Fresno State
Rice
Late Touchdown Lifts Football Over Rice, 31-28
9/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 28, 2002
HOUSTON (AP) - Jermaine Jamison made up for a couple of dropped passes with a game-winning catch for the Fresno State Bulldogs.
``Jamison is a big play wide receiver, and he made a big play at the end. He let a couple get away earlier in the game, but when it really counted he stepped up and did what he needed to do,'' Fresno State coach Pat Hill said after Jamison raced 77 yards with the game-winning touchdown.
The score, with 3:12 left, gave the Bulldogs a 31-28 win over Rice on Saturday night. Still, Jamison was upset about the dropped passes.
``I knew that I had to make a play. When I caught the ball I saw nothing but end zone,'' Jamison said.
Paul Pinegar found Jamison in the left flat, Jamison then avoided a pair of Rice defenders, before racing down the sideline to score easily.
Marque Davis and Adam Jennings made key blocks on the play.
``This was a really big win for us. It is always difficult to play Rice at their place, but our team was up to the challenge tonight,'' Hill said. ``We were a team that needed a win really badly, and we got one tonight.''
Rice had a chance to tie the game with 4 seconds left, but a 43-yard field goal attempt by Brennan Landry was short.
``We have a good kicking game, but we didn't have a good snap or hold on the one that mattered. I've always said at least three games a year will come down to kicking, and this was one of those,'' Rice coach Ken Hatfield said.
``We had momentum and there was no doubt we thought we could win the game or at least have a chance to win in overtime,'' said Rice quarterback Kyle Herm.
Fresno State (2-3, 1-0 WAC), was led by Pinegar, who completed 18 for 29 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns. Davis caught six passes for 133 yards and one touchdown and Jamison gained 112 yards on six catches and a touchdown.
Rice (0-4, 0-2) was led by Vincent Hawkins, who gained 89 yards on 10 carries.
The game-winning drive covered 93 yards in five plays.
Fresno State drove 80 yards in 11 plays and took a 24-14 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter on Bryson Sumlin's 2-yard TD run.
Rice responded, driving 84 yards in 12 plays, with Robbie Beck scoring on a 6-yard run to cut the Fresno State lead to 24-21 with 14:09 left.
The Owls then took a 28-24 lead with 5:02 remaining on a 1-yard run by Ed Bailey, his second TD of the game.
Rice started the scoring, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Joe Moore's 11-yard run.
Fresno State cut its deficit to 7-3 on a 29-yard field goal from Asen Asparuhov in the second. The Bulldogs capitalized on a fumble recovery by Nick Burley for their next score, when Pinegar passed 23 yards to Deandre Gilbert for the TD to make it 10-7.
Rice regained the lead with 7:44 left in the half on a 2-yard scoring run by Bailey. Fresno State came right back when Pinegar passed 72 yards to Davis for a touchdown and a 17-14 lead.
