Fresno State defeated Sacramento State 46-30 in its home opener Saturday at Valley Children’s Stadium. The Red Wave witnessed a back-and-forth battle, but the Bulldogs secured a much-needed rebound victory after last week’s loss to Michigan. The win marked interim head coach Tim Skipper’s first home victory in the role.

“It feels great. Getting the first win in the stadium makes it special. The end result is what we wanted, that’s all that really matters,” Skipper told GV Wire at the post-game press conference.

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Explosive Start and Offensive Standouts

The Bulldogs wasted no time in making a statement off the bat on the first play of the game with a 75-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Mikey Keene to senior wide receiver Mac Dalena within the first ten seconds of the first quarter.

This game served as a highlight reel for offensive standouts Dalena, sophomore wide receiver Jalen Moss, and senior running back Malik Sherrod to put their playmaking abilities front and center.

Dalena shined with 7 receptions for 235 yards. “I’m just doing my job. I was put in a position this week to win on the deep ball. Being a deep ball threat is the biggest key to how I play,” said Dalena.

Moss had six catches for 76 yards but made the biggest impact on special teams, where he had 4 returns for 88 yards. He made a blunder early in the first quarter, fumbling a punt return on their own 19-yard line. Moss redeemed himself in the same quarter by taking one to the house 85 yards on his next return opportunity with 8:12 on the clock.

Sherrod had 22 carries for just 54 yards, but he was best utilized in goal line situations, as he scored two touchdowns.

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Quarterback Performance and Offensive Challenges

Keene completed 24 of 35 passes for 358 yards, throwing two touchdowns but also two interceptions that could have shifted the game’s momentum. While his performance looked solid on paper, it fell short of being commendable.

Even though the offense put up 46 points and totaled 513 yards, that “explosiveness” that the coaches and players talked about throughout spring and fall camp wasn’t consistent throughout the game. The Hornets came to play, and the Bulldogs offense had quite a few three and outs and missed opportunities to put more points on the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs had an opportunity to extend the lead with more than a minute left to close out the first half. Instead, they elected to let the quarter run down and not make an attempt for a two-minute offense.

The Bulldogs’ offensive play-calling lacked creativity until late in the second half. They stretched the field with deep passes to Dalena in the third quarter. On a fourth-down gamble, Keene, under center, surprised the defense by targeting linebacker Tyler Mello, who lined up as a fullback on a play-action fake and caught an out route in the end zone with 3:32 left in the third quarter. The score was 32-17.

After another long ball to Dalena in the fourth quarter set the Bulldogs up in the red zone, backup quarterback sophomore Joshua Wood took the ball on a QB option for the go-ahead score. The Bulldogs led 46-23 with 8:06 left in the fourth quarter.

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Defensive Highlights and Pressure

It’s the defense that really shined during the bout. The team may have lost to Michigan because of the lack of offensive production, but the defense really held their own. That confidence carried over when they went face-to-face with the Hornets.

Senior quarterback Kaiden Bennett and redshirt freshman Carson Conklin rotated throughout the game, but both faced constant pressure. The Bulldogs’ defense forced them to scramble out of the pocket, extend plays, and throw on the run.

There were quite a few defensive highlights that excited the crowd and changed the flow of the game to their favor.

Senior safety Dean Clark came in on a blindside blitz to knock out Bennett for a third and out in the first quarter.

The defense stopped the Hornets on a fourth down attempt when Nomura stuffed the middle gap and made the tackle with 8:58 left in the second quarter.

Fresno State got its second takeaway of the night off a forced fumble by senior safety Kosi Agina and the pickup by senior cornerback Cam Lockridge at the Fresno State seven-yard line with 2:01 left in the first half. It’s Lockridge’s second takeaway in two consecutive weeks.

After a turnover by Keene the defense responded just two plays later as senior safety Camryn Bracha picked off Bennett in the end zone preventing the score from being closer near the end of the first half.

Late Game Challenges and Final Score

The defense did let the foot off the gas pedal later in the game. They said it all week and they knew that the Hornets were going to spread them out and get them in one-on-one matchups. That’s what they did.

The Hornets scored on their first possession of the second half to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 25-17 less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Conklin was responsible for the Hornets’ two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, tightening the score. He threw a three-yard scoring pass to senior tight end Austin Jarrard but the two-point conversion failed with 11:43 on the game clock. The score was 46-23.

Then Conklin delivered a shot down the middle of the field to senior wide receiver Anderson Grover with 6:51 left in the game with the score being 46-30. At that point, the game was out of reach, and time expired.

The Bulldogs got the fifth victory in the series. After the game athletic director Garrett Klassy awarded Skipper the game ball.

Next up is another contest at home against New Mexico State on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7:30 p.m.

Post Game Press Conference – Tim Skipper

Post Game Press Conference – Mac Dalena

Post Game Press Conference – Camryn Bracha