Oct. 3, 2014
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
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| STATISTICAL LEADERS | ||||
| Passing | C-Att | Yds | TD | Int |
| Nick Bawden, SDSU | 9-24 | 84 | 1 | 2 |
| Brian Burrell, FS | 14-28 | 143 | 0 | 1 |
| Rushing | Car | Yds | TD | Long |
| Donnel Pumphrey, SDSU | 24 | 94 | 0 | 14 |
| Marteze Waller, FS | 16 | 67 | 1 | 18 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
| Larry Clark, SDSU | 3 | 30 | 0 | 18 |
| Josh Harper, FS | 5 | 76 | 0 | 49 |
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| MULTIMEDIA |
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FRESNO, Calif. -- San Diego State held Fresno State to 315 yards of total offense, forced two turnovers and had nine tackles for loss, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs pulled away late for a 24-13 victory at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, Calif.
FS forced three Aztec turnovers, converting them into 14 points in its 1,000th game in program history.
Fresno State got on the scoreboard first when Kody Kroening converted a 37-yard field goal with 8:18 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs got 40 of their 43 yards on the 8-play drive on the ground, including 27 by Marteze Waller and 13 from quarterback Brian Burrell.
FS got the ball right back when Kyrie Wilson forced SDSU true freshman Nick Bawden to fumble the ball after a 7-yard gain. Fresno State then put together a 10-play, 67-yard drive over 4:19, ending with a Brandon Cornette 1-yard touchdown run on 4th and goal. The key play of the drive was a 49-yard pass from Burrell to Josh Harper on a 3rd and 12 from its own 31-yard line.
San Diego State finally got on the scoreboard just 1:16 into the second quarter when Donny Hageman split the uprights on a 24-yard field goal attempt. The Aztecs grounded and pounded their way to the field goal, gaining all 60 of their yards on the ground on the 11-play drive that ate up 4:15 of clock time. Running back Donnel Pumphrey had 33 of the 60 yards on the drive, while fullback Dakota Gordon had the other 27.
The SDSU defense settled down and forced the Bulldogs to two straight 3 and outs, but gave the ball back to FS after a punt. With 3:24 left in the half, Burrell drove FS to the San Diego State 21 to set up a field goal attempt with just five second remaining. Kroening's 38-yard attempt, however, was blocked by Sam Meredith, the second of his career.
After both teams traded punts to start the second half, Fresno State's Burrell was stripped by Calvin Munson and Trey Lomax scooped up the loose ball and returned it 10 yards to the Bulldog 24. The Aztecs, however, were only able to cash in on a field goal and Hageman's 36-yarder closed the gap to 10-6.
FS responded with a 11-play, 81-yard drive over 5:23, thanks in part to three SDSU penalties (two on fourth down, one on third down), concluding with Josh Quezada's 2-yard touchdown run. It appeared San Diego State would get out of trouble early in the drive, but Daniel Brunskill was whistled for roughing the kicker on 4th and 8. Aztec head coach Rocky Long challenged the play and, even though replays showed Brunskill's fingers deflecting the ball, which went just 23 yards, the call on the field stood, resulting in a first down and SDSU losing a timeout.
San Diego State answered with a 14-play, 79-yard drive over 7:27, culminating with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Bawden to Adam Roberts. It was the first of his career by Bawden, who was 4-for-6 for 45 yards on the drive after going 3-for-11 for 18 yards on his previous nine drives. The touchdown brought the Aztecs back to within four at 17-13.
SDSU got the ball right back after forcing another 3 and out. San Diego State got into Fresno State territory, but Bawden was picked off Donavon Lewis on the fifth play of the drive.
The Aztecs then forced the Bulldogs to punt and would get one more chance to try to take their first lead of the game. Bawden, however, was picked off once again at the SDSU 12 and returned five yards. Waller later scored on a 5-yard rush to give FS the 24-13 lead.
San Diego State got the ball back and got into Fresno State territory again, but Bawden was sacked and Lenicio Noble drew a false start penalty to set up a 4th and 16 on its own 44. Bawden's pass to Larry Clark was incomplete, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs, who ran out the clock and seal the win.
Pumphrey rushed for 94 yards on a career-high 24 attempts, while Gordon added a career-high 42 yards on six carries.
Bawden, who became just the second Aztec to ever start a game at quarterback as a true freshman and the first to do it without having ever attempting a pass, finished 9-for-24 for 84 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He added 36 yards on the ground on eight rushed (4.5 avg.).
Clark had three of the team's nine catches for 30 yards.
Munson posted a career-high 12 tackles (previous best was six) with a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss, a sack and his first career forced fumble. Josh Gavert added seven tackles, while J.J. Whittaker recorded his first interception of the season and fourth of his career.
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| First Downs | 17 | 16 | ||||
| Total Yards | 270 | 315 | ||||
| Passing Yards | 84 | 143 | ||||
| Rushing Yards | 186 | 172 | ||||
| Number of Plays | 69 | 71 | ||||
| Penalties-Yards | 7-64 | 4-37 | ||||
| 3rd Down Conversions | 6 of 15 | 9 of 18 | ||||
| 4th Down Conversions | 1 of 2 | 1 of 1 | ||||
| Kick Return Yards | 123 | 89 | ||||
| Punt Return Yards | -3 | 4 | ||||
| Punts-Yards | 5 - 43.2 | 5 - 47.4 | ||||
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Time of Possession | 30:50 | 29:10 | ||||