After entering Saturday still without a passing touchdown in 2025 following three weeks of play, EJ Warner responded with one of the best games of his college career to lead Fresno State to a 56-7 victory over Southern University.
“Anytime you go 1-0 in a week, that’s a positive,” Head Coach Matt Entz says.
Warner finished the day going 20-for-24 with 240 passing yards and four touchdowns through the air before being rested halfway through the third quarter.
“Coming from a football family, I gotta believe EJ probably doesn’t pay a lot of attention to the media,” Entz says. “Just keep doing your job and do it at a high level. And the only people you gotta worry about are the people in the locker room with you.”
Running back Rayshon “Speedy” Luke totaled 110 yards, including seven catches for a team leading 79 yards. He also had a pair of touchdowns, making it five in two home games for the Arizona transfer.
“One of my dreams when I was coming here was I love the lights going on and off. That just fires me up,” Luke says.
He added that he sets a goal for at least 50 receiving yards a game every week.
“That’s just like one of my expectations, that’s kind of the running back I am. I don’t take that for granted,” Luke says.
With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 3-1 on the season, finishing its non-conference slate.
What happened
The ‘Dogs opened the game with a six play, 65-yard drive ending in a 25-yard pass from Warner to the right side of the end zone where he found true freshman Harold Duvall.
The Jaguars converted one first down on its first drive thanks to a Fresno State penalty but a few plays later felt the wrath of Finn Claypool. Facing a 3rd and long situation, the Drake transfer got into the backfield to sack Southern quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy.
The Fresno State offense got the ball back and quickly moved the ball down the field. Warner eventually found Jordan Brown six yards out for his first career touchdown reception.
The Bulldogs would find the end zone on five of its six first half drives including touchdown passes to Luke and Richie Anderson. The lone punt was the only non-scoring drive of the game for the ‘Dogs.
Luke added that Warner leads by example and was not surprised in the bit by the breakout game from his quarterback.
“EJ is a quiet guy, so talking to him is, you know, sometimes we could be quiet, a little bit shy, but once he talks to everybody, like, yeah, like, you know, we love that, because once he leave, we all go behind him,” Luke says.
Running back Bryson Donelson also evaded the Jaguars defense for a 57-yard run to the end zone in the second quarter. He ran nine times for 90 yards. He added a pair of catches for 19 yards.
The Jaguars only score in the game came from a 1-yard rushing touchdown up the middle from running back Trey Holly, capping off a nine play, 75-yard drive.
The touchdown to Anderson late in the second quarter gave Fresno State a 35-7 lead going into halftime.
Following an entertaining halftime show featuring the battle of the bands, arguably Southern’s only highlight of the night, the Bulldogs got right back to business.
Entz says he didn’t notice the “Human Jukebox” but did have something else catch his eye.
“I looked over to the green V section, and I saw, instead of the V flag, I saw the American flag. I thought that was really cool and appropriate for today’s game,” Entz says.
The defense made Southern look absolutely helpless. The Jaguars finished the night with a mere 142 yards of offense compared to 507 for Fresno State.
Fresno State defensive end Korey Foreman helped lead the Bulldog defense, including 1.5 sacks. He also stressed the importance of versatility, something he’s really worked on with the new coaching staff.
“Focusing on being a good run stopper, and not just a pass rusher that it may seem last year, but once again, I wouldn’t be able to do that without the coaches, without the people that I’m around each and every single day,” Foreman says.
He was also sporting some incredible eye black.
“All I was thinking about today before the game was like Bruce Banner, Wolverine and he’s not green all the time, but on game day, claws are out, and I turn green,” Foreman says.
Meanwhile, after a lengthy drive that ended in a fumble to open up the second half, Entz turned the keys over to backup Carson Conklin who completed 5-of-6 passes for 42 yards.
The Sacramento State transfer led the ‘Dogs on three straight scoring drives, all ending in rushing touchdowns courtesy of Luke, Johnathan Arceneaux and Elijah Gilliam. The latter combined for 94 yards on 15 carries.
Fresno State went on to win 56-7 in a dominating effort.
What’s next
The ‘Dogs will begin Mountain West Conference play next Saturday (9/20/26) in the Aloha State as they visit the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii.
Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. (PT).