Triple-option offense too much for 'Dogs in Colorado

Saturday, October 12

USAF Academy, CO

4:00 PM PT

Fresno State

2-3 , 0-1

Air Force

4-2 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Fresno State

Air Force

Triple-option offense too much for 'Dogs in Colorado

10/12/2019 8:01:00 PM | Football

Box Score Jeff Tedford Postgame Press Conference Mykal Walker Postgame Press Conference Jorge Reyna Postgame Press Conference Fresno State-Air Force Postgame Quotes Fresno State-Air Force Postgame Notes Photo Gallery

By: Fresno State Athletic Communications

USAFA, Colo. – The Fresno State football team led Air Force in its Mountain West conference opener 24-22 at halftime, but fell 43-24 Saturday night at Falcon Stadium as the home team scored 21 unanswered in the second half.

With 69 rushing attempts, Air Force held a 340-59 advantage on the ground to control the clock as the Falcons held the ball for more than 39 minutes. In the second half, AFA held possession for 24:25 to the Bulldogs' 5:35.

After starting the game 13-of-13 passing, and 17-of-18 at the break, Jorge Reyna finished the game 20-of-27 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Emoryie Edwards led the 'Dogs with a season-high 73 yards on four receptions - all in the first half. Defensively, Wylan Free and Justin Rice led Fresno State with 13 tackles each while Mykal Walker (11) and Juju Hughes (10) both finished in double figures as well.

How It Happened
Following the game's opening kickoff, Fresno State proceeded to quickly march down the field with the assistance of a 29-yard reception from Cam Sutton and an Edwards' 39-yard catch and run that set the Bulldogs up inside the 5-yard line. Two plays later, the 'Dogs took a 7-0 lead when Reyna connected with Derrion Grim from four yards out.

It took the Falcons just three plays to level the game as DJ Hammond III connected with Ben Waters over the top on a flea flicker - a 53-yard score.

Fresno State answered, moving the ball to the tune of a 12-play drive, 75-yard drive. The drive was capped when Renya connected with Edwards for his first career TD for a seven-yard score to make it a 14-7 game with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. The offensive fireworks did not slow down as Air Force answered, scoring on a 14-play drive using 14 consecutive carries that ate up over seven minutes to bring the game to 14-14 with 11:48 left in the second quarter.

The 'Dogs regained the lead, 21-14, moving the ball 73 yards in just over two minutes. Ronnie Rivers capped the drive with a 26-yard touchdown run as the back slipped outside and ran free down the Fresno State sideline on a third-and-2.

In the back and forth first half, the Falcons had an answer with a six-and-a-half minute drive that Hammond III finished off with a three-yard run on fourth-and-inches. The quarterback converted on the two-point try with a rush to give the Falcons their first lead of the game, 22-21, with 2:55 on the clock.

Air Force attempted an onside kick following the score, but the ball trickled out of bounds. With the 'Dogs starting at the Falcons' 40-yard line, Cesar Silva would trot on to the field just before the end of the half and drill a 47-yard field goal to give Fresno State a 24-22 lead at the half.

The Bulldogs forced the first punt of the game on Air Force's first drive of the half but the second punt of the night came after the 'Dogs were held to a three-and-out. The Falcons scored 21 unanswered points throughout the remainder of the game, as the home team ran away with a 43-24 win. AFA's ground game would eat up the final 11-plus minutes of the game on its last drive.

Quotable
Coach Tedford, Fresno State head coach
Opening statement…
"We have to give Air Force a lot of credit, they pretty much dominated us. We couldn't get off the field defensively. The first half, we hung in there. The second half, we couldn't get off the field or sustain drives on offense. They used a lot of clock in the second half. We have to give them credit, they did a phenomenal job and executed really well. We couldn't stop them all night."

Mykal Walker, senior linebacker
On conference…
"We need to look at ourselves before we start looking at anything else. It was embarrassing. The way we played tonight was not good and it is not the way that we play football here. Our goals are still ahead of us. We were all talking in the locker room, we know we need to keep our heads up and stay together. We are going to make a run for this thing."

Jorge Reyna, senior quarterback
Looking ahead…
"We aren't worried about the next seven games, we are worried about the next one. Right when we get on the plane, our focus is on UNLV. We will watch tape, dissect them and be ready for Friday."

Notable

Fresno State opened the first quarter with two touchdowns. It was the first time since Oct. 27, 2018 vs. Hawaii that the Bulldogs scored two TDs in the opening quarter.
Fresno State was 3-of-3 on third downs in the first quarter; the Bulldogs would go 1-of-5 over the next three quarters.
Jorge Reyna started the game completing his first 13 passes – his streak would end with a pass deflection in the second quarter with 10:09 remaining on the clock. Reyna finished the half 17-of-18.
Fresno State led the time of possession battle in the first quarter – 9:52 to 5:08 – the Bulldogs' possessed the ball a total of 10:39 throughout the remainder of the game and held possession just 5:35 in the second half.
Both teams scored on every one of their drives in the first half. The Bulldogs scored three TDs and a FG on their four drives while Air Force scored touchdowns on each of its three drives.
Fresno State gave up a season-high 43 points. It was the first time the Bulldogs surrendered 40-plus points since allowing 48 to Washington on Sept. 16, 2017.
The loss to Air Force was Fresno State's first double-digit loss since falling by 10 points to UNLV 26-16 on Oct. 28, 2017.
Fresno State dropped to 20-2 under Jeff Tedford when scoring first.
Fresno State did not force a turnover in a game for the first time since Nov. 17, 2018 against San Diego State.
Facing Air Force, Fresno State was the last FBS team to play a conference game in the 2019 season.

Up Next
Fresno State will return to home next week for its first game at Bulldog Stadium in nearly month as the 'Dogs host UNLV on Friday. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. PT and will broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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