Fresno State football players celebrate after beating San Diego State on Oct. 29, 2022.
Fresno State Athletics
The Fresno State Bulldogs turned their season around Saturday night in exactly 13 seconds.
That’s how long it took for Jordan Mims to score a touchdown on a 3-yard run, the Bulldogs to recover an onside kick and for Jake Haener to find Nikko Remigio on a 37-yard touchdown pass. The whirlwind 13 seconds, which started with just 69 seconds to play, allowed the Bulldogs to wipe out a 28-17 deficit and turn it into a 32-28 victory over the stunned San Diego Aztecs on Saturday.
“I told a couple guys in the fourth quarter, ‘This is what great memories are made of,’” said Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford, whose Bulldogs are now ranked No. 5 in the Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings. “I didn’t expect it to be quite like that. But this is a game the kids won’t forget for the rest of their lives.”
The No. 6 Aztecs, who led 28-10 late in the third quarter, also likely won’t forget it. Fresno State, now 4-4, 3-1, scored 22 unanswered points (the last 15 in a span of 13 seconds) to win its third game in a row and remain in the race for the West Division title.
“Obviously, we didn’t finish the game on defense, on offense and in the kicking game,” Aztecs coach Brady Hoke said. “This one stings.”
Haener, playing for the first time since injuring his ankle against USC on Sept. 17, completed 34-of-45 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Haener, though, pulled out the victory despite suffering seven sacks and being intercepted twice.
“Oh, man, that was crazy,” the Bulldogs quarterback said. “I don’t even know what to say. This (football) is a game that tests you in every way possible. That’s why I love it. This is why you play, right?”
Tedford brought out all the coaching clichés after the game.
“To just keep keeping on, and the players believing,” he said. “All the things you preach. Just keep plugging along.”
“It’s all about belief,” said Fresno State receiver Zane Pope, whose 8-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the third quarter started the Bulldogs' game-winning run. “The coaches showed us a video of (New England Patriots wide receiver) Julian Edelman when they played the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl (a 34-28 New England win five years ago after trailing 28-3). On the sideline we were all yelling to keep believing the whole time.”
San Diego State, despite the loss, also remains in the West Division race at 4-4, 2-2. Aztec quarterback Jaylen Mayden completed 19-of-24 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns and also scored twice on the ground.
“Defensively, the last two drives, they just kind of picked us apart a little bit with an empty set (no running backs) and five wide receivers,” Hoke said.
No. 1 Boise State (6-2, 5-0) didn’t need any last-second heroics to beat No. 9 Colorado State, 49-10. The Broncos outgained the Rams, 514-170, holding Colorado State to just three yards rushing on 20 carries. Boise running back George Holani had 108 yards on 21 carries and scored on three 1-yard runs. Boise State quarterback Taylen Green was 24-of-30 for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
“We can all see how he’s grown a tremendous amount,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said of Green. “Tonight he was in a zone. You could see it in his eyes. His ability to extend plays when the pocket breaks down, that’s a huge factor.”
Colorado State, which was 1-of-12 on third down, scored on a 76-yard pass from Clay Millen to Justus Ross-Simmons.
“This game gives us a measuring stick as a program of what we need to do and where we need to go,” said Colorado State coach Jay Norvell, whose Rams fell to 2-6, 2-2.
No. 2 Wyoming (6-3, 4-1), No. 3 Air Force (5-3, 2-3), No. 7 UNLV (4-4, 2-2), No. 8 Utah State (3-5, 2-2) and No. 12 New Mexico (2-6, 0-4) were all idle last week.
No. 4 San Jose State (5-2, 3-1) recovered from a 21-7 third-quarter deficit to outlast No. 11 Nevada (2-7, 0-5), 35-28. It was an emotional evening for the Spartans from start to finish. The Spartans honored freshman Camdan McWright, who died two weeks ago in an accident on campus, in a ceremony before the game.
“What a game,” Spartans coach Brent Brennan said. “My goodness, what an incredible night. Really, really special. We told the guys all week that how we played was the way we were going to honor Camdan. I love this team. I love how they play for each other.”
San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro completed a career-high 33 passes and passed for 340 yards and two touchdowns. The Spartans also sacked Nevada quarterback Shane Illingworth nine times, the second-most sacks in an FBS game this season and the most for San Jose State since it had 13 against Pacific in 1981.
“Was that not the most exciting game of the year?” Brennan asked. “We took a huge step, just finding a way to get it done.”
San Jose State trailed 28-21 before scoring twice on touchdown runs of two and five yards by Kairee Robinson in the final 6:29. Nevada led 14-7 at halftime after sacking Cordeiro five times.
“You don’t want to be third-and-bad,” Brennan said. “That’s where we were in the first half. We fixed that in the second half with a good running game and quick throws.”
The Spartans scored touchdowns on all four of their second-half drives.
“What is this with this team (Nevada),” Brennan said. “It’s always like this against them. A year ago (a 27-24 Nevada win on a last-second field goal by Brandon Talton), that was a crazy game.
“And this year here we were again and it came down to the last drive again. It’s always like that with them. I don’t know why.”
Two Mountain West teams (No. 2 Wyoming and No. 11 Nevada) are idle this week, while Boise State (hosting BYU) and Air Force (at Army) are playing non-league games.
There are just four conference games this week for the second week in a row: Colorado State at San Jose State, Hawaii at Fresno State, UNLV at San Diego State and New Mexico at Utah State.
The Nevada Appeal’s Mountain West football rankings for the week of Oct. 31:
1. BOISE STATE (6-2, 5-0). Last week: Boise State 49, Colorado State 10. This week: BYU at Boise State, Saturday.
2. WYOMING (6-3, 4-1). Last week: Wyoming 27, Hawaii 20. This week: Idle.
3. AIR FORCE (5-3, 2-3). Last week: Idle. This week: Air Force at Army, Saturday.
4. SAN JOSE STATE (5-2, 3-1). Last week: San Jose State 35, Nevada 28. This week: Colorado State at San Jose State, Saturday.
5. FRESNO STATE (4-4, 3-1). Last week: Fresno State 32, San Diego State 28. This week: Hawaii at Fresno State, Saturday.
6. SAN DIEGO STATE (4-4, 2-2). Last week: Fresno State 32, San Diego State 28. This week: UNLV at San Diego State, Saturday.
7. UNLV (4-4, 2-2). Last week: Idle. This week: UNLV at San Diego State, Saturday.
8. UTAH STATE (3-5, 2-2). Last week: Idle. This week: New Mexico at Utah State, Saturday.
9. COLORADO STATE (2-6, 2-2). Last week: Boise State 49, Colorado State 10. This week: Colorado State at San Jose State, Saturday.
10. HAWAII (2-7, 1-3). Last week: Wyoming 27, Hawaii 20. This week: Hawaii at Fresno State, Saturday.
11. NEVADA (2-7, 0-5). Last week: San Jose State 35, Nevada 28. This week: Idle.
12. NEW MEXICO (2-6, 0-4). Last week: Idle. This week: New Mexico at Utah State, Saturday.