Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
SMU
Bulldogs Turn Game Over To SMU
10/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 14, 1999
DALLAS (AP) - Josh McCown threw for two first-half touchdowns and Rodnick Phillips rushed for a TD as Southern Methodist won its first game of the season 24-14 over Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference Thursday night.
SMU (1-5 overall, 1-2 WAC) avoided its worst start since opening with six consecutive losses in 1960 when the Mustangs finished 0-9-1.
Fresno State (4-3, 1-1) finished with 364 yards, but was 0-for-2 on fourth down, lost two fumbles and had an interception. SMU finished with 351 yards, but had just one turnover and had a 16 1/2-minute advantage in possession time.
Fresno State tried to catch SMU off guard from its 27 when Vernon Fox ran out of punt formation, but he was stopped a yard shot.
The Mustangs scored four plays later on McCown's 12-yard pass to Damond Blueitt with 3:09 left in the quarter.
SMU scored again five minutes later on Phillips' 1-yard sweep nine plays after Fresno State's Charles Smith lost a fumble at the Bulldogs 37. Phillips finished with 119 yards on 26 carries.
Fresno State, the WAC's highest-scoring offense, struggled in the first half.
The Bulldogs drove 80 yards in 14 plays for a 14-yard touchdown pass from Billy Volek to Rodney Wright with 8:56 left in the second quarter, but finished with 63 yards the rest of half. The Bulldogs had just 26 yards in the first quarter.
SMU answered with a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive, capped by McCown's 19-yard pass to Bryan McDearman, who made a juggling catch.
Fresno State's big-play offense finally struck in the third quarter when Volek hit Wright on an 83-yard run down the right sideline to cap a 98-yard drive. Volek finished 26-of-37 for 299 yards.
SMU's Adam Walterscheid added a 37-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
