Bulldogs Open Season with 35-7 Win Over Cal Poly

GOBULLDOGS.COM. - The Fresno State football team opened up the second wave of the Jeff Tedford era with a 35-7 win over Cal Poly in front of 36,011 Bulldog fans at Valley Children's Stadium on Thursday night. The Bulldogs posted 549 yards of total offense, powered by 377 yards from the arm of Jake Haener.

The Bulldogs scored on their first three offensive drives of the contest by getting off to a hot start and holding the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out on Cal Poly's opening drive, the 'Dogs used a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was punctuated by a 1-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mims. With the defense forcing another three-and-out, the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 14-0 with a nine-play, 93-yard drive that saw newcomer Nikko Remigio scamper for a 13-yard scoring run. The high-scoring quarter was finished with a second touchdown run from Mims that pushed the 'Dogs lead to 21-0.

Putting together their lone scoring drive of the contest, Cal Poly closed out the first quarter and opened the second with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown reception from Jadan Jones to Bryson Allen.

Adding to their lead in the second half, the 'Dogs scored on two of their four drives in the second half as a third touchdown by Mims, this time a 19-yard catch and scamper down the left sideline in the third quarter, followed by an eight-yard score from Raymond Pauwels Jr. in the fourth quarter rounded out the scoring. The Bulldogs defense came up with two key defensive stops deep in Fresno State territory in the second half that helped keep the Mustangs to single digits.

Quotable

Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On the first game of the season…
"I thought we performed pretty well at times, but we had too many penalties. We have to learn how to keep the grind on. We were up 21-0, and then the floodgates opened with penalties. We put ourselves in bad situations and gave them plays. Those are discipline plays, and we have to improve. I want to give Cal Poly credit. They played really well."

Jordan Mims, Running Back, Senior
On the first game of the season…
"It was the first game of the season. I thought we could have performed better. Although we are going to celebrate all of our wins, so we'll take it. We have things to clean up. It starts with us upfront at the line, making blocks so that the ball can be aired out."

Evan Williams, Safety, Senior
"It was a group effort. We had a lot of newcomers step up. Gavriel Lightfoot was taking on double teams. When you see guys take on those roles and make those plays in their first games, you just marvel. Those are sacrifice plays. As a whole, I think we did a good job of rallying to the ball. We focus on trying to be the hardest working defense in the country. That's what we take pride in and what we are trying to achieve every day."

Notable

Fresno State won its season opener for the second-straight year.
Fresno State won its season opener in four of the last six years.
The Bulldogs opened the season 1-0 under head coach Jeff Tedford, his third season-opening win as the Bulldogs' head coach.
Fresno State moves to 34-10-2 all-time against Cal Poly, extending its streak to nine-straight games in the series.
Tedford improves to 27-14 as Fresno State head coach
Fresno State improves to 59-38-4 in season openers all-time
Fresno State produced 549 yards of total offense, its most in a game since 569 at then-No. 13 UCLA (Sept. 18, 2021).
Fresno State's defense forced three turnovers on downs

Fresno State-Cal Poly Postgame Notes

Captains: QB Jake Haener, DB Evan Williams, DE David Perales, OL Bula Schmidt
Coin Toss: Fresno State won the toss, deferred

Team Notes

Fresno State won its season opener for the second-straight year.
Fresno State won its season opener in four of the last six years.
The Bulldogs opened the season 1-0 under head coach Jeff Tedford, his third season-opening win as the Bulldogs’ head coach.
Fresno State moves to 34-10-2 all-time against Cal Poly, extending its streak to nine-straight games in the series.
Tedford improves to 27-14 as Fresno State head coach
Fresno State improves to 59-38-4 in season openers all-time
Fresno State produced 549 yards of total offense, its most in a game since 569 at then-No. 13 UCLA (Sept. 18, 2021).
Fresno State’s defense forced three turnovers on downs

Game Notes

The temperature at kickoff (7:35 p.m.) was 102 degrees - the highest temperature at kickoff since Tedford’s first game as head coach in 2017 (Incarnate Word, Sept. 2). The high temperature in Fresno on a game day has been 100 or higher 14 times, according to National Weather Service records.
Fresno State announced 36,011 fans in attendance, its highest-attended season opener since in Fresno since the Incarnate Word game in 2017.
Fresno State sold out its student section for the fifth time in the last seven games.
Fresno State won the first game in the newly-named Valley Children’s Stadium.

Offensive Notes

Jacob Spomer (OL), Jake Boust (TE), and Nikko Remigio (WR) earned their first career starts as Bulldogs.
QB Jake Haener started the game 8-of-8 passing
Haener recorded his 13th career 300-yard passing performance, moving into a tie for second in program history with David Carr (1997-01).
RB Jordan Mims recorded his sixth-career multi-rushing touchdown game. Mims scored three total touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving). It was his third career game with three scores.
As Fresno State offensive coordinator, Kirby Moore has had six drives in the first quarter with four touchdowns, one field goal, and one punt.
Fresno State scored 21 first-quarter points. Last season, the Bulldogs scored 71 first-quarter points and averaged just 5.5 points in the opening 15 minutes. They scored more than once in the first quarter in only one game - coincidentally, it was the New Mexico Bowl victory over UTEP, which was the first game that offensive coordinator Kirby Moore called plays for the Bulldogs.
With two games of play calling under his belt, Moore is averaging 508 total yards of offense per game.
With 100 yards receiving, Remigio is the first Bulldog receiver to record a 100-yard performance in their Bulldog debut since Davante Adams in 2012. Remigio added 26 yards and one touchdown on two carries.
Boust recorded his first catch as a Bulldog.
TE Raymond Pauwels Jr. caught his third career touchdown pass.
WR Jalen Cropper had seven receptions for 63 yards, extending his streak to 24-straight games with a catch.
WR Josh Kelly had three receptions for 39 yards, extending his active streak to 21-straight games with a reception.
RB Malik Sherrod recorded a career-high 69 yards rushing on eight carries.

Defensive Notes

Gavriel Lightfoot is the first freshman to start for the Bulldogs in the interior defensive line since Rusell Harding in 1997.
Lightfoot finished with one tackle, 1.0 sack, and 1.0 tackle for loss.
On the defense, Lightfoot and Morice Norris Jr. (NKL) earned their first career starts as Bulldogs.
Transfer cornerback Cam Lockridge finished his Bulldog debut with three tackles and a team-high two pass breakups. His PBUs both came in the endzone.
Norris Jr. had a breakout game in his new position, while also his first career game as a Bulldog. He finished third on the team in total tackles with six. He added 1.5 tackles for loss.
Evan Williams led the Bulldogs with eight tackles, his 12th career game in leading the team in tackles.

Up Next
Fresno State hosts Oregon State next Saturday, Sept. 10, at Valley Children's Stadium. It's the first meeting between the teams since 2003. For tickets, call (559) 278=DOGS.

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All Photos by Bebe Salazar