Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Ajirotutu Catches Pair of TDs against Wolf Pack
11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Fresno State head coach Pat Hill gave his team credit for playing hard, but in the end too many mistakes and missed opportunities cost the Bulldogs against a tough Nevada offensive sqaud. Four Bulldog turnovers were more than the team could handle in a 41-28 loss at Bulldog Stadium.
Vai Taua ran for a career-best 263 yards and a late touchdown, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick added 118 yards and two scores in Nevada's 472-yard rushing attack on Friday night.
Several Bulldogs had stellar nights, including Seyi Ajirotutu who caught two touchdown passes, Lonyae Miller who had a long touchdown run and return whiz A.J. Jefferson, who ran a kickoff back 92 yards for a touchdown.
It was Fresno State's first home loss to the Wolf Pack since 1998. Under Pat Hill, the Dogs have won eight of 11 games.
Seyi Ajirotutu caught two touchdown passes from Tom Brandstater for the Bulldogs (5-4, 2-3), who lost their second straight and dropped to 1-3 at Bulldog Stadium this season with just their second loss to Nevada in the schools' last 10 meetings. Brandstater went 23-of-43 for 260 yards, but threw two interceptions.
A.J. Jefferson returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score in the fourth quarter to keep Fresno State close, but Kevin Grimes intercepted Brandstater's fourth-down pass in the final minutes, and Ajirotutu fumbled at the Nevada 10 with 1:57 to play.
Lonyae Miller also rushed for a score, but Fresno State simply couldn't stop the Wolf Pack, who got Kaepernick's third 100-yard rushing game and Taua's first 200-yard performance of the season. Mike McCoy caught an early touchdown pass, and Taua - a third-stringer when the season began - had the sixth-highest rushing total in school history while averaging 9.4 yards per carry.
Kaepernick and Brandstater both grew up in Turlock, Calif., a San Joaquin Valley town about 80 miles north of Fresno, graduating from different high schools two years apart. While Brandstater is a more classic dropback passer, the 6-foot-6 Kaepernick is thriving in the pistol, a shotgun derivative which involves plenty of option rushing and multiple-receiver sets.
Nevada converted a fourth-and-10 on its opening drive, which ended in a 16-yard TD run up the middle by Kaepernick. The quarterback then hit McCoy on the Fresno State sideline on a fourth-and-6 play for a 36-yard score early in the second quarter.
The Wolf Pack racked up 330 yards of offense and made three lengthy scoring drives in the first half, but Nevada also missed a golden opportunity to score more points in the final seconds.
Taua was stopped at the Fresno State 1, and the clock ran out before the Wolf Pack could call a timeout. The officials didn't see Nevada coach Chris Ault, who won his 196th game, frantically signaling to stop the game before the half ended.
Miller turned the corner on Nevada's defense midway through the third quarter for a 34-yard TD run, but Kaepernick capped another lengthy drive with a 2-yard scoring dive. Kaepernick's 20th rushing score tied him with Hall of Famer Marion Motley for ninth place in the school's career touchdowns list.
Fresno State pulled to 31-21 on the third quarter's final play when Ajirotutu made his second TD catch, but Taua capped a 12-play drive with a 25-yard run for a score with 8:40 to play. After Grimes' interception, Brett Jaekle made his second field goal.
Fresno State vs. Nevada
Bulldog Stadium
Postgame Notes and Quotes
Nov. 7, 2008
Top Dogs Return
Four outstanding Alumni joined the Dogs as honorary captains for today's game. Two baseball All-Americans, Terry Pendleton and Mark Gardner, joined football greats Trent Dilfer and Clifton Smith during pregame ceremonies at midfield. Smith was the 2007 Bulldog MVP and is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dilfer is Super Bowl winning quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst. Gardner, an All-American pitcher for the Dogs, had a storied Major League career. He's an assistant coach for the San Francisco Giants. Pendleton, also a Bulldog All-American, played in five World Series, won three Golden Glove awards, and was the 1991 National League Most Valuable player. He's the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves.
Ajirotutu Again and Again
For the third time this year and second straight week, Bulldog junior receiver Seyi Ajirotutu has scored two touchdowns in a game. Ajirotutu is playing as well as any receiver in the WAC right now. He scored Fresno State's first touchdown on a 23 yard pass from Tom Brandstater. His second touchdown came on the last play of the third quarter, a 1-yard pass from Brandstater. He has five touchdowns in the last four games while leading the team in receptions and receiving yards. He matched a career-high with seven receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Miller Returns
After missing last week's game at Louisiana Tech, Lonyae Miller returned to the Bulldog squad and provided his fifth touchdown of the season on a 34 yard run. Miller finished the game with 60 yards on six carries and one touchdown.
Special Returns
Bulldog A.J. Jefferson, the returning NCAA leader in kick returns, put together some outstanding returns against the Wolf Pack, including a 92-yard touchdown, his first of the season and third of his career. It was the seventh kick return for a touchdown in the Pat Hill era, and 36th special teams touchdowns in the last 12 years. He entered the game ranked No. 17 in the NCAA with a 27.8 average. He averaged 40.1 yards per return in the game.
Costly Turnovers
Two of Fresno Fresno State's four turnovers proved deadly in the game as Nevada capitalized with touchdowns on the ensuing possessions. The most hurtful was late in the third quarter when Fresno State, trailing 17-14, moved into Nevada territory and within field goal range but fumbled the ball. Nevada moved the ball 79 yards in six plays for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Wolf Pack held the Dogs on three plays on their next possession and then tacked on another score with a 2 play drive for 72 yards with 1:38 left in the quarter to take a 31-14 lead.
Notables
The Dogs fell to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the WAC ... the Dogs need one win in their final three games to become bowl eligible ... this was just the third November home loss in 24 games under Pat Hill ... the Bulldog defense held tough at the end of the first half as linebacker Ben Jacobs stopped Wolf Pack runner Vai Taua on the goal line to keep the score Nevada 17-7 ... Tom Brandstater had a 20-yard run in the game, his longest of the season. His previous long was 7 yards ... this was the only college football game scheduled for today ... Fresno State returns to national television for its final two games of the season, at San Jose State Nov. 21, and at Boise State on Nov. 28. Both are Friday games and televised live by ESPN2.
Postgame Quotes
Defensive end Chris Carter
"You have to have a very short memory; forget about the last plays, you can't do anything about it, so don't beat yourself up about it. Just learn from it and proceed to stop them the next time."
"We felt we knew what they were going to do and we just gave up some big plays. We made some adjustments to their game, but they definitely readjusted to our adjustments. "
"We're going to get together and take care of business. Our eyes are all set on New Mexico State. We're going to learn from Nevada. We're going to dominate New Mexico State because we can't have teams thinking they can just go out and beat us like that."
Tight end Bear Pascoe
"We made some critical mistakes at some critical times and turned the ball over a couple times. We just got beat by a better team tonight. "
"We have to put this behind us and focus on beating New Mexico State."
On his fumble:
"They got me before it happened. I fumbled it. It's all on me. I didn't secure the ball. It happens."
Head Coach Pat Hill
"First off, I have to give credit to Nevada. We got beat by a good football team tonight. The time of possession was critical tonight. They had the ball nearly 38 minutes tonight and we had it 22."
"We're not the same team we were in September. We need to find a way to make this team win in November."
"We're pretty banged up right now. We only had 62 guys in helmets tonight and we're allowed to send 64 to the hotel."
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The Dogs continue WAC play at Bulldog Stadium as they host New Mexico State at 2 p.m. on Senior Day. To purchase tickets, click on the tickets icon at the top of this page, call the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office.
