Matt Entz got his first victory as Fresno State football coach. He called it exciting.

The Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive lines showed cohesion after getting pushed around in a season-opening loss at Kansas.

And, Red Wavers who like to bet on their favorite team are smiling after the Bulldogs’ 42-14 victory over Georgia Southern.

“It feels really good. I’m going to go home, see my dog a little bit. Watch a game. Probably fall asleep watching TV,” Entz said after the game.

The stars of the show on a night the temperature gauge registered 100 degrees at kickoff in Valley Children’s Hospital Stadium?

The Thunder (Bryson Donelson) and Lightning (Rayshon Luke) tailback combination that produced 263 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Donelson credited his offensive line.

“I owe them a steak dinner,” Donelson said. “They stepped up big time. I tell them every game, I can’t do me unless y’all do the work. They basically do the work for me, I’m just running behind them.”

The sophomore from Visalia set a career-best 167 yards on 23 carries, along with four catches for 25 yards. He said his body held up.

Luke carried the ball 10 times for 96 yards. At times, he displayed why he is called “Speedy.”

“I’ve been doing this since I was six years old. I played three different sports, ran track, basketball and football. So playing fast is just normal. I’ve done this since a little kid, so second nature to me,” Luke said.

Now all the Bulldogs need to make noise in their final Mountain West Conference season is for senior quarterback E.J. Warner to display veteran savvy for four quarters — and not look like a jittery freshman for half the game.

Bulldogs Beat the Oddsmakers

About that betting line: The Las Vegas sharpies obviously blew it, as the Eagles from Statesboro, Georgia, had to travel 2,000 miles and play in a stadium where many Power-4 teams have fallen.

Valley Children’s is a graveyard for visitors anytime, but especially when the fans are amped and the heat saps the strength of college football players accustomed to playing in such environs.

Suffice to say, a line favoring Georgia Southern by 1.5 points had to look like a misprint to Red Wavers. Linebacker K’vion Thunderbird said the lack in faith from the experts provided motivation.

“We just knew we had to come out better from last week. Last week we didn’t play that well, and we knew we were a good team. And today, that’s what we did at the second half,” Thunderbird said.

Second-Half Domination

The Bulldogs gave next week’s opponent, Oregon State in Corvallis, much to ponder with this game tape.

Entz’s ground-and-pound offense wore down Georgia Southern in the final two quarters and produced the Bulldogs’ first victory over coach Clay Helton — they lost twice to him when he was at USC.

In addition, defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto’s blitz packages harassed and stopped Eagles QB JC French throughout the night, but especially in the second half. The Bulldogs dominated in total yardage, 527 to 242.

First-Half Stumbles

The Bulldogs should have led by at least 10 points at halftime instead of trailing the Sun Belt Conference Eagles, 14-13.

Warner bore the prime responsibility for the deficit, throwing two interceptions on underthrown balls to closely covered receivers.

His halftime message to Warner was “learn, burn, return.”

“He tried to force the one and in the second half, you saw him starting to use his legs and take advantage of the opportunity to make a positive play. We don’t got to force the football. Let’s manage the game. Get five (yards), get out of bounds. Let’s line up and play again,” Entz said.

Fresno State turned the ball over three times in one first-half stretch, with Donelson fumbling in the red zone at the 3-yard line on a helmet hit on the ball by Georgia Southern star defender MJ Stroud.

The Bulldogs also lost linebacker Tim Thomas in the second quarter as he was ejected for targeting a defenseless receiver. The hit wasn’t particularly hard, but Thomas led with the crown of his helmet and, by rule, had to exit the game.

Donelson, a sophomore, powered the Bulldogs offense in the first half with 73 yards rushing on 11 carries.

However, the Bulldogs’ turnover run enabled the Eagles to bounce back from a 10-0 first-quarter deficit.

French completed nine straight passes at one point and threw first-half touchdowns to a wide-open Camden Brown and to tight end River Helms.

Fresno State’s lone first-half TD came on the speedy Luke’s one-juke-and gone 17-yard run.