Fresno State ended their season with a win over UTEP to win the New Mexico Bowl
FRESNO, Calif. — The Fresno State University Bulldogs captured another winning season this year. The Bulldogs ended their season with a record of 10-3 and a win against a tough UTEP football program in the New Mexico Bowl game.
The Bulldogs’ offense was the key element to their success this year. The offense had 6,030 total yards on the season. Averaging 463.6 yards per game is legendary and is the reason why they are the New Mexico Bowl champions.
Over the course of the whole season, the Bulldogs’ offense had been electrifying with senior quarterback Jake Haener throwing for over 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns to cap off the amazing season. In the bowl game, Haener threw for 286 yards, leading his team to the promised land.
When you think about the Bulldogs’ receiving core, there are three receivers that come to mind in an instant. Those include Jalen Cropper, Josh Kelly and Keric Wheatfall. All three of these astonishing receivers played a pivotal role in the Bulldogs’ offense operating the way it did this season.
This receiving core can make a big play at any given moment, and they showed that throughout the season. Having a receiving core like this will make your team better. It also makes it easier on the quarterback because he knows one of those guys will be open and can potentially break free for a touchdown.
Cropper had an amazing junior year, totaling 800 plus receiving yards on 85 catches. His longest reception was an 86-yard bomb from star quarterback Haener. Cropper had two 100 plus yard games against some tough opponents like UCLA where he racked up 141 yards and a touchdown.
Against UNLV, Cropper had 108 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to another win. On the year, he put up 11 touchdowns, adding to his already great resume. To end the season versus UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl game, he had nine receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown, which ultimately broke the game loose for the Bulldogs.
The second top receiver for the Bulldogs, Kelly, also had an amazing year. The sophomore receiver tallied up 778 total receiving yards on 52 receptions and three touchdowns on the season.
The 6 foot-1 receiver had two 100 plus yard games, one against Cal Poly where he gained 127 yards on three receptions, and 120 yards against UCLA on eight receptions. He had two touchdowns against Cal Poly which resulted in the Bulldogs winning that game.
The third receiver for the Bulldogs, Wheatfall, is a senior in the Bulldogs offense. This year, he ended with 616 yards on 38 catches with four touchdowns. His longest catch on the year was a 55-yard reception. While Wheatfall is the third option for Fresno State’s offense, he was still able to put up some very good numbers on the year. He had 115 yards on five receptions against UNLV, helping the Bulldogs win in a hard-fought battle 38-30.
Not only was the passing game clicking on all cylinders, the ground and pound game did as well. Dynamic duo Ronnie Rivers and Jordan Mims were electrifying and groundbreaking for the Bulldogs this season.
Senior back Rivers finished off the year with 817 yards on 162 attempts, including five touchdowns on the season. Rivers’ longest run of the year was a 64-yard burst which he did pretty often this year.
Rivers had an amazing game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl, where he went for 136 yards on 21 attempts with two runs to the house. His role in that game was pivotal as the Bulldogs relied on Rivers to bring excitement and energy to the game as he usually did over the course of the season.
The second member of the one-two punch combo is Mims, who is also a senior for the Bulldogs. Mims had an impressive year on the ground, racking up 724 yards on 127 attempts, including six touchdowns.
His longest run of the season was a 59-yard breakout run to add to his electrifying collection of runs throughout the season. Mims had three games with over 100 yards and one of those games was the bowl game they recently played in.
Mims had 134 rushing yards versus Nevada. The senior had a season high 186 rushing yards against San Diego State with two touchdowns. In his last game versus UTEP, he accumulated 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns to top off an amazing day on the gridiron.
Establishing the run game early is essential to opening up different plays and options. With having these two dynamic backs in the backfield, the Bulldogs executed very well on this by controlling most of their opponents’ defenses.
Countering off by opening up the passing lanes is what kept the Bulldogs in sixth gear throughout the season, which is why they ended up bowl champions. These offensive weapons ended their year off with a bang and the seniors that played a key role in this season deserve everything they got.
Congratulations to the Bulldogs on their storytelling journey.
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