FRESNO - A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on Saturday night lifted Fresno State to a 34-20 win over Sacramento State at Bulldog Stadium for win No. 1 of 2019 in front of more than 30,000 fans. Senior running back Josh Hokit was key in the Bulldogs' late surge, totaling nine carries for 65 yards and a touchdown during the Bulldogs' final two possessions.

Fresno State totaled a season-high 471 yards of offense with 312 yards passing and 159 yards on the ground. Defensively, the 'Dogs held Sacramento State to 245 yards of offense with only 12 yards coming on the ground. The Bulldogs held a 30-14 advantage in first downs and were able to control the ball with nearly 38 minutes of possession on offense.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs through the air was senior quarterback Jorge Reyna who passed for a career-high 312 yards on 26-of-39 passing while throwing two touchdown passes. Hokit led the way on the ground with 12 carries for 72 yards and two rushing scores while adding three receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Zane Pope tallied career-highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (72) while junior wideout Keric Wheatfall went for a season-best 98 yards on three receptions.

Senior cornerback Jaron Bryant led the Bulldogs in tackles with eight, including six solo, and one tackle for loss along with one pass breakup. Junior linebacker Justin Rice added six stops, five solo, one tackle for loss and three pass breakups.

How It Happened
Fresno State opened up the scoring with its second drive of the game after starting from its own 7-yard line. Reyna found Pope for a 41-yard pass and catch over the middle to get the Bulldogs out of their own end. Five plays later, a 22-yard run from Rivers put the 'Dogs inside the red zone. On third down, Reyna connected with Hokit for a 14-yard touchdown to put Fresno State up 7-0 10 minutes into the game.

Sacramento State quickly answered back taking just 60 seconds off the clock. The Hornets opened with a 26-yard reception from Pierre Williams, and later, on a third-and-8 near midfield, Kevin Thomson found a streaking Marshel Martin down the middle for a 47-yard touchdown. Kevin Atkins blocked the PAT to maintain a 7-6 lead for the 'Dogs.

Midway through the second quarter, Reyna connected with Wheatfall on back-to-back plays for 23 and 46 yards to put Fresno State on the doorstep. Rivers slipped outside on the next play from eight yards out for the score to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 14-6. After forcing a three-and-out, the Bulldogs drove the ball down to the Sacramento State 32-yard line threatening to increase their lead, but turned the ball over as Pope had the ball ripped loose and Hornets' defender Isaiah Butler returned it 40 yards to the Fresno State 28-yard line. Five players later, Thomson found BJ Perkinson in the end zone from two yards out to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 14-12 heading into the half.

Following a Blake Cusick punt that pinned the Hornets at their own 1-yard line, Fresno State forced a three-and-out. After back-to-back misfires, Reyna scampered for a 14-yard run on third-and-10. After a fumble and a sack set the Bulldogs up for a third-and-24, Reyna found Wheatfall for a 29-yard catch to put the 'Dogs at the 2-yard line as the third quarter expired. Hokit would punch the ball in for the touchdown on the ensuing play to increase the 'Dogs lead to 20-12.

Sacramento State answered with a 36-yard play to start its next possession. Six plays later, Thomson found Bailey in the end zone from 18 yards out. Perkinson rushed in the two-point conversion to knot the game up at 20-20. The Bulldogs followed by putting the ball into Hokit's hands. On the team's 11-play drive to retake the lead, the senior rushed five times for 36 yards and three first downs. Reyna capped the drive by finding Derrion Grim in the corner of the end zone as the 'Dogs took a 27-20 lead with 6:41 remaining in the game.

Fresno State's defense stood tall again, forcing a three-and-out. The Bulldogs' offense returned to the field and again turned to Hokit. The back carried the ball four times on the five-play possession, accounting for 29 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown run to seal the game with 2:10 left as the 'Dogs took a 34-20 advantage.

Notable

• The Bulldogs improve to 12-2 at home in the Tedford era.
• The Bulldogs all-time series lead against Sacramento State increased to 4-0, following the win. But it was the first time in the series the Bulldogs allowed more than seven points in a game.
• This was the ninth time in the Tedford era an opponent was held to less than 100 yards rushing.
• Against the odds - Fresno State won the turnover battle and lost games against USC and Minnesota, but lost the turnover battle to Sacramento State and won the game (2-1).
• When Fresno State scores first, the Bulldogs are 20-1 under Jeff Tedford.

Quotable
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
Opening statement...
"It was a win. There is a lot of work to do. There are a lot of mistakes that we need to clean up. We have a lot of respect for Sacramento State, I want to give them a lot of credit because they are a really good football team. They do a lot of really good things on offense and their defense is very stingy, they have proven it throughout the year. They have a great pressure package and they are tough against the run. We had three fumbles, two missed field goals, a missed extra point, and some key penalties, and we have to clean some stuff up. We are fortunate to win the game tonight. It always feels good to win, don't get me wrong because it is hard to win. I was proud of our team and their resiliency because in the third quarter, there wasn't a lot going on offensively. I want to point out Blake Cusick. What a weapon he is. Field position in the third quarter, especially, we really had them backed up down there and Blake did a nice job at keeping them pinned in there, and the defense did a nice job at keeping them down there. We just kept playing. Nobody gave anything away. We found a way to win. That is really important. Like I said, I have a lot of respect for Sacramento State. I think they are going to go a long way this year."

On the defense...
"I thought they stepped up because last game out, we gave up some big plays. It is nice to get off the field. Sacramento State was 4-of-14 on third-down conversions. I thought we came up and made some big plays and some plays in the secondary. Early in the game, we gave up some big plays which we can't allow to happen, but I thought we had them backed up in the second half. It was nice to keep them back there. We got our hands up and batted some balls down in key situations. As always, the guys played hard."

On the play he remembers the most...
"There are a lot of plays in a game, but the one that sticks out to me the most right now is Blake (Cusick) punting it down to the one-yard line. That might not be very sexy, but it is very effective. Being out past midfield and putting it at the one-yard line, that is huge. That sticks out the most in my mind right now. I thought that was big. To keep them backed up at that time helped us to keep some momentum defensively"

Up Next
Fresno State will hit the road next weekend for the first time since the season opener when the team travels to Las Cruces, N.M. to face New Mexico State. Kickoff against the Aggies is slated for 6 p.m. PT.

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