Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Rice (Homecoming)
More Visintainer Heroics Lead Football Past Rice 31-28
10/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Brett Visintainer's 39-yard field goal as time expired gave Fresno State a 31-28 victory over Rice in Western Athletic Conference play.
Robbie Beck of Rice rushed for a career-high four touchdowns, including a one-yard TD plunge that gave the Owls (11-6, 1-2 WAC) a 28-20 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Beck had 47 yards on 14 carries.
Fresno State (4-4, 2-1 WAC) used a seven-play, 67-yard drive to get even. Bryson Sumlin scored on a two-yard run and Paul Pinegar threw to Bernard Berrian for the tying two-point conversion with 4:33 remaining.
The drive was set up by a Quinton Simth fumble that was recovered by Fresno State's Bryce McGill.
After stopping Rice on a 4th-and-1 from the Fresno State 25, the Bulldogs got the ball back with 1:46 left, and Pinegar engineered the winning drive. Visintainer's kick gave Fresno State a 4-0 record at home and dropped Rice to 0-4 on the road.
It was the second time this year Visintainer won a game for Fresno State with a last-minute kick. On Sept. 5, his 47-yarder with 39 seconds left lifted the Bulldogs past Oregon State 16-14.
Fresno State avoided a third straight setback in its first game since its 55-28 loss at Hawaii two weeks ago. The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 all-time against the Owls, including last year's 31-28 victory at Houston. They are the only current member of the WAC Rice has never beaten.
Rice was unstoppable on the ground, rushing 62 times for 384 yards. It was the 37th time under coach Ken Hatfield that the Owls have gained more than 300 yards, although they dropped to 30-7 in those games. Rice is 33-10 when carrying 60 times under Hatfield.
Quinton Smith carried 13 times for a career-high 142 yards. Quarterback Kyle Herm notched his fifth career 100-yard effort with 103 yards on 19 carries.
Pinegar completed 23-of-36 passes for 205 yards.
