Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, October 22
Logan, Utah
7:30 p.m PT
Fresno State
1-7 , 0-4
20
at
38
Utah State
3-4 , 1-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Fresno State
7
7
3
3
20
Utah State
7
10
7
14
38
Photo by: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
‘Dogs drop 38-20 MW game at Utah State
10/23/2016 12:43:00 AM | Football
Fresno State hosts Air Force on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. for its Salute to Services game
LOGAN, Utah –The Fresno State football team held tight in the first half on the road at Utah State, trailing by three at the break, but the Aggies outscored the Bulldogs 21-6 in second half to produce the final deceit of 38-20 on Saturday night at Maverick Stadium. It was the 'Dogs seventh loss of the season, eliminating them from bowl game contention.
Chason Virgil finished the game completing 27-of-44 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. The redshirt freshman had a stretch of 14 consecutive completions that spanned from the second quarter into third. Dontel James added 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
After Utah State scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the game to take an early lead, the Bulldog defense held tough on the Aggies' next two drives before the Fresno State offense put together a 15-play drive which James finished off with a three-yard run to tie the game at 7-7. Midway through the second quarter, Austin Cheney gave the Aggies a 10-point lead as he blocked a Blake Cusick punt that was recovered in the end zone, to swing the games' momentum.
Fresno State battled through the special teams set back, trailing 17-7. Virgil orchestrated a 77-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard pass to Jared Rice to close out the first half. It was Rice's second touchdown and second reception of his career. Virgil went 8-of-8 on the drive that closed the half to pull the 'Dogs within three.
For the first of three second half touchdowns, the Aggies extended its lead to 24-14 to start the second half.
The Bulldogs countered with their longest drive of the season (18 plays) with their first possession in the third quarter, but the 'Dogs drive resulted in a 27-yard field goal, which put them within seven. USU would tack on two more touchdown scores that were only answered by an additional Bulldog field goal, albeit, it was a career-long 49-yard kick by Kody Kroening.
Quotables
Head coach Tim DeRuyter on the loss…
Our guys are right there. At some point, we're going to make those plays. We just have to keep chopping wood. Guys are crushed. You put everything you have to win a football game. To have it there in the second half. Going to the fourth quarter, we felt it was exactly what we wanted. It was a one score game… We have to continue to coach with detail and play with detail. There's too many little things that we aren't doing to win a football game on the road… Defensively, we have to tackle better… The bottom line is: we didn't make enough plays and they (Utah State) did.
Quarterback Chason Virgil on the progress the team is making…
"Obviously, with us losing, we don't feel like we played our best game. We know that we can play a lot better…. We're just trying to work through it. It's a long season for us, a tough season for us. We're just trying to work through it. Every week, we get better at something. So we just have to all put it together."
Notables
• Jamire Jordan became to first Bulldog to record 10 catches since Josh Harper did so in the Mountain West Championship game vs. Boise State in 2014; it bested a career-high of seven (vs. Sacramento State).
• Chason Virgil recorded a career-high of 27 completions.
• Kody Kroening set a career-long with a 49-yard field goal, increasing his nation-leading streak to 13 straight makes as he went 2-for-2 on the night.
• Fresno State owned a 33:30 to 26:30 advantage in time of possession
• Fresno State ran 14 more plays than Utah State (83-69).
• Utah State produced five chunk plays to Fresno State's two.
• The Bulldogs average yards per play was 3.8 vs. Utah State's 5.7.
• Fresno State was outscored in the second half 21-6.
• Fresno State has zero sacks for the fourth time this season.
• Stratton posted a team-high 13 tackles; he has registered double-digit tackles in four of the six games.
• Fresno State was 8-of-20 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs.
• The game vs. Utah State marked the second game for Fresno State this season that neither team manufactured a turnover.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2016 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling 559-278-3647. 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateFB
Instagram: Fresno_State_Football
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics
Chason Virgil finished the game completing 27-of-44 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. The redshirt freshman had a stretch of 14 consecutive completions that spanned from the second quarter into third. Dontel James added 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
After Utah State scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the game to take an early lead, the Bulldog defense held tough on the Aggies' next two drives before the Fresno State offense put together a 15-play drive which James finished off with a three-yard run to tie the game at 7-7. Midway through the second quarter, Austin Cheney gave the Aggies a 10-point lead as he blocked a Blake Cusick punt that was recovered in the end zone, to swing the games' momentum.
Fresno State battled through the special teams set back, trailing 17-7. Virgil orchestrated a 77-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard pass to Jared Rice to close out the first half. It was Rice's second touchdown and second reception of his career. Virgil went 8-of-8 on the drive that closed the half to pull the 'Dogs within three.
For the first of three second half touchdowns, the Aggies extended its lead to 24-14 to start the second half.
The Bulldogs countered with their longest drive of the season (18 plays) with their first possession in the third quarter, but the 'Dogs drive resulted in a 27-yard field goal, which put them within seven. USU would tack on two more touchdown scores that were only answered by an additional Bulldog field goal, albeit, it was a career-long 49-yard kick by Kody Kroening.
Quotables
Head coach Tim DeRuyter on the loss…
Our guys are right there. At some point, we're going to make those plays. We just have to keep chopping wood. Guys are crushed. You put everything you have to win a football game. To have it there in the second half. Going to the fourth quarter, we felt it was exactly what we wanted. It was a one score game… We have to continue to coach with detail and play with detail. There's too many little things that we aren't doing to win a football game on the road… Defensively, we have to tackle better… The bottom line is: we didn't make enough plays and they (Utah State) did.
Quarterback Chason Virgil on the progress the team is making…
"Obviously, with us losing, we don't feel like we played our best game. We know that we can play a lot better…. We're just trying to work through it. It's a long season for us, a tough season for us. We're just trying to work through it. Every week, we get better at something. So we just have to all put it together."
Notables
• Jamire Jordan became to first Bulldog to record 10 catches since Josh Harper did so in the Mountain West Championship game vs. Boise State in 2014; it bested a career-high of seven (vs. Sacramento State).
• Chason Virgil recorded a career-high of 27 completions.
• Kody Kroening set a career-long with a 49-yard field goal, increasing his nation-leading streak to 13 straight makes as he went 2-for-2 on the night.
• Fresno State owned a 33:30 to 26:30 advantage in time of possession
• Fresno State ran 14 more plays than Utah State (83-69).
• Utah State produced five chunk plays to Fresno State's two.
• The Bulldogs average yards per play was 3.8 vs. Utah State's 5.7.
• Fresno State was outscored in the second half 21-6.
• Fresno State has zero sacks for the fourth time this season.
• Stratton posted a team-high 13 tackles; he has registered double-digit tackles in four of the six games.
• Fresno State was 8-of-20 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs.
• The game vs. Utah State marked the second game for Fresno State this season that neither team manufactured a turnover.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – Mini plans and single-game tickets for the 2016 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling 559-278-3647. 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateFB
Instagram: Fresno_State_Football
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics
Team Stats
FS
USU
Total Yards
319
392
Pass Yards
205
188
Rushing Yards
114
204
Penalty Yards
80
40
1st Downs
23
24
3rd Downs
8
5
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
33:30
26:30
1st Quarter
FS 0, USU 7
USU - ROBERTS, B. 21 yd pass from MYERS, Kent (WARREN, Brock kick) 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:08
FS 7, USU 7
FS - JAMES, Dontel 3 yd run (KROENING, Kody kick), 15 plays, 86 yards, TOP 6:02
2nd Quarter
FS 7, USU 14
USU - CHENEY, Austin 0 yd blocked punt return (WARREN, Brock kick)
FS 7, USU 17
USU - WARREN, Brock 43 yd field goal 7 plays, 42 yards, TOP 1:39
FS 14, USU 17
FS - RICE, Jared 1 yd pass from VIRGIL, Chason (KROENING, Kody kick) 13 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:15
3rd Quarter
FS 14, USU 24
USU - HOUSTON, Wyatt 5 yd pass from MYERS, Kent (WARREN, Brock kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:10
FS 17, USU 24
FS - KROENING, Kody 27 yd field goal 18 plays, 65 yards, TOP 7:37
4th Quarter
FS 17, USU 31
USU - TARVER, R. 25 yd pass from MYERS, Kent (WARREN, Brock kick) 6 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:17
FS 20, USU 31
FS - KROENING, Kody 49 yd field goal 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:38
FS 20, USU 38
USU - HOBBS, Damion 4 yd run (WARREN, Brock kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:27
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
27
TD
1
YDS
205
INT
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
K
/ Football
TE
/ FootballQB
/ FootballFB Media Availability [9/16]: QB EJ Warner
Tuesday, September 16
FB Weekly Press Conference [9/15]
Monday, September 15
FB highlight vs Southern University [9/13/25]
Monday, September 15
Post-Game Press Conference [9/13]
Sunday, September 14