Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawaii
No. 18 Football Falls To Hawaii, 38-34
10/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 27, 2001
HONOLULU (AP) - Nick Rolovich threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ashley Lelie with 13 seconds left to lead Hawaii to a 38-34 victory over No. 18 Fresno State on Friday night, adding to the Bulldogs' house-of-horrors legacy at Aloha Stadium.
The loss was the second straight for the Bulldogs, whose hopes for a bowl bid are in jeopardy. It also dropped Fresno State's mark in Honolulu to 1-10 since 1967.
With the win, the Warriors (5-2, 4-2 Western Athletic Conference) positioned themselves for a possible bowl berth.
It was a wild finish for Hawaii, which scored 22 points in the final quarter, helped by two Fresno State turnovers. The first came with just over nine minutes remaining and the Bulldogs ahead 27-24. With the ball on the UH 3-yard-line, FS botched the center-quarterback exchange, which Hawaii recovered. The Warriors then drove the length of the field to score a touchdown and take a 31-27 lead.
Fresno State battled back though, scoring with five minutes left when David Carr hooked up with Rodney Wright on a 35-yard touchdown strike to make it 34-31. It was Carr's fourth touchdown pass of the day.
Fresno State then held Hawaii to a three-and-out and got the ball back on its own 38-yard-line with 3:22 left. After Paris Gaines rushed for no gain on first down, the second of the two costly fourth quarter turnovers took place. Carr dropped back to pass but was sacked and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Warriors.
Hawaii then methodically marched down the field and eventually scored the game-winner when Rolovich hooked up with Lelie in the corner of the end zone.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Carr and the Bulldogs, who dropped consecutive conference games for the first time since 1998. The Fresno State quarterback threw for 400 yards for the first time in his career. However, he received no help from the Bulldog running attack, which rushed for only 68 yards on 33 attempts.
