Fresno State 38, Nevada Las Vegas 30
(AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
FRESNO, Calif. - Jake Haener threw four of his five touchdown passes in the second half to help No. 22 Fresno State rally from a 12-point deficit and beat winless UNLV 38-30.
The Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0 Mountain West) started slow in their return to the AP poll for the first time since 2018 before Haener once again took over the game in the second half.
One week after throwing for 455 yards, including a go-ahead TD pass with 14 seconds left to Jalen Cropper, in a 40-37 win at No. 13 UCLA, that combo delivered again.
Haener connected on scoring strikes of 4, 23 and 25 yards to Cropper on three straight possessions to turn a 21-9 deficit in to a 29-21 lead.
Then, after UNLV (0-4, 0-1) battled back to take a 30-29 lead on Daniel Gutierrez's 30-yard field goal with 6:38 to play, Haener and Cropper struck again with a 26-yard TD that made it 35-30 with 4:53 to play.
Haener finished the game 30 for 42 for 378 yards.
Arron Mosby then had a strip sack that Kwami Jones recovered, setting up a 31-yard field goal by Cesar Silva that made it 38-30 with 2:29 to play.
UNLV couldn't even get a first down on the next drive and dropped to 0-10 in two seasons under coach Marcus Arroyo.
The Rebels scored on their first two drives of the game on a 10-yard strike from Doug Brumfield to Steve Jenkins, and then a 1-yard run by Charles Williams that capped a 95-yard drive that made it 14-0.
Fresno State got going a bit in the second quarter but had to settle for a field goal after stalling inside the 10 and then finally getting into the end zone on Haener's 18-yard pass to Brooks with 32 seconds left in the half to make it 14-9.
But the Rebels scored on an 80-yard screen pass from Brumfield to Tyleek Collins on the first play of the second half.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
UNLV | Fres |
| UNLV |
TD |
10:00 |
Steve Jenkins 10 yd pass from Doug Brumfield (Daniel Gutierrez kick) |
7 |
0 |
| UNLV |
TD |
1:16 |
Charles Williams 1 yd run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) |
14 |
0 |
| Second Quarter |
UNLV | Fres |
| Fres |
FG |
11:38 |
Cesar Silva 25 yd FG |
14 |
3 |
| Fres |
TD |
0:32 |
Erik Brooks 18 yd pass from Jake Haener (failed 2pt rush) |
14 |
9 |
| Third Quarter |
UNLV | Fres |
| UNLV |
TD |
14:41 |
Tyleek Collins 80 yd pass from Doug Brumfield (Daniel Gutierrez kick) |
21 |
9 |
| Fres |
TD |
7:35 |
Jalen Cropper 4 yd pass from Jake Haener (Cesar Silva kick) |
21 |
16 |
| Fres |
TD |
3:47 |
Jalen Cropper 23 yd pass from Jake Haener (failed 2pt pass) |
21 |
22 |
| Fourth Quarter |
UNLV | Fres |
| Fres |
TD |
12:21 |
Jalen Cropper 25 yd pass from Jake Haener (Cesar Silva kick) |
21 |
29 |
| UNLV |
TD |
9:57 |
Courtney Reese 6 yd run (failed 2pt pass) |
27 |
29 |
| UNLV |
FG |
6:38 |
Daniel Gutierrez 30 yd FG |
30 |
29 |
| Fres |
TD |
4:53 |
Jalen Cropper 26 yd pass from Jake Haener (failed 2pt pass) |
30 |
35 |
| Fres |
FG |
2:29 |
Cesar Silva 31 yd FG |
30 |
38 |
| Team Stats |
| |
UNLV |
Fresno State |
| First downs |
18 |
23 |
| Rushing |
8 |
6 |
| Passing |
8 |
16 |
| Penalty |
2 |
1 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
5-13, 38% |
3-11, 27% |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-1, 0% |
1-1, 100% |
| Rushes-Yards |
36-152 |
23-83 |
| Passing Yards |
281 |
378 |
| Return Yards |
78 |
154 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
15-28-0 |
30-42-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
4--17 |
1--7 |
| Punts |
6 |
5 |
| Punts-Average |
37.3 |
41.4 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1-1 |
0-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
5-36 |
4-45 |
| Time of Possession |
31:36 |
28:24 |
| Fresno State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| J. Haener |
30 |
42 |
378 |
5 |
1 |
| UNLV Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| P. Hill |
1 |
16 |
| Fresno State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| UNLV Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| E. Silva |
6 |
224 |
37.3 |
| Fresno State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| C. King |
5 |
207 |
41.4 |
| UNLV Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Fresno State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| R. Rivers |
1 |
14 |
14.0 |
| UNLV Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| T. Collins |
4 |
62 |
15.5 |
| Fresno State Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Mims |
6 |
140 |
23.3 |
| UNLV Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Fresno State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
