Bulldogs Dominate Bruins for 38-14 Triumph at the Rose Bowl

PASADENA - Led by senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion's five total touchdowns on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, the Fresno State football team defeated UCLA 38-14 in front of 60,867. The Bulldogs closed the game with 22-unanswered points during the final 24 minutes to earn their third-straight win over the Bruins. Fresno State improves to 2-1 on the season with a 1-1 mark on the road.

With four touchdowns on the ground, McMaryion became just the second Fresno State quarterback to rush for four touchdowns in a game - joining Mark Barsotti's feat in 1989. McMaryion finished 22-of-33 passing for 270 yards and added a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Kyle Riddering.

Nine different 'Dogs caught a pass from McMaryion with senior KeeSean Johnson registering a team-leading eight receptions for 85 yards as the senior caught his 200th career pass becoming only the fifth Bulldog receiver to join the 200 career reception club. The Bulldogs totaled 420 yards of offense adding 150 yards on the ground rushing the ball 52 times as sophomore Jordan Mims tied his career-best with 21 carries on his way to 85 rushing yards.

The Fresno State defense was again stingy, forcing four UCLA turnovers while limiting the Bruins to 270 yards of offense with 151 yards through the air and 119 yards on the ground. Junior safety Mike Bell had a team-high seven tackles, five solo, adding two pass breakups and tackle for loss. Junior linebacker Jeff Allison snagged his first two career interceptions while getting in on six tackles. The 'Dogs also forced a pair of UCLA fumbles that were recovered by Patrick Belony and James Bailey.

How It Happened
Fresno State got its offense going from the outset as the 'Dogs received the opening kickoff and went on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that burned 4:57 off the clock as McMaryion ran in a one-yard touchdown run to cap the drive. The 'Dogs converted all three third downs on the opening drive while being balanced with 39 yards rushing and passing for 36 yards, including a pair of passes to Johnson for 19 yards.

After holding UCLA to 17 yards on five plays on their first offensive possession, the Bulldogs got the ball back and continued their hot offense with a 8-play, 75-yard drive that was finished by McMaryion finding Riddering down the left hash to put the 'Dogs ahead 13-0.

For a second straight week, Belony recovered an opponent's fumble as the senior defensive tackle hopped on a Bruins' botched snap at the UCLA 38-yard line. The 'Dogs offense continued to hum along going down the field on a 6-play, 27-yard drive that finished with a 28-yard field goal by Asa Fuller (watch) to extend the 'Dogs lead to 16-0. The Bulldog offense finished the first quarter with 147 yards of offense while UCLA only countered with 38 yards, but the roles reversed in the second quarter as the 'Dogs were held to 30 yards and UCLA churned out 122 yards.

The Bruins took advantage of forcing a McMaryion fumble to strike quickly on a 45-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson to wide receiver Theo Howard, but that would be all the scoring for the Bruins the first half.

The Bulldogs took a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime and UCLA continued to take advantage of Fresno State miscues early in the second half. A botched punt return by Johnson set UCLA up at the Bulldogs' 17-yard line. The Bruins' capped the short scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Bolu Olorunfunmi to cut the 'Dogs lead to 16-14 with 12:59 left in the third quarter.

Fresno State's offense got back to firing as it was in the first quarter halfway though the third quarter, closing the game with 22-unanswered points over the final 24 minutes. It started with an 8-play, 73-yard drive that was punctuated by a one-yard touchdown run by McMaryion, his second of the game, and a successful two-point conversion pass from Jorge Reyna to Gunner Javernick to put the Bulldogs out front, 24-14, at the 6:19 mark in the third.

The defense played its part in the Bulldogs' late explosion as Allison snagged his first career interception to put the Bulldogs' offense at the 49-yard line to start their next scoring drive. The 'Dogs used a 5-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by McMaryion's third rushing score of the night, a one-yard plunge, that put the 'Dogs up 31-14 with 3:43 to play in the third quarter.

Allison kept the 'Dogs defensive pressure up and grabbed his second interception of the game on the Bruins' next offensive possession. The Bulldogs made it three straight scoring drives capped by a McMaryion touchdown, this time a two-yard score (watch) that proved to be the final score of the game as Fresno State walked out of the Rose Bowl with a 38-14 win.

Notables

Fresno State won its third straight game in the overall series against UCLA.
It was the 'Dogs first win over a Pac-12 foe since Sept. 15, 2012 when they downed Colorado, 69-14 and 17th victory over a Power Five opponent since 2000.
Jeff Tedford won his second game as a head coach at the Rose Bowl joining his 2009 win over the Bruins while at Cal.
The Fresno State defense has now forced 12 turnovers through three games.
Marcus McMaryion matches Mark Barsotti's Fresno State single game program record of four rushing touchdowns in a single game by a quarterback. Barsotti set the record on Sept. 2, 1989 vs. Utah.
KeeSean Johnson extends his nation-leading consecutive games with a reception to 39 games.
Johnson also moved into fifth-place in program history in receptions with 200 passing Bernard Berrian (199 from 1999-2003) and moves into ninth-place all-time in receiving yards with 2,415 passing Charles Smith (2,368 - 1998-2001).
McMaryion had four rushing touchdowns all of 2017 as he doubled his career total tonight against the Bruins.
It was Riddering's second career touchdown reception.
Fuller nailed his second field goal of 2018 after hitting a 33-yard field goal against Idaho.
The Bruins' second quarter punt return by Kyle Phillips for four yards was the first time an opponent has returned a punt this season against the Bulldogs.

Football | Box Score

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.