Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Tulsa
No. 11 Football Defeats Tulsa 37-18 In WAC Opener
9/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DANNY M. BOYD
Associated Press Writer
TULSA, Okla. - Pat Hill insists No. 11 Fresno State won't drop its guard after a 37-18 victory over Tulsa on Saturday.
"Our players understand what's in front of them," Hill said. "They understand that they have to play one game at a time. If they keep winning there could be a prize for them."
Fresno State (4-0, 1-0 WAC) faces a conference schedule that appears light compared to its first four games. The Bulldogs opened with victories over Colorado and ranked teams Oregon State and Wisconsin.
David Carr passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Bernard Berrian caught for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Fresno State's 513 yards of offense was a season high.
"It was a good win," Carr said. "We had some good plays at the beginning of the game, then I think we got a little lackadaisical in the middle, but we picked it up and finished pretty good."
For Tulsa (1-1, 0-1 WAC), the loss came after a 23-day break that included last week's postponement. In team history, the Golden Hurricane is 6-11 at home against nationally ranked teams.
"I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the football game," second-year coach Keith Burns said. "I'm not disappointed with the fight, the want-to and the effort that our team put forth."
Fresno State's Josh Levi rushed for 107 yards, including 68 on one fourth-quarter play. The performance was the best for a Bulldogs rusher in almost two years.
For Tulsa, Eric Richardson ran for 119 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown and had 69 yards receiving. But the Golden Hurricane failed to capitalize on early drives that stalled inside Fresno State territory.
"Fresno State, to me, played like they should be ranked No. 11 in the nation," Richardson said.
Josh Blankenship was 20-of-37 for 187 yards. But Bryce McGill picked off two of Blankenship's passes.
Rodney Wright's 5-yard touchdown run and Carr's 42 yard TD pass to Berrian put the Bulldogs up 31-3 at 4:31 in the third quarter. Asen Asparuhov added two field goals, and Richardson and reserve quarterback Tyler Gooch scored for Tulsa. Gooch ran in a 2-point conversion to end scoring.
Carr had 224 yards passing in the first half, connecting with Berrian for 116 yards - including a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Richardson had 95 yards rushing before the break.
Tulsa had to settle for Chris Earnest's 47-yard field goal to go up 3-0 on its first drive after stopping the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive in which Carr connected with Marque Davis on a 27-yard touchdown pass at 5:32 in the first quarter.
Carr connected with Berrian for 42 yards and again for 30, with Berrian walking in for the score after being slammed by two Tulsa defenders at once inside the 5. Asparuhov added a field goal from 22 yards out as the half expired.
