FRESNO >> Daylight saving wound down with the Fresno State football team’s lights-out 55-13 rout of Hawaii at Valley Children’s Stadium on Saturday.
The Rainbow Warriors lost the coin toss and failed to nail the field goal on their opening drive — and things went dark after that.
The Bulldogs rolled up 572 yards — 327 on Jake Haener passes — to win their fourth in a row and improve to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain West.
The Warriors, who fell to 2-8 and 1-4, had lost their previous three league games by an average margin of 4.3 points. But there was no suspense once the Bulldogs got on a roll. They produced points on their first eight possessions, committed their only penalty in the final minute, and scored on an interception return.
Down 55-0, the Warriors had matched their largest deficit in 11 years of Mountain West membership. But they scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout. But even their parting shot was tainted. After Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala caught a 4-yard scoring pass from Brayden Schager, the Bulldogs blocked the point-after kick.
“It sucks to lose like this,” said Schager, who was 20-for-40 for 204 yards and a touchdown. “It’s a tough one to swallow. But we’ve got three more games, and nobody’s going to save us. We’ve got to go out and play.”
UH coach Timmy Chang said: “You want to see your team respond when things go bad, when it doesn’t go your way. You miss a field goal. You throw a pick-6. You want to see them fight. You want to see them respond by doing the right things and still playing. It’s about the next play. That’s the most important thing. We didn’t do that tonight, and the score showed. That’s pretty much it.”
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The Warriors entered without five injured starters — center Eliki Tanuvasa, slotback Koali Nishigaya, wideout Jalen Walthall, will linebacker Isaiah Tufaga and safety Meki Pei. The Bulldogs were at full strength. Two co-captains — Haener and safety Evan Williams — returned to the lineup last week after missing four games with injuries. Wideout Josh Kelly’s return boosted an already deep receiver group.
“That’s a good team,” Chang said. “They got healthy at the right time. They got their guys back at the right time to do some things.”
Haener entered the transfer portal after the 2021 season when head coach Kalen DeBoer accepted the job at Washington. But when Jeff Tedford decided to return for a second stint as Fresno State’s head coach — he resigned in 2019 because of heart-related concerns — Haener rescinded his transfer request. Tedford is known for developing quarterbacks and a prolific spread offense. Tedford had likened Haener to former pupil Aaron Rodgers in leadership and accuracy.
Last year, Haener was intercepted four times in the Bulldogs’ loss to UH at the Ching Complex. But on Saturday, Haener was on the mark, connecting on 24 of 29 passes before he exited after throwing his fourth scoring pass.
Jordan Mims led the Bulldogs with 123 rushing yards and a touchdown.
With 24 seconds left in the first half, Schager took a knee as both teams ran toward their locker rooms. The runaway, in actuality, began much earlier. In taking a 31-0 lead at the intermission, the Bulldogs tallied 272 yards.
Haener was 18-for-23 for 178 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. On the first scoring pass, Jalen Moreno-Cropper broke free on a scramble play to secure the 7-yard touchdown. Haener’s second touchdown pass was tipped by dimeback Kaulana Makaula near the goal line. Erik Brooks grabbed the football to complete the first-half scoring.
For the 10th time this season, the Warriors had the first possession. They drove to the Fresno State 31, but safety L.J. Early broke up a third-down pass intended for Dior Scott. The Warriors signaled for the field-goal unit, but Matthew Shipley’s 48-yard attempt was wide right.
The Bulldogs then broke the scoreless tie on Abraham Montano’s field goal from 31 yards with 6:54 left in the first quarter. Fifty-nine seconds later, Fresno State cornerback Cameron Lockridge stepped in front of Scott, intercepted Schager’s underthrown pass, and raced 31 yards for the pick-6. Earlier in the week, Lockridge joked to reporters he would intercept Schager, his former teammate. Lockridge was one of eight defensive starters to transfer from UH at the end of a tumultuous 2021 season. He initially committed to South Alabama, then redirected his pledge to Fresno State.
Drops and other missed opportunities contributed to the Warriors’ offensive struggles.
“It’s been the story of the year,” Schager said. “Get something going, and we’re not able to capitalize, finish. Just something happens on drives. It’s not like we’re far off. It’s been little things the whole year. It probably would be easier if it were big things. But it’s the little things that are coming back to bite us.”
