Hawaii’s nose dive in the month of October continued tonight in a Mountain West Conference football game won by host Fresno State 50-20 at Bulldog Stadium.

Bulldogs quarterback Marcus McMaryion threw four touchdown passes en route to completing 21 of 31 for 284 yards and no interceptions. His favorite target was KeeSean Johnson, who caught eight passes for 102 yards. Ronnie Rivers carried the football 11 times for 125 yards and one touchdown as Fresno State moved into first place alone in the West Division with a 4-0 mark in MWC play and 7-1 overall.

Hawaii dropped to 6-4 for the season and 3-2 in league play. In consecutive losses to Brigham Young, Nevada and Fresno State, the Warriors have been outscored by a combined 139-65 and looked reminiscent of the team that finished 3-9 a year ago. UH quarterback Cole McDonald didn’t play particularly well, completing 17 of 28 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown. He also had a pick.

A healthier McDonald also picked up 62 yards on 12 carries, but it wasn’t nearly enough to get the UH offense back on track. Since McDonald got hurt a month ago, the Warriors are 1-3 and struggling to move the football as they return home for another big conference game, this time against powerful Utah State. The Warriors still need one more win to gain bowl eligibility.

Up by 24 points through two quarters, Fresno State got the ball to start the second half looking to deliver the knockout punch and send their fans home happy. And that’s exactly what the Bulldogs did as they methodically drove down the field against an overmatched UH defense that hasn’t been able to stop anyone in the past three games.

UH forced a third-and-12 for Fresno from its own 47, but couldn’t get the Bulldogs off the field as they converted and kept right on going before the drive stalled deep in UH territory. Instead of going for it on fourth down, the Bulldogs settled for a 32-yard field-goal attempt that Asa Fuller drilled to extend the Bulldogs’ advantage to 40-13 with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

Hawaii’s first play of the second half was not a good one, as McDonald was picked off by Fresno State’s Juju Hughes, who returned it to the UH 16. Four plays later, McMaryion threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Derrion Grim. Fuller connected on the extra point to make it 47-13 with 8:45 remaining in the quarter.

Fresno State didn’t score again until the fourth quarter, but didn’t need to with UH’s offense unable to get anything going in the third quarter. After forcing UH to turn the ball over on downs, the Bulldogs quickly moved into scoring territory under the guidance of backup quarterback Jorge Reyna, who completed two passes for 44 yards that set up a 21-yard field goal by Fuller that made it 50-13 with 13:36 left in the game.

Hawaii had a chance to score late under the guidance of freshman quarterback Jeremy Moussa and did just that on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Devan Stubblefield. It was the first score since the 4:25 mark of the second quarter. Ryan Meskell added the PAT to make it 50-20 with 1:43 left in the game. Moussa completed three of six for 61 yards.

Down 14-3 to begin the second quarter, Hawaii wasted little time getting back into the game on a 50-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to JoJo Ward, who was wide open on the play. Meskell added the PAT to cut Fresno’s margin to 14-10 with 14:30 left in the half.

Fresno State needed just 19 seconds to respond as Rivers raced up the middle of the field untouched 76 yards for a touchdown. Fuller made the PAT to give Fresno State a 21-10 lead with 14:11 left in the half. Not even one minute into the second quarter and Fresno State already had 228 yards of total offense.

And thanks to a quick three-and-out by the UH offense, the Bulldogs found themselves at their own 46 in search of more. They got it on a 22-yard field goal by Fuller to make it 24-10 Bulldogs with 8:57 left in the second quarter.

Considering that a moral victory, the UH offense continued to move the ball easily against what was supposed to be a stout Fresno State defense. Facing a third -and-5 from the Bulldogs 10, McDonald missed an open Ward on a quick slant, so UH opted for the field goal by Meskell, who knocked it through from 28 yards out to make it 24-13 with 4:35 left in the half.

The Fresno State offense picked up right where it left off, back in UH territory and eventually the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown pass off the wheel route from McMaryion to Jordan Mims. The PAT by Fuller hit the upright, leaving the score at 30-13 with 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Meskell tried a 53-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half that came up 2 yards short and then was returned officially 100 yards for a touchdown by Jamire Jordan. Fuller hit the PAT this time as Fresno State led 37-13 at the half.

Hawaii scored first on a 43-yard field goal by Meskell with 10:26 left in the opening quarter. The Warriors took over at their own 25 to start the game and marched quickly down the field as McDonald found John Ursua for 31 yards to move into Bulldogs territory. The drive stalled, setting up a 48-yard attempt that Meskell didn’t make. But the Bulldogs were offside, giving him another shot that he knocked through with ease.

The Rainbow Warriors held the Bulldogs on their first possession, but after trading punts, Fresno State found itself with a first-and-10 at the UH 40. After picking up a first down on a pair of run plays, a bank of lights went out at Bulldog Stadium, forcing both teams to retire to their respective locker rooms for a 30-minute delay.

Once the lights were on, Fresno State faced a second-and-5 from the UH 25 with about five minutes left in the opening period. Two plays later, McMaryion found a wide open Jared Rice for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Fuller added the PAT to make it 7-3 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.

Fresno State added another score before the end of the period on a 49-yard touchdown pass from McMaryion to a wide-open Jordan. Fuller made the extra point to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-3 with 37 seconds remaining. McMaryion did a little pump fake and UH corner Roe Farris bit on the play, leaving Jordan running free to the end zone.

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