24 – 2 OT
Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – First half, great, second half, sucked ass. Passing, Stephens did pretty good, going 17-26 for 214 yards, though no touchdowns, and he fumbled the ball once that screwed us during that third quarter. Looking at rushing, Price led the way with 99 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries, but he also fumbled once that, again, screwed us during that third quarter. Receiving, 6 people caught a ball, Fisher led the way with 90 yards receiving on 6 catches.
Tulsa Defense – Defense had their work cut out for them, left with short field situations, but did enough to keep Fresno State in check and outside of the that third quarter, held the Bulldogs virtually scoreless.
Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. Went 2-2 in field goals, kicking 26 and 36 yard field goal, including the game winner in overtime, to go along with 3-3 in PATs.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Overtime |
Final Score |
|
3 |
14 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
27 |
|
0 |
0 |
21 |
3 |
0 |
24 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 2:26 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 26 yard field goal |
3-0 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 2:56 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Price, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
10-0 |
| 0:53 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Price, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
17-0 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 7:24 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Sherman, fumble recovery in end zone (S. Gschwend kick) |
17-7 |
| 6:04 |
|
Touchdown |
Q. Seymour, 7 yard pass from C. Chavez (S. Gschwend kick) |
17-14 |
| 3:10 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Bentley, 1 yard run (S. Gschwend kick) |
21-17 |
| 0:54 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Price, 4 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
24-21 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 3:56 |
|
Field Goal |
S. Gschwend, 27 yard field goal |
TIED 24-24 |
|
| Overtime |
| --- |
--- |
--- |
---- |
TIED 24-24 |
|
| Second Overtime |
| --- |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 36 yard field goal |
27-24 |
| Tulsa |
Stat |
Fresno State |
| 27 |
Score |
24 |
| 16 |
First Downs |
10 |
| 310 |
Total Offense |
220 |
| 43 - 96 - 3 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
25 - 73 - 1 |
| 17 - 26 - 0 |
Comp - Att - TD |
13 - 31 - 1 |
| 214 |
Passing Yards |
147 |
| 4 |
Times Sacked |
2 |
| 5 - 14 (35%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
3 - 16 (18%) |
| 0 - 1 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
1 - 2 (50%) |
| 0 - 0 (0%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 1 (0%) |
| 6 - 3 - 2 (83%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
6 - 2 - 1 (50%) |
| 3 |
Turnovers |
2 |
| 3 |
Fumbles Lost |
0 |
| 0 |
Intercepted |
2 |
| 31 |
Punt Return Yards |
26 |
| 61 |
Kick Return Yards |
16 |
| 402 |
Total Yards |
262 |
| 5 – 48.8 |
Punts - Average |
7 - 44.0 |
| 2 - 7 |
Penalties |
0 - 0 |
| 22:17 |
Time of Possession |
13:43 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
21+ points per game in each season |
20 |
 |
|
Win 10 games in one season |
2 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
551 |
 |
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
58% |
|
 |
Win 6 games in one season |
2 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
4 |
|
 |
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
1012 |
 |
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
1012 |
 |
Reply With Quote
#21 
Originally Posted by morsdraconis
Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be too upset with Ohio State winning.
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