Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-Air Force Postgame Notes
Fresno State at Air Force
Falcon Stadium
Oct. 12, 2019
Pregame
• Team Captains: Jorge Reyna, Matt Smith, Mykal Walker and Juju Hughes.
• Air Force won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. It was the second time Fresno State received the opening kickoff this season
• Attendance: 22,544
GAME
• 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.
• Emoryie Edwards, who played in his first career game last time out and led the team the team in receptions (8) and yards (70) versus New Mexico State, surpassed that yardage total in the first quarter against Air Force with 73 yards.
• 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.
• Air Force outscored Fresno State 21-0 in the second half. Air Force scored on three of its four second half drives.
• Air Force ran 72 plays in comparison the Bulldogs’ 42 in the game.
• Cesar Silva made a 47-yard field goal to put Fresno State on top, 24-22, with six second left in the first half. It was Silva’s ninth make of the season and fourth make from 40 + yards this season.
• At the 13:07 mark in third quarter, Air Force was the first to punt the ball in the game as the ‘Dogs made the stop on 3rd-and-10. Fresno State went 3-and-out on its next drive, and punted for the first time – Cusick recorded a season-low 27-yard punt leaving Air Force with field position at its own 40-yard line that turned into a TD to give Air Force a 29-24 lead.
• With the score 29-24 in advantage of Air Force, the home team started a drive with 5:49 left in the third quarter and held possession the next 7:33 on a 13 play, 79-yard drive that put Air Force on top 36-24 with 13:16 left in the game.
• Fresno State surrendered an interception return for a touchdown for the first time since Nov. 11, 2017 (vs. Hawaii) when Air Force intercepted Jorge Reyna at the 24-yard line and returned it for the score. Reyna had 95 straight attempts before his last interception (vs. Minnesota on Sept. 14).
• 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.
• Nine different Bulldogs caught one of Reyna’s 20 completions.
• Justin Rice, with 13 tackles, has posted double-digit tackle games in four of the season’s first five games.
• Facing Air Force, Fresno State was the last FBS team to play a conference game in the 2019 season.
Career Firsts
• Redshirt freshman Alex Dumais made his first career start (at defensive end).
• True freshman Bula Schmidt made his first career start (at left guard).
• Free safety Wylan Free had a career-high 13 tackles.
• Linebacker Justin Rice had a career-high 13 tackles.
• Linebacker Arron Mosby, who set a career-high in tackles last time out with nine, matched that total vs. Air Force.
• Defensive end Alex Dumais, set a career high in tackles (7) and tackles for loss (2.0).
• Defensive end Alex Cruz set a career-high with seven tackles.
• Defensive end Isaiah Johnson set a career-high with five tackles.
• Tight end Cam Sutton recorded a career-best 42 yard receiving.
Falcon Stadium
Oct. 12, 2019
Pregame
• Team Captains: Jorge Reyna, Matt Smith, Mykal Walker and Juju Hughes.
• Air Force won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. It was the second time Fresno State received the opening kickoff this season
• Attendance: 22,544
GAME
• 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.
• Emoryie Edwards, who played in his first career game last time out and led the team the team in receptions (8) and yards (70) versus New Mexico State, surpassed that yardage total in the first quarter against Air Force with 73 yards.
• 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.
• Air Force outscored Fresno State 21-0 in the second half. Air Force scored on three of its four second half drives.
• Air Force ran 72 plays in comparison the Bulldogs’ 42 in the game.
• Cesar Silva made a 47-yard field goal to put Fresno State on top, 24-22, with six second left in the first half. It was Silva’s ninth make of the season and fourth make from 40 + yards this season.
• At the 13:07 mark in third quarter, Air Force was the first to punt the ball in the game as the ‘Dogs made the stop on 3rd-and-10. Fresno State went 3-and-out on its next drive, and punted for the first time – Cusick recorded a season-low 27-yard punt leaving Air Force with field position at its own 40-yard line that turned into a TD to give Air Force a 29-24 lead.
• With the score 29-24 in advantage of Air Force, the home team started a drive with 5:49 left in the third quarter and held possession the next 7:33 on a 13 play, 79-yard drive that put Air Force on top 36-24 with 13:16 left in the game.
• Fresno State surrendered an interception return for a touchdown for the first time since Nov. 11, 2017 (vs. Hawaii) when Air Force intercepted Jorge Reyna at the 24-yard line and returned it for the score. Reyna had 95 straight attempts before his last interception (vs. Minnesota on Sept. 14).
• 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.
• Nine different Bulldogs caught one of Reyna’s 20 completions.
• Justin Rice, with 13 tackles, has posted double-digit tackle games in four of the season’s first five games.
• Facing Air Force, Fresno State was the last FBS team to play a conference game in the 2019 season.
Career Firsts
• Redshirt freshman Alex Dumais made his first career start (at defensive end).
• True freshman Bula Schmidt made his first career start (at left guard).
• Free safety Wylan Free had a career-high 13 tackles.
• Linebacker Justin Rice had a career-high 13 tackles.
• Linebacker Arron Mosby, who set a career-high in tackles last time out with nine, matched that total vs. Air Force.
• Defensive end Alex Dumais, set a career high in tackles (7) and tackles for loss (2.0).
• Defensive end Alex Cruz set a career-high with seven tackles.
• Defensive end Isaiah Johnson set a career-high with five tackles.
• Tight end Cam Sutton recorded a career-best 42 yard receiving.