Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State vs. Idaho Game Notes
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - Prior to the game, Fresno State honored 18 seniors for their time with the program in a pre-game ceremony.
Wide Receiver Marlon Moore made his first start of the season for the offense.
The Bulldogs recorded their first shutout since Oct. 30, 2004, when they beat SMU 42-0.
It was the first time the Dogs held an opponent to less than 200 yards since beating New Mexico State 37-7 Oct. 8, 2005.
The Dogs held Idaho to 107 rushing yards, and for the season held opponents to just 96.2 yards per game on the ground in Bulldog Stadium.
Tyler Clutts made the first interception of his career with 9:06 remaining in the first quarter, returning the pick for 14 yards. That was the second interception of the season for Fresno State.
Isaac Kinter's touchdown reception in the first quarter was the second of his career. His first came earlier this season against Hawai'i.
Safety Marvin Haynes made the first sack of his career in the second quarter, dropping Idaho quarterback Steve Wichman for nine yards.
Dwayne Wright's 28-yard rush with six minutes remaining in the second quarter propelled him over the 1,000 yard rushing mark on the season, the second time in his career that Wright has reached that milestone.
Wright's rushing over 1,000 yards also marked the sixth consecutive season that the Bulldogs have produced a 1,000 yard rusher, dating back to the 2000 season.
With Wright gaining 1,000 yards, fullback Roshon Vercher has now blocked for four consecutive 1,000-yard backs. (Wright in 2003, Bryson Sumlin in 2004 and Wendell Mathis in 2005).
John Monga and Tyler Clutts combined for the team's second sack of the game in the second quarter. The half-sack gave Monga 2.5 sacks on the year, and added to Clutts' team-leading five.
Running back Dwayne Wright moved over the 100-yard rushing mark in the first half, marking the sixth time this season that he has ran over the century mark. Wright has now topped 100 yards in two consecutive games, running for 121 yards against New Mexico State.
Fresno State held a significant advantage in penalties and penalty yardage in the first half. The Bulldogs had no penalties in the half, while the Vandals were hit for six penalties totaling 53 yards.
The Bulldogs' first pass from scrimmage in the first half was longer than any by either team in the first half, as Tom Brandstater hit Kevin Ciccone for a 21-yard gain.
Clint Stitser made two more field goals, a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 36-yarder in the third quarter, giving him seven consecutive makes on the season.
Fullback Nate Adams' seven yard reception in the third quarter was the first of his career.
Freshman running back Anthony Harding scored the first touchdown of his career with a 39-yard rush in the third quarter. That was also the longest rush of his career, doubling exactly his career output to that point. Harding finished the game with 62 yards rushing, a career high for the freshman.
Fellow true freshman Lonyae Miller also scored a touchdown, the second of his career, scoring on a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Ikenna Ike added a third sack, dropping backup quarterback Brian Nooy for four yards with five minutes remaining. It was the second for him in as many weeks.
Fresno State finished one yard shy of 400 yards of offense, ending the game with 399 yards. The last time Fresno State had 400 yards of offense was last year against USC, when the team finished with 427 total yards.
Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill
"It was a great win for the seniors and a great way for them to go out. They've won a lot of games and been a big part of our success both in Bulldog Stadium and helping us to build a program on a national level. I'm very happy for them."
"The defense played very well today. Idaho is a much-improved team. Dennis (Erickson) has done a great job with them this season. I liked the way we flew to the football. We played a good, hard hitting physical game."
"It's no secret that this has been a tough season but our players deserve some credit. They continued to come out and work hard and our practices in November have been very hard. We are building a stronger bridge for the future of our program. We usually don't practice as hard in November but we are preparing for next season and we've been going pretty hard. That's not easy."
"Some of our younger players are really playing well. We have some good young players and getting them some time in games like this will help us in the feature."
Idaho Head Coach Dennis Erickson
"I thought we were terrible on offense, we had no productivity with the running game or with passing. We couldn't do anything offensively, and along with the penalties that leads to the final result."
"Defensively, I thought that we played okay, but they were really out there for a long time. That Wright kid is a tough runner, and when we were blitzing they found some creases which became big runs."
"[Fresno State] is a better team than their record, and we knew that coming in. But since Boise State, we've only played worse. In football, you never stay the same. You either get better or you get worse, and we've been getting worse."
