DeBoer earns first win in Bulldogs' 38-17 victory over Colorado State

Thursday, October 29

Fresno, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

1-1 , 1-1

Colorado State

0-1 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Colorado State

Fresno State

Photo by: Cary Edmondson

DeBoer earns first win in Bulldogs' 38-17 victory over Colorado State

10/29/2020 11:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery (Cary Edmondson)Photo Gallery (Keith Kountz)Photo Gallery (Samuel Marshall)Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes Postgame Press Conference: Head Coach Kalen DeBoer Postgame Press Conference: DB Evan Williams Postgame Press Conference: QB Jake Haener Postgame Press Conference: RB Ronnie Rivers

By: Fresno State Athletic Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – Kalen DeBoer earned career win No. 1 as head coach at Fresno State on Thursday night behind an emphatic 38-17 thumping of Colorado State. The Bulldogs racked up 432 yards of offense with 164 of those, and three touchdowns, coming from senior Ronnie Rivers.

Jake Haener notched his first-career 300-yard passing game, throwing for 311 yards on 22-of-32 attempts, for three touchdowns with zero interceptions. The junior quarterback spread the ball around, connecting with seven different receivers on the night. Rivers and fellow senior Keric Wheatfall led the receivers with five receptions apiece with Wheatfall totaling a game-high 87 yards. Rivers also collected 95 yards on the ground, and eight punt return yards, to lead the team with 172 all-purpose yards.

Fresno State's defense allowed the Rams to register 381 yards offense, and limited their starting quarterback to 141 yards on 10-of-23 passing. Sophomore Evan Williams led the Bulldogs with eight tackles and redshirt freshman Bralyn Lux added six.

The Bulldogs' biggest swings in the five days since they played last came in two crucial areas, third downs and turnovers. Fresno State held the Rams to 4-of-15 on third downs versus Hawai'i going 11-of-17. The 'Dogs also protected the ball, not committing a turnover rather than four in the first outing.

How It Happened
For the second week in a row, Fresno State jumped out in front first. The Bulldogs worked the ball 86 yards on their opening drive, twice converting on third down. Haener went 4-of-4 on the possession, finishing it off with a 13-yard pass to Rivers in the back of the end zone.

Colorado State responded with 10 unanswered points over the next eight minutes to take a 10-7 lead with 13:57 on the clock in the second.

Ben Wooldridge then entered the contest at quarterback, a planned series entering the game, and opened with a 24-yard completion to Jalen Cropper. The drive resulted in a 34-yard field goal, tying the game 10-10, for Cesar Silva following what was first thought a 17-yard touchdown reception for Wheatfall. It was overturned after it was ruled he stepped out of bounds prior to the catch.

After forcing CSU to a three-and-out later in the second quarter, the Bulldogs quickly found themselves facing a fourth down decision near midfield. The 'Dogs opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 and Haener found Rivers for a gain of 14 yards. The senior back then finished the drive with a 32-yard burst down the sideline, breaking a pair of tackles on his way to the end zone to take a 17-10 advantage with 6:32 left in the first half.

With the half winding down, Fresno State doubled its lead with a 10-play, 91-yard drive. Backed up to his own two-yard line after a sack on the first play, Haener twice extended the drive on third down, first with a 34-yard completion to a diving Josh Kelly on third-and-10, and then on a 33-yard catch and run across the middle from Rivers on third-and-19. Haener finished the drive finding Mims in the flat where the back ran untouched down the left sideline for a 15-yard score.

The second half saw the Bulldog defense keep the Rams out the end zone until the final minute. Rivers and Cropper each added a touchdown during the final 30 minutes to give Fresno State the 38-17 win.

Notable

Kalen DeBoer earned his first win as head coach at Fresno State. DeBoer was hired on Dec. 19, 2019 as the 20th head coach in program history.
Fresno State won its first game against Colorado State since Oct. 6, 2012. The win closed the all-time deficit to 10-6 in favor of the Rams.
Fresno State earned its first victory since Nov. 2, 2019 at Hawai'i. The Bulldogs' 38 points in the win were the most points scored since their 41 points in the Hawai'i win.
The Bulldogs registered 432 yards offense in the game, with 307 yards of it coming in the first half. The 307 first half yards were the most in a first half since racking up 350 yards versus Hawai'i on Oct. 27, 2018. The 432 yards were the most total yards in a single game since recording 514 yards on Nov. 2, 2019 at Hawai'i.
Ronnie Rivers moved into solo fourth place in all-time career rushing touchdowns, adding two more versus Colorado State. With 31 career rushing touchdowns, he only trails Ryan Mathews (39), Robbie Rouse (37) and Anthony Daigle (35).
Jake Haener was 22-of-32 passing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Haener was 14-of-17 for 210 yards at the half. Two of the three incompletions were drops.

Quotable
Kalen DeBoer, Fresno State head coach
Opening Statement...
"I could not be more proud of these guys. Great team win, great response. I was not sure what we were going to get walking into the team meeting on Sunday, but it took me about a split second to realize what this team really wants and that they really want it bad. They have shown that. I knew we were hurting after last week's first week loss, but they came out on Monday with some energy and focus and I knew right then we had a chance to make a big step from week one to week two. I am proud of the coaches for some great adjustments throughout the game and the guys for executing it and think we rattled off five straight scores after being down 10-7. We never wavered, we didn't waver after the first week's loss and we didn't waver throughout the course of this game. Never flinched, just kept fighting, scratching and clawing and that is what we are priding ourselves on. Bulldog tough. Super proud of these guys and the staff, we got a locker room full of guys who are really fired up. We need to be able to carry this momentum and keep getting better. We still have a long ways to go, but you see glimpses of what we could become."

On quarterback Jake Haener's improvement...
"I think you step back from it after week one and it was easy to see what led to our demise last week. He was conscious of it all week long. He puts enough pressure on himself, but we also made sure he understood you got to get this done. He stayed in there and like the rest of the team, he never flinched, he never wavered, you got to get this done. He really stayed in there and stepped up in a great way this week. He stayed the course and got better and that is all we can ask is for him to do all he can to be the best he can be, proud of him."

Jake Haener, junior quarterback
On the emotions of the offense five days ago versus tonight…
"It's a big difference obviously. This game will test your mental stability and how mentally tough you are. I think it's how you bounce back from really tough games. My good buddy Jake Browning texted me, the UW quarterback, we're still really close, he texted me after that first game and gave me advice about what happens when you make turnovers and when things don't go your way and how you respond and how you want to handle the next game because quarterbacks aren't defined by one game. I think that being my first game was a rough one, a rough one for the team because we have such high expectations and we hold ourselves to a really high standard. But I think it's about how you respond and how you do the next game."

On celebrating Coach DeBoer's first win…
"I think whenever it's your first win as head coach somewhere I think it should be celebrated. I think Coach DeBoer and the rest of the staff has put a lot of effort into getting us to this point and keeping us together through Covid and making sure we're one unit and trying to keep things rolling in the same direction. I think that was a lot on his end and our end so I think that it was well deserved. It was a little chilly but I think he liked it."

Up Next
Fresno State faces its first road test of the season in nine days as the 'Dogs head to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on UNLV (0-1). Kickoff is slated 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please call 559-278-7160.

Follow us on:
Twitter: @FresnoStateFB
Instagram: Fresno_State_Football
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics