“I’m going to go home eventually, probably see my dog a little bit, probably relax.”
Story By Al Scott. Photos By Ryan Sepulveda.
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A week after struggling to even get back to the line of scrimmage, the Fresno State Bulldogs rushing attack could not be stopped against the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday night in a 42-14 thumper.
The Bulldogs ran the ball 45 times for 351 yards led by Visalia native Bryson Donelson (23 carries, 167 yards, 1 TD) and Arizona transfer Rayshon “Speedy” Luke (10 carries, 96 yards, 3 TD’s).
“Last week we got punched in the mouth. I feel that’s what fueled us for tonight,” Donelson said.
Both Donelson and Luke gave credit to the offensive line for their work. The latter is planning on a special dinner with teammates this weekend.
“Food’s on me,” Luke says.
The win was not only the first for Head Coach Matt Entz at Fresno State, but the 200th in Valley Children’s Stadium history.
“I’m going to go home eventually, probably see my dog a little bit, probably relax, probably watch a game that was earlier today,” Entz says.
He added that he is looking forward to seeing Coach Pat Hill.
What happened
Fresno State opened the game with a 14 play, 57-yd drive that resulted in a Dylan Lynch field goal from 36 yards out.
After forcing a 3-and-out, Luke rushed up the middle seven yards for the first touchdown of the game, giving the ‘Dogs a 10-0 lead with 4:56 remaining in the first.
The Eagles responded however; quarterback JC French completed five of five passes in an eight play drive, capped off by a throw to the right, hitting Camden Brown for an 18-yard score.
The Bulldogs would turn the ball over three times over the next 12 minutes of the game, including a pair of interceptions from quarterback E.J. Warner and a fumble from Donelson.
“We gotta clean up some things, of course, still, but we’ll do that on Monday,” Entz said. “[E.J.] is gonna be just fine.”
Warner protected the ball in the second half and finished the night having completed 20 of 27 passes for 176 yards. He also added 28 on the ground.
Despite three turnovers, the Eagles only scored once in the second quarter, a four yard touchdown pass from French to River Helms with 11:33 remaining in the half.
A 26-yard FG from Lynch closed the half with the Bulldogs trailing the Eagles 14-13.
Entz’ squad came out hungry in the third quarter, rushing the ball 12 times for 85 yards and touchdowns from Donelson and Luke to make it 28-14.
The onslaught continued in the fourth quarter as Fresno State overmatched the Eagles in the trenches. Brandon Ramirez (3 carries, 16 yards) joined the touchdown party with a three-yard run up the middle.
The sophomore from Hanford had a key 32-yard reception the very next drive setting up another touchdown run for Luke (3rd of the day) from 29 yards out to give the Bulldogs a commanding 42-14 lead.
When Entz arrived in December, he said he was told by people that they weren’t sure if he was a Division I back. His response?
“He’s going to find a way. He’s a one cut guy that falls forward every time he gets the ball. He’s on special teams. He’s a great team guy. He’s we over me, and that to me has value.”
Elijah Gilliam (3 carries, 33 yards) and Johnathan Arceneaux (3 carries, 11 yards) also saw work.
Standing tall
The Bulldogs defense held Georgia Southern scoreless and to a mere 75 yards in the second half.
Linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird had two key pass breakups in addition to five tackles. He spoke after the game about the switch they flipped as a team.
“We felt like we were the better team. We needed to come out and execute better in the second half, and I feel like we did,” Thunderbird says.
What’s next
The Bulldogs head north next Saturday, Sept. 6, to take on future Pac-12 conference mate Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Beavers are coming off a 34-15 loss at home vs Cal Berkley.