Fresno State pounds San Jose State, 41-14

The Valley Trophy is staying in Fresno for another year.

Fresno State used a stingy defense, and big plays on offense to come away with a 41-14 win over San Jose State late Saturday night in San Jose.

A defensive battle took over the first quarter in the contest, as the teams would trade punts before the Bulldogs ended the scoreless scrum with a Dylan Lynch 34-yard field goal to make it 3-0.

Fresno State ended the first quarter by Simeon Harris picking off Spartan quarterback Tama Amisone. The ensuing Bulldog drive would last until the second quarter, that’s when Lynch would add another field goal, this one from 41 yards, to make it 6-0 Fresno State.

The Bulldogs defense wasn’t done turning over the San Jose State offense either. On the very next drive the Bulldogs would once again pick off Amisone, this time it being Al’Zillion Hamilton.

On the next drive, the Fresno State offense would find pay dirt. On a run from the 2-yard line, Brandon Ramirez would cap the 37-yard drive with a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead.

After a San Jose State punt, it appeared as though the wheels might fall off the Bulldogs bus, as EJ Warner threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 13-7.

On the following drive, the Bulldogs would turn it over again. This time a fumble by Bryson Donelson gave San Jose State another shot to cut the lead, but their kicker, Denis Lynch, would miss a 43-yard attempt.

The Bulldogs would cash in after that, as Warner would find Josiah Freeman for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Fresno State would then convert a two-point conversion, and it would be 21-7 Fresno State heading to the half.

San Jose State would put Xavier Ward in at quarterback, but he wouldn’t fair any better than Amisone. After a Fresno State punt to open the second half, Ward would be intercepted by Ethan Tierney.

That turnover would lead to Lynch hitting his third field goal of the game, this one from 41 yards away, to give the Bulldogs a 24-7 lead.

Fresno State would make it more interesting in the fourth quarter, when Warner would fumble the ball, and San Jose State would cash in with a quick touchdown run to cut it to 24-14.

The Bulldogs would respond, however, with a 7-play, 75-yard drive, that ended with Elijah Gilliam taking the ball into the endzone on a seven-yard run to make it 31-14.

Jayden Davis would then pick off another Ward pass and set up Lynch’s fourth field goal to make it 34-14.

Ward then would once again be intercepted, this one Harris once again, and once again the Bulldogs would turn it into points.

This time Gilliam would score from 34 yards out to make it 41-14, and that’s how the contest ended.

Takeaways:

Not a total shocker that the defense would cause five turnovers, considering that Amisone was making his first start, and Ward seeing only his third game action of the season. The stingy defense just wore out the Spartans, and was exactly how the season has played out for the Bulldogs.

Speaking of how it has played out, the offense was typical Fresno State for this season.

Warner was efficient, going 15-for-20 for 138 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had one fumble on a rush, but an efficient night, nonetheless. The Bulldogs also finished with 259 yards on the ground. Gilliam led the way with 92 yards, and Ramirez added 47 yards. A very typical Fresno State victory in this one.

Up next:

Fresno State might have to wait just a little bit to find out where they will be going bowling. Although more and more projections have the Bulldogs going to the Arizona Bowl.

If that is the case, the Arizona Bowl has a tie in with the Mid-American Conference as an opponent to the Mountain West. So, one would expect a team that finished fourth or fifth in the standings to square off with Fresno State.

An announcement on the official destination will be provided at a later time.