Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawai'i
Dogs Drop WAC Game to Warriors
10/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 9, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -
In one of the WAC's most bitter rivalries, the home team has struggled gaining an advantage. Hawaii defeated Fresno State 49-27 on Saturday night getting revenge for the Dogs' 42-17 win last season at Aloha Stadium. The visiting team has won the last three games in the series which began in 1938.
Bryant Moniz, the nation's leader in passing and total offense, threw for 376 yards as Hawaii racked up 472 yards of offense to lead the Warrior attack.
Fresno State (3-2, 1-1) got 211 yards and two touchdowns passing from Ryan Colburn, who was intercepted three times and sacked three times.
Fresno State held a brief lead 10-7 in the first half after converting a Desia Dunn interception into a Ryan Colburn to Jalen Saunders 50-yard touchdown. UH answered with 20 seconds remaining in the half to take a 14-10 lead to the locker room.
The Dogs were outscored 35-17 in the second half in front of a season-high attendance of 38,494.
Fresno State is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and next week's contest, which has been designated as Homecoming and Centennial Weekend on campus, will feature the Bulldogs against WAC foe New Mexico State.
Fresno State's top performers in the game included Rashad Evans who had six receptions for 66 yards, while Jamel Hamler had three catches for 65 yards. Michael Harris and Colburn each scored on touchdown runs.
On the defense, junior tackle Logan Harrell continues to be one of the nation's best in generating quarterback sacks. He added two more against Hawaii and has seven on the season. He ranked No. 3 in the nation in sacks heading into the weekend. Ben Jacobs, Dunn and Travis Brown all made six tackles in the game.
POSTGAME NOTES AND QUOTES
Head Coach Pat Hill:""We got outplayed tonight. It was a hard played football game, but we have to get back to work and be ready to play next week. We had a great crowd tonight and I hope they continue to support us. I can't really explain it. We just got outplayed. Hawaii is a very good offensive team, no doubt about it. They hit some big plays against us. The shuttle pass before halftime was a really big play. "
"This is one loss. It's a tough loss. We have no room for error now. We can still accomplish our goals and win the WAC but there is zero tolerance. We have a great group of senior leaders who I know will bounce back from this. We need to rebound the next couple of weeks and make sure when we get to November we are still in position to make a run."
BULLDOG NOTES
- Senior cornerback Desia Dunn has played some of his best games against the Warriors. In 2009, he was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week with nine tackles, two pass break-ups and forcing a fumble in Fresno State's 42-17 victory at Aloha Stadium. Late in the first half of Saturday night's he made his second career interception that the Dogs turned into a touchdown to take a 10-7 lead.
- Hawaii's win evened the all-time series 21-21-1 between the two rivals.
- Freshman receiver Jalen Saunders made the longest reception of his young career, a 50-yard catch from quarterback Ryan Colburn for Fresno State's first touchdown against the Warriors. It was his second touchdown of the season. His first was at Ole Miss.
- Junior kicker Kevin Goessling made two field goals in the game and has made 28-of-his last 32 attempts, including a school record streak of 18 in a row. For his career, Goessling has made 36-of-45 attempts. (.800). He also extended his streak of consecutive PATs to 109, the Fresno State record.
- Victor Perez, the Fresno man whose choice to get involved led to the release of an 8-year-old girl from her abductor, was honored during Saturday night's football game. Perez told Fresno Police he was watching television news on Tuesday morning (Oct. 5), when he saw the Amber Alert for the child and recognized the truck used in her kidnapping. He pursued the truck in his own pickup and succeeded in confronting the kidnapper, who pushed the girl out. Perez stayed with the child and called 9-1-1, leading to the apprehension of a suspect a short time later.
- Next week's game vs. New Mexico State has been moved to 7:30 p.m. to accommodate national television on ESPNU.
"We Are Your Team!" Fresno State will celebrates is 100th year with Centennial Weekend on campus Oct. 16 when the Dogs host New Mexico State at 7:30 p.m. Festivities on campus that day include a parade through the Fresno State campus and massive pregame tailgating activities. Because of the parade, tailgate lots will open at 3 p.m. next Saturday for fans to enjoy the Tailgate of the Century activities on campus. For tickets to the game, click the tickets icon at the top of this page.
