GAME DAY BLOG: Fresno State overwhelms Hawaii
8:27 p.m.
Fresno State dominated all phases in a 50-20 rout of Hawaii tonight at Bulldog Stadium.
Here’s the recap of the Warriors’ third consecutive loss.
8:20 p.m.
Jeremy Moussa, in his UH debut, throws a 27-yard scoring pass to Devan Stubblefield with 1:43 to play. Fresno State leads 50-20.
7:53 p.m.
Jeremy Moussa makes his UH debut at quarterback on the Warriors’ first drive of the fourth quarter.
7:20 p.m.
The Bulldogs’ parlayed Cole McDonald’s interception — only the fourth he’s thrown this season — into a 16-yard scoring drive. Backup wideout Derrion Grim caps the possession with a 6-yard catch. It’s 47-13 with 8:45 to play.
7:15 p.m.
Fresno State picks up where it left off, adding three more points on Asa Fuller’s 32-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. FS leads, 40-13, with 9:49 to play in the third quarter.
6:45 p.m.
Hawaii’s nightmarish first half comes to a stunning conclusion when Fresno State’s Jamire Jordan catches a failed field-goal attempt in the end zone and sprints 100-plus yards the other way for a touchdown as time expires.
Ryan Meskell was setting up for a 53-yard field-goal attempt when the Bulldogs called timeout because they did not have enough players on defense. The Bulldogs then assigned Jordan to wait a few yards in front of the crossbars in case the FG attempt fell short. The kick was short, and Jordan went long for a 37-13 lead.
6:35 p.m.
The Bulldogs extend their lead to 30-13 on McMaryion’s 21 scoring pass to Jordan Mims with 58 seconds left in the first half.
6:30 p.m.
Ryan Meskell’s second field goal, this time from 28 yards, closes UH to 24-13 with4:35 left in the first half.
6:15 p.m.
The Warriors are successful on a goal-line stand, but the Bulldogs come away with Asa Fuller’s 22-yard field goal with 8:57 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs lead 24-10.
6 p.m.
Rivers runs deep — Ronnie Rivers goes 76 yards a rush through the left side for a 21-10 Fresno State lead with 14:11 in the first half.
5:56 p.m.
And just like that, the Warriors close to 14-10 on Cole McDonald’s 50-yard scoring pass to JoJo Ward.
Slotback John Ursua broke one way, slotback Cedric Byrd broke another way, and Ward ran a go pattern.
5:50 p.m.
After playing power ball — two- and three-tight end formations — Marcus McMaryion teamed with Jamir Jordan on a 49-yard scoring play for a 14-3 Fresno State lead with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs had taken over following a UH mistake. Cole McDonald gained a first down on a keeper, but the play was voided because of a false-start penalty. The Warriors were forced to put, leading to that five-play scoring drive.
5:35 p.m.
After a 29-minute delay because of a malfunctioned bank of lights, play has resumed.
5:10 p.m.
At 8:01 p.m. Pacific time, a bank of lights went out at Bulldog Stadium, forcing stoppage of the game with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
The teams went to the locker room while the lights were being repaired.
In last year’s meeting between the teams, lightning forced a 41-minute delay at Aloha Stadium.
4:50 p.m.
The Warriors open the scoring with Ryan Meskell’s 43-yard field goal.
It was only the second time this season an opponent has scored on the opening drive against Fresno State.
It’s 3-0 with 10:26 left in the first quarter.
Pregame
FRESNO, Calif. >> Welcome to the land of the raisin sun.
This is the 51st meeting between Hawaii and Fresno State. The Bulldogs hold the edge overall, 27-22-1, and with both teams as Mountain West members, 5-1.
Here’s a quick primer on the Bulldogs:
> The Bulldogs are allowing 12.6 points per game (fewest among FBS schools), and 4.3 points per game to MW opponents.
> The Bulldogs have not committed a turnover in 10 consecutive quarters.
> Marcus McMaryion is 15-2 as Fresno’s starting quarterback.
> In Jeff Tedford’s two seasons as FS head coach, the Bulldogs are 13-1 when they score first, and 16-1 when they lead at the half.