The rivalry between Fresno State and Hawaii continued today at Bulldog Stadium in a Mountain West Conference football game in which the Bulldogs unleashed a 45-10 whipping on the Warriors.

Hawaii fell to 1-7 for the season and 0-5 in the MWC play. Fresno State is 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the MWC. After building a 39-point lead in the first half, the Bulldogs pulled a lot of their starters at the beginning of the second half on both sides of the football.

It slowed them down a bit, but the Bulldogs did manage to score the first points of the second half on a 32-yard field goal by Quentin Breshears to make it 45-3 Fresno State with 6:51 left in the third quarter.

Backup UH quarterback Cayman Shutter came in for a battered and bruised Sean Schroeder early in the fourth quarter against mostly Bulldogs backups and didn’t distinguish himself. Schroeder struggled mightily before being lifted as Fresno State dominated in every phase of the game.

Jeremy Higgins also got some playing time under center for the Warriors. He completed three quick passes and led Hawaii down to the Fresno State 25. The Utah State transfer who graduated from Saint Louis School tried a long ball, but missed to stop his streak at three. UH running back John Lister took a third-and-4 handoff and drove to the Fresno State 5.

Higgins scored on the next play off a fake to Lister with 3:06 left in the game. Tyler Hadden added the PAT to make it 45-10.

The Bulldogs scored early and often out of its version of the run-and-shoot. Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Evans and Breshears added the PAT to make it 7-0 at the 9:31 mark of the first. Carr converted a third and 11 by hitting Isaiah Burse for a 56-yard gain to set up the first-and-goal score.

Carr played only the first half, completing 15 of 23 for 304 yards and four touchdowns. 

Schroeder threw for no touchdowns and only 167 yards. He was hit and fumbled on the offensive series following Fresno’s first score. Fresno State’s Nikko Motta recovered it, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position in UH territory. On the first play, Carr threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Root off the flea-flicker, giving the Bulldogs a 14-0 advantage with 8:01 left in the first quarter after Breshears added the PAT.

Another three and out by UH and a shanked punt gave Fresno State the ball at the UH 40. It didn’t take Carr long to drive the Bulldogs into scoring position once again. The Bulldogs scored on a 1-yard run by backup quarterback Greg Watson, Breshears’ PAT making it 21-0 with 3:14 left in the first.

Fullback Robbie Rouse got into the act for Fresno State. After being held up on a fourth-and-3 play early in the first, he made up for it on a third and 1 by going 51 yards for the touchdown straight up the middle of the field. Breshears added the PAT to make it 28-0 Fresno State with 13:56 left in the half.

Hawaii finally put together a nice drive, setting up a 48-yard field goal by Hadden that just cleared the bar after Shutter originally dropped the snap, making the score 28-3 with 7:03 left in the half.

Fresno State wasted little time building an even bigger lead. The Bulldogs scored on the ensuing offensive series, going 73 yards on nine plays. The last one was a 45-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Davante Adams, and Breshears added the PAT to make it 35-3 with 3:17 left in the half.

The Bulldogs had a nice two-minute drill to put another score on the board. This time, it was a 31-yard touchdown pass from Carr to Burse that culminated a nine-play, 84-yard drive. Breshears added the PAT to make it 42-3 with 12 seconds left in the half.