NCAAF 2013 Week 01 Rutgers vs Fresno State

the record scarlet knights have made their way across the country to take on the fresno state bulldogs it was a scorching hot afternoon sun is setting down the lights are on college football under the lights here for fresno state a season of expectation and it starts with their quarterback one of the very best in all of college football a record-setting season for carr last year both passing yards in the history of the mountain west conference carr and his bulldogs at home here to start their season against rutgers and hi everybody welcome inside the broadcast booth here at bulldog stadium dave fleming alongside coach mike valadi and mike we do have a really good matchup both these teams shared their conference title last year even bigger expectations here in 2013. for the fresno state bulldogs it starts with derek carr and it starts with all the weapons he has on offense he loved the spread for the ability to pass the football he put up heisman-like numbers but he had great support i'll tell you what devante adams isaiah burst josh harper marcel jensen he could throw to any of those guys he's going they're all coming back they're all healthy ready to go yeah this is a fresno state team that averaged 550 yards a game at home last year they think they can do even better this season but don't feel sorry for rutgers because they've got some weapons of their own a very experienced quarterback and a big-time wide-out talent veteran gary nova has matured into the position did a great job did not turn the ball over very much last year but he's got a big target and i say big brandon coleman 6-6 220 and literally every time he touches the ball goes about 21 yards with it and a lot of touchdowns so you got to keep an eye on him tonight today i mean because the fresno state defense certainly will well brandon coleman 10 touchdown receptions last year he's getting pumped up we've seen an excellent day and night of college football already and sort of the night cap on things here in fresno you can see the players are hot and that will be a factor here in this game tonight and thankfully the sun has said it was over 100 degrees here in the central valley earlier this afternoon and it must be still above 90 as we are still just a couple minutes away from kick time the captains are meeting at midfield with the officiating crew and so that means we're getting ready for kickoff now there's tim derooter second year head coach mike for this fresno state program and what a job he did last year well both of these coaches you know they had the exact same record nine and four they won both they both won a share of the conference crown both were named coach of the year both unfortunately lost their bowl games which put a little sad taste in the mouth but makes that team work harder in the off-season i think tonight too don't be confused the visiting team looks like the home team the home team looks like the visiting because fresno state it's a whiteout they're all in white so if i get screwed up sometimes i may because i'm used to seeing the home team in the dark color is that a reminder for our viewers or for the two of us that's for me there's kyle flood second year coach now kyle inherited the situation at rutgers where the program had really been on an upswing but some thought maybe a drop off in his first year as a head coach last year that was not the case yeah no drop off whatsoever i mean he his team led their conference in scoring defense they're facing a fresno state team that led their conference in scoring offense so we got a great one tonight and both of those coaches did a tremendous job in their first year taking over for really somewhat legends at each school rutgers has won the coin toss and they have elected to defer to the second half so that means fresno state will be the receiving team and there are the bulldogs in their white out uniforms first time they've ever worn those at home and the white helmets are new fresno state they're doing what a lot of teams around college football are doing they're going with all kinds of different uniform combinations this year last season at home the bulldogs were just about unstoppable 6-0 record look at that almost 50 points a game 550 yards of offense per game that's the challenge for the scarlet knights here this evening they lit it up last year they threw the ball all over the park one of the unintended consequences of spreading out having a great passing game they're hoping it will help their running game this year they don't have robbie rouse they're looking for a couple of younger guys at the running back position to step up and hopefully by spreading the defense they'll create more opportunities to get speed in space the kickoff man nick marsh wearing number 99 coming back to california he kicked for utah last year he's a fifth year transfer and he's a native of california one of the very few on this rutgers roster so he'll kick deep dylan root number 11 is the deep return man for the bulldogs so the college football season for these two teams is underway now and a low line drive kind of kickoff root takes it just outside the goal line gets to the 20 and gets tripped up across the 25 that's where the bulldogs will start with their first offensive possession of 2013 and there he is derek carr fifth year senior record-setting quarterback for fresno state yeah he is so good over 4 000 yards the thing that really impressed me though 37 touchdowns versus seven interceptions he's a student of the game he knows what to do he watches a ton of film obviously he's tried to emulate his big brother but he is an awesome quarterback in his own right yeah he recognizes the last name david carr his older brother more than a decade ago was the quarterback here at fresno state and a quick hit pass to the left side for a nice gain on first down breaking tackles so a gain of about eight yards isaiah burst with the first catch for fresno state this is vintage fresno state it's the long handoff it's really a form of their running game and they will play up tempo offense with that spread style carr will spend most of the game in the shotgun another pass complete no dropped on the left side by burst so it's going to be third down at short they also believe that their receivers give them a chance to run the ball after the catch it's very important that the receivers in this style of offense can catch but also can block for their partner and we're already getting a flavor of how fast this offense is moving a fake hand off and then wide open they're going back to that left side for the first down isaiah burst the senior from modesto he's been busy on this first series yeah they they love him every one of these guys is a threat to go all the way as soon as the defense starts over playing the underneath pass they're gonna pump and go deep seven yard gain first down across the 40 the bulldogs with the ball first here tonight good protection for card he'll just dump it short pass caught and across midfield taking it in director's territory josh quezada the transfer from byu getting the start at running back for fresno state that's a gain of 11. rutgers stuck in the middle trying to decide whether to bring pressure and single up on the receivers or have the backers carry the routes down the field which leads to the little dink passes to the running back open those three receivers stacked up on the right side quezada with carr who changes the play call and now gets the snap off and hands it off the first running play a big hole up the middle inside the 35 and nearly down to the 30 quezada with a big run for fresno state a gain of 17. and a coach on the field going get going get going faster faster they want warp speed here big time they talked to us about that before the game they think they could play a lot faster even than they did last year first down car a long pass what touch over the middle and the passes caught inside the 15. we've talked about those tight ends are also great receivers they'll flex them out they put such stress on the defense because it takes the defensive coordinator out of the game marcel jensen with his first reception he was a little banged up but he stays in the game just outside the tent so not quite first and goal they can get a first down at about the two fake hand off and carr to the left side turning it up field breaking a tackle and pushed out of bounds devonta adams the sophomore who is coming off a huge year last year way too big a cushion right there i'll tell you what if they get that type of cushion they're going to throw him the ball what we call smoke right now off the get-go that's you got to come down closer down there the goal line well fresno state is just moving right down the field as this game gets started second down and one for derek carr and company a little tighter formation and they do give the ball to quezada running up the middle and he's tackled near the first down mark but he may well be short darius hamilton for rutgers with the tackle and a lot of times it's a simple count system if they have more people in coverage than in the box they're going to run the ball the more people in the box they're going to throw it outside where they have one-on-one or even one-on-none sometimes in terms of the db being way off number 22 malik my sennheimer is sort of the power back he comes in so they're two backs behind car in the shotgun on third and very short and they will fake the hand off a lob play over the top adams there but the pass was a little high and he could not come down with it it's fourth down typical type of route that you see down here that was what we call a rub route not a pick route because picks are illegal but the receiver ran in ran through the db creating the opportunities just throwing a little bit too high big down now fourth down waters was back there in coverage but a better pass and that was a touchdown they're going for it on fourth down they don't kick a lot of field goals at fresno state they hand off quezada he's got the first down he's got the touchdown so the bulldogs on their first possession of 2013 go right down the field and punch it in on fourth down and one that was an impressive first drive that's the way you like to start the season a nice mix of run and pass and enough run to keep the defense honest also the tempo really slowed down or weakened the rutgers defense they weren't ready for that play at the end when you have to face a running play you've got to hit strike and stay low you're used to trying to get the pass rush going very very difficult colin mcguire with the extra point up and good jensen the tight end had a big play they mixed it up got all their weapons involved and then quezada on fourth down with the touchdown bulldogs lead seven nothing a white out tonight here in fresno california and these home fans watch their bulldogs take the opening kickoff go 10 plays 74 yards right down the field and score the first touchdown of the year fresno state has the seven nothing lead over rutgers there's the drive stats david carr for derek carr rather five of seven for 54 yards four different receivers caught passes he's an equal opportunity quarterback he spreads the ball around various receivers kept them honest with the running game they're outpacing rutgers right now rutgers wants to be a pressure defense but fresno state keeps spreading him out they don't get a chance to apply pressure colin mcguire will kick off deep true freshman place kicker for this fresno state team making his college debut tonight we've got lots of young players on the field here at bulldogs stadium jeremy dearing is the deep man for rutgers but instead it's going to be janarian grant who takes it and brings it across the 15 to the 20 and he might go grant to midfield he's got blazing speed and rutgers has the answer a special teams touchdown and that's the true freshman who is also one of the best dancers on the team i'll bet he'll dance a little bit on the sideline yeah you can't do it in college football can't do the end zone dance you know he's dying to do it a hundred yard kickoff return for a touchdown you see just sets up so well here gets the key blocks right there kick out he splits it and then he's off to the races the safeties are not in position and this is just a speed thing now and he's got it he's got the answer run through the end zone kyle flood told us that this kid has special special ability now rutgers in a little different look here and showing like they might go for two instead they'll set up for the conventional extra point try everybody does sort of the swinging gate look now to make the defenses have to prepare for it kyle federico sophomore place kicker the kick is up and it's good so rutgers didn't even have to get the ball on offense and they've tied the game so that was an impressive start for the true freshman janarian grant our third member of our broadcast crew tonight here from fresno is lewis johnson lewis down on the sidelines good afternoon good evening lewis car it was a tumultuous off-season preseason as a matter of fact three days into camp he experienced the joy of welcoming his first son into the world and then a few moments after that it was sheer terror as little dallas car had to be rushed into surgery to repair an intestines that was not operating right well after a second surgery and 23 days later the little guy is safely back at home and derek carr beloved by his team wants to be such a leader back here apologizing to his team for having to miss a couple days of practice he has as you know guys as we talked earlier been to through some bumps in his own career so far but credits his wife and his faith for getting him straight clearly his new son dallas has had a big effect on him but everybody's okay as well as derek carr leading his team down the field for that first score yeah thanks lewis really an incredible story actually how much time he had to miss during the fall camp and how scary that was and we're just thrilled that his brand new son is doing okay and is back home it's a great story and i and you know you just your heart goes out to him and he's handled it like a man i know talked about he just broke down and cried in his coach's arms and you know that's uh because he won he was worried about us and he also really felt he's letting his teammates down and you love a young man like that i think it's safe to say he was prepared for the start of the year though based on his first drive derek carr looked fantastic but so did rutgers on special teams these are two standout special teams units both these programs pride themselves on great special teams play and it's rutgers who gets the big play on the special teams now dylan root will try to answer and he gets tackled at the 15. great coverage there by the scarlet knights momentum is always a strange thing you know you thought rutgers is almost down and out after that first drive they come back and score in one play and then they come back and now their defense is fired up the coverage team goes down makes a great stop well mike we talked a lot about derek carr one of his impact talents on the outside the sophomore receiver devonte adams yeah and and jamal merrell morel excuse me is the guy in the middle for rutgers he's going to try and stop some of his intermediate routes tackle and occasionally apply pressure to the quarterback jamal's twin brother jameel morell another one of their top defensive players he is not playing tonight and that's big news for the scarlet knights they will miss him maybe their best pure pass rusher they're going to really miss him off the edge you have to anchor the edge against this offense handoff to martez waller in the game now and no running room that time on the first down carry in fact a loss of a yard i don't know that either one of these backs have the speed to really run wide initially that's a play more for the the quick back these backs to me look more vertical give them the ball going straight ahead let them make the hard yards inside waller will get a lot of carries quezada we saw him on the field on the first possession for the bulldogs and a penalty flag is thrown the bulldogs have a free play but the pass incomplete intended for isaiah burst i believe that rutgers jumped off sides i think you're right and that'll give him a free play tracy jones is the head referee we used to say this was a big east crew of course now the aac rutgers spending one and only one year kobigi's champions last year the aac this year they'll move to the big ten for 2014. one and done after this that's the officiating crew tonight here in fresno so it's second down and six derek carr in the shotgun a low snap but he gets the handoff off and a good open field tackle there after a gain of maybe four yards for martez waller sets up a third down very manageable third and two and a half the defense doesn't know what the offense they can run the ball they throw the quick pass if you don't cover the receivers they're going to throw it to somebody uncovered you look down here at the bottom of the screen middle receiver he's off enough if they press he's going to run the ball carr looking right he'll throw short right but the pass is batted down at the line of scrimmage excellent play there on the defensive line for rutgers that was david malewski who knocked it down it's fourth and two and that's one of the best coverage principles you have on the quick passes when the quarterback doesn't drop you run directly at him in the line of path of the ball and keep your arms up great job in knocking the ball down you mentioned a special teams prowess for these two teams as fresno state will punt for the first time these two teams the most blocked kicks that place kicks and punts in college football going back now five years numbers one and two pretty impressive and i saw pat hill's teams there's no question about it i think rutgers has sort of switched they've said tonight that they are more of a return team because they think they have great returners and obviously they did on the kickoff fair catch rutgers has the ball when we come back a 7-7 first quarter score a whiteout night for the fans of the fresno state bulldogs and a nice crowd has gathered at bulldog stadium a lot of excitement of the first four plus minutes of this one seven to seven the score fresno state with a long drive to start the game rutgers with a special teams touchdown to answer dave fleming mike belotti here at bulldog stadium and mike because of that rutgers has not yet had an offensive possession they will for the first time here no first time we get a chance to see the rutgers offense led by gary nova gary's a very talented young man that's started on off for three years now for them and he passed for almost 2 700 yards last year but the coaches give him the most compliment in that he's a teacher now on the field the players respect him enough they will listen to him when he coaches them if your rutgers fan don't recognize gary switch numbers in the off season went from 15 to 10. and before rutgers runs its first play ball starts okay number 74 five yards and that mike could be a story here tonight yeah that's keith lumpkin and he's a big son of against six eight but he can't hear any better than the rest of us sometime and you're trying you're excited young guy starting his first game at left tackle position oh my gosh that's a scary thing yeah a redshirt freshman who has never played uh down in college football and he has committed a penalty now false start penalty tackle he got his name on the loudspeaker not the way he wants to do it now a fumbled exchange and so things aren't going well for rutgers here on their first possession of the game they did keep possession no and that's not the way you want to do it and sometimes again the center is unclear as to whether the quarterback's going to take the snap directly or the shotgun it came up it looked like he's just trying to audible center and the quarterback have to get that straightened out on the exchange so they end up losing two yards with the penalty and that loss at second and 17 for nova the 6-2 junior from elmwood park new jersey started don bosco prep maybe the number one high school football power in the country these last five years he'll hand the ball off on second and long and not much running room there the bulldogs defense swarming to the ball no and you don't like to see these tap it down so early in the game second and long third long it really puts a lot of stress on your offensive line early with the carry his first of the game and a penalty flag was if it was down it was picked up no penalty it's going to be third down and long for rutgers and you have to decide as a quarterback and a coach are you going to throw it deep to pick up the 14 or 15 yards or you can throw it underneath and let him run for it two receivers left one right nova in the shotgun on third and long with time he'll grow deep he's got a man it's caught into fresno state territory for a first down and a big gain and there's the big play maker brandon coleman surprise surprise they've got to give him a lot of respect he's a double move post corn you can see him right there set up the db great timing great execution nice catch and a big gain and that's they're going to go to him all night long if he's single coverage 28-yard completion on third and long brandon coleman a junior from maryland who has just blossomed into a huge star for rutgers one of the very best wide receivers in all of college football and that's his first catch of the year he'll have many more nova passing and he's got another open receiver this time inside the 30 down to about the 28 karan pratt who's another talented kid on the outside for a rutgers first down and our impact players when rutgers has the ball obviously brandon coleman we've already talked about that key third down conversion but on the other side deron smith the pre-season defensive player of the year in the conference 79 tackles they're going to go head-to-head eventually in the course of this game a couple of passes one for 28 yards one for 14 and rutgers moving down the field tie game 7-7 still the first quarter nova pressured gets away from the initial rush gets hit as he throws and it's incomplete on the far right sideline great job by the quarterback that's the maturity uh break inside somebody came untouched he steps up makes a move to get rid of the ball and save the down and distance so it's more manageable second and ten is much better than second or fifteen or sixteen after the sack maybe having some communication problems there gary nova now gets the play call nico mata put the pressure on the fifth year senior defensive end for fresno state so under center with huggins in the backfield they'll toss to him and he's got nowhere to go tackled well behind the line of scrimmage by a group of bulldogs donovan lewis mata was there again a loss of three one of the things you're gonna see all night long is that fresno state puts a lot of indecision in the minds of the offensive line it's a different offensive line four starters return but they're in different positions and you're not sure who's coming or who's dropping so both on run plays and pass plays it makes it difficult every time to figure out who is my blocking assignment good point fresno state totally changed its defensive identity last year when tim deruder took over and it totally changed the results fresno state made a huge improvement third and long nova steps up throws and he overthrows his receiver he might have had pratt open over the middle but it's incomplete fourth down he had brad open he wants that ball back and that's one of the things that gary nova has only completed 57 of his passes last year the thing that they wanted more from him this year was consistency and being able to hit the guys when you're not under pressure and when they are wide open well kyle federico is going to come out and attempt a very long field goal try 48 yards his first attempt of the year he's got a big leg from the right hash federico's kick is on the way curling back and it is good impressive 48-yard field goal yeah very low trajectory which is in danger of being blocked but obviously a big leg kicked that one low i don't know about the wind on the field but that's a great that's a huge confidence builder for a young kicker so the field goal try is good rutgers has settled down in this game and in fact kyle flood and his group they've taken a 10-7 lead [Music] here at fresno state first quarter action rutgers with a 10-7 lead the bulldogs did get off to a very quick start in this game rutgers has given a nice answer mike fresno state blazing start just marched right down the field a couple of key runs by josh tazzata with the spark plugs to get them in the end zone here's your power run to get in there behind a great offensive line block down there but it didn't take long for janarian grant and rutgers to answer the first touch of a young man's college career he goes 100 plus yards nobody touches him great speed fun memories for that young man and then rutgers forced to three and out from the bulldogs got the ball back couple big pass plays got into long field goal range kick to 48 yarder so the scarlet knights have come all the way across the country to the heat of the central valley and in the first quarter they've got a 10-7 lead winning it on special teams special teams out there again federico not the kickoff man they use nick marsh the punter and very deep dylan root from the end zone he's going to bring it out route to the 15-20 but no more room good coverage again for the scarlet knights so fresno state getting the ball back florida atlantic and miami that comes up tomorrow friday eight eastern another match-up and this opening weekend for the college football season on espnu the hurricanes who are stacked with offensive weapons themselves al goldens steven morris at quarterback but al gold's done a great job and they are supposed to be one of the surprise teams not just in their league but in the nation this year well florida atlantic there and miami [Music] will meet on friday eight eastern espnu pass play left sideline of the pass is that was the star white out davonte adams maybe saw that defensive player coming over and he could not hang on to the ball you know i think i think he actually was thinking about making a cut before so adams who had 102 receptions as a freshman last year and 14 touchdowns here's a quick pass left side burst turns it up field across the 25 and tackled short of the 30 short of the first down mark the whole idea is if they commit as many people as you have out there you run the ball or toss over the top if they don't if they're back off with only two on three you're going to throw the quick screen outside you've got a numbers advantage quezada in the backfield it's third and two carr a little pump fake looking and he finds a man the catch is made but i don't know if they got the first down right near the 30 is going to depend on the spot steve longo with a good open field tackle the middle linebacker steve long a young player but that's a huge uh stop right there because i think it's going to be fourth down which puts a little question mark in the minds of the faithful here yeah you're right though they have spot of the ball short and the punt team is coming out what a tackle by steve longa to save a first down derek carr and his teammates have to come back to the sideline jared swanson the punter comes out you always have to be aware of a fake no matter where you are when it's this shorter distance and janarian grant who we saw spectacular on the kickoff return will make the fair catch signal and make that catch at about the 28-yard line of rutgers the scarlet knights in the first quarter leave fresno state 10-7. [Music] back here at bulldog stadium at fresno state dave fleming mike belotti with you first quarter just over six minutes still to play rutgers has a 10-7 lead over the home standing bulldogs gary nova the quarterback junior has got a lot of experience and mike kyle flood thinks gary nova is going to be a lot better even this year well that statement that he made we talked earlier about the fact that his ability to coach the other players and for young quarterbacks that's not always easy because first of all you're one of their teammates but he a couple years ago was splitting time with chase dot he beat him out they saw a greater potential for him and he's lived up to that potential the players trust him and they'll listen to him when he talks yeah coach flood telling us about how he really sees that happening these days first and ten for rutgers nova is going to be under center and i formation to pass nova looking to the left side and a pass caught nice catch there the quick tackle but a good gain for the scarlet knights and that once again is brandon coleman brandon coleman is such a big target that's six six and he's got range which means you can throw it anywhere in a five yard area he's going to get to the ball that's such a weapon at wide receiver so just enough for a first down they spotted him ahead 11 yards rutgers first down second catch already 39 yards receiving for brandon coleman who is one of the best wide receivers in college football handoff on first down huggins hits the hole hard but there wasn't a whole lot of running room a gain of three yards on first down the other thing you can watch they're putting coleman into the short side and they're seeing whether he has single coverage or not if he has single coverage they probably have a way to get him the ball if he gets double covered he opens up the field for the rest either the running game with the backs or for the other receivers to be single covered rutgers really feels like this season they need to improve that run game they had a running back who has drafted juwan jamison into the nfl but their run game was not that productive last year despite all the success they had they'll fake the handoff nova rolling right throws back middle and a pass is caught turned up field hits a first down and into fresno state territory the tight end paul carazolo with the catch and the first down yeah good mobility here to to get outside you can sort of see this the play fake comes off does a nice job with the fake and then it's the second running into the flat it's not the initial fullback it's the tight end who comes there great job of throwing on the run people don't understand how difficult it is to throw running full speed laterally from the line of scrimmage that was pretty good catch by carazola modest numbers last year they think he can be a little bit bigger part of the offense this season under center first and ten nova with time again down the sideline had a man open there but the pass was a little inaccurate intended for coleman double move route and again coleman getting single coverage they're going to keep going there another second example of gary knoll having a guy wide open and not quite putting the ball on the money and we saw those stats you talked about it already the the completion percentage the interceptions those are where they want to see improvement from their junior quarterback he had one really bad game the reality is they did not turn the ball over very much at all last year tight end carazola goes in motion to the right side sort of an offset eye formation on second and ten they will hand the ball off running right and tackled from behind there huggins pulled down after a short game great job by kyrie wilson came from the inside and chased that play down had had the running back gotten outside there was not a defender there to stop it wilson a guy who beat out some more experienced players he is just a sophomore and they think he's got a chance to be a big-time linebacker they love his length and his athleticism they said we've got guys now that can really really run inside and we had veteran guys we were counting another area rutgers thinks they could be better third down conversions this one third and seven inside fresno state territory they need to get down to about the 37 from the shotgun pressure picked up nicely but the throw is incomplete fourth down i'll tell you what i see right now rutgers is doing a really a pretty good job in terms of pass protection but gary nova has not been as accurate as he needs to be given that type of protection so it's fourth down and that means the punt team comes out for rutgers nick marsh will try to pin fresno state deep 3 47 to go first quarter isaiah burst is deep to receive for the bulldogs and maybe just in a fair catch position we'll see [Applause] fresno state puts a lot of pressure on the punt game gets it off with some pressure and a fair catch called for and made by burst at the 12. let's check in once again on the sidelines with lewis johnson hey dave look across the field from where you guys are you'll see jameel morell missing at defensive end spot for rutgers uh sometimes he's looking like a coach on staff sometimes like a caged dog with his eyes saying that he wants to be in this game out with a foot problem not quite sure when he'll be able to return but we did have a quick chance to chat about his brother jamal who got married in that interesting story of asking coach if they could have a pre-season game off and jamil said he is so proud of his brother for stepping up and being the man that he is and the hard work of being a husband has begun but right now jamil wishes he could be out there on the field with his brother yeah the big loss for rutgers jameel not playing jamal is out there two of their best defensive players and very close on this rutgers team derek carr throws and the ball off the hands of devonta adams incomplete well jamal morrell was married it was only just a few weeks ago they had a scrimmage the brothers asked their head coach hey can we miss the scrimmage this one is pretty important and coach flood said yeah yeah i think most coaches understand that jamal and jamil are the captains of this team so it's no surprise that jamil even though he's not playing on the sideline exhorting his guys to get going martez waller is the running back alongside derrick carr the senior quarterback in the shotgun and a quick pass to burst right side turns it up field made one tackler miss but not a second so short of the 20 longer with another tackle for the scarlet knights a gain of five that's a pushing and shoving after the play great job of getting to a manageable third and four or five long four short five whatever call the records defense is sugaring things they're showing pressure and dropping back into coverage they're moving their people around to confuse or try to confuse derrick carr he's still getting the ball out very easily now you can see why burst was upset the helmet by jamal morrell was just ripped off and burst has to come off the field for this third down play third and four car pressure throws caught first down and more 30 almost to the 35 devontae adams you're right and those things happen that you have to go out if you get your helmet unless there's a penalty called and obviously sometimes the officials don't see how it happens so first down and maybe fresno state can get some offensive rhythm back they just blew right down the field on their first possession of the game since then it's been much more difficult to give some of that credit to the rutgers defense play fake back to pass rutgers defense putting more pressure on carr who kind of throws it up for grabs incomplete and here comes a penalty flag intended for harper but the flag flies yeah there was definite contact you can see it in the air the ball's in the air and the db were was jostling the wide receiver [Applause] passive defense defense number 24 automatic first set penalty on lou toler the senior defensive back yeah take a look right here you can see him and you don't quite see it he was pushing the ball was in there for quite a while you know carr is one of the fastest of the fastest quarterbacks ever to play at fresno state so we'll get outside quite a bit and put a lot of stress on the defense yeah not a big part of his game but he's got it if he needs it he can use his legs handoff left side and a gang tackle by the scarlet knights defense martez waller for a short game one other thing i think that rutgers was a little shell shocked in that first drive the heat the whole thing they are playing much better now uh fresno's not playing quite as fast or having the success that they have number 91 darius hamilton has made an impact in this game second and nine for fresno state near midfield not quite to midfield at their own 49. final two minutes plus of this first quarter at bulldog stadium play fake pass caught bursts absorbs the hit hangs on first down inside the 40. lorenzo waters put a pretty big hit on the burst with a nice catch burst is what you call an inside receiver he's going to catch the ball in traffic he's not afraid of getting hit has great concentration with that pass derek carr just moved past his brother on the all-time yardage list at fresno state into fourth place on a very distinguished list there's josh harper his first catch of the game steve longa with another tackle for rutgers notice if you will that the rutgers defense is sliding out to match personnel to get a hat for a hat outside and they're fighting off the blocks the receivers they're not going to be blocked by a wide receiver second and six for the bulldogs derek carr not as up tempo as we saw at the very beginning of the game they do vary their offensive tempo trenching the play call gets the snap off in plenty of time handoff waller tackled short of the first down by a couple of yards obviously he liked what he saw inside with the matchup they had three on three to the outside that signal that whatever it is with the arms is telling them he's changing the play they're going to run it they felt like they had a match up on that left side they liked second time already isaiah burst's helmet has come off so he's got to get that address they need him on the field he's third down plays he's one of their critical players it also has allowed rutgers that substituted six guys so they can keep their people fresh you don't want that to happen yeah good point third and two right about the rutgers 30 yard line scarlet knight showing some pressure on defense we'll see if they actually bring the pressure the handoff up the middle waller's got room he's got the first down and much more inside the 15. deering saved the touchdown with a tackle but a 17-yard gain and they were bringing pressure but sometimes when you're angling or slanting you don't cover down it's tight on the gaps and waller just burst up there said i'm not going to be denied fresno state on the move the pass caught right side turning it up field inside the 10 josh harper spins away from one tackler then shoved out of bounds a gain of five the other thing you'll see as they keep going with this is the receivers the blockers have to have patience and the ball carrier receiver has to have patience he's got to set up those blocks and let it work don't rush to judgment in terms of which way you go not enough numbers outside to the left they have a wildcat in mike greg watson their backup quarterback slash wide receiver slash wildcat quarterback is going to take it himself and he just had nowhere to go i believe that the rutgers defense knew that and that's why they didn't cover outside they knew he's going to run the ball so a loss of three yards and we'll have a big third down play when we come back to bulldogs stadium a very entertaining first quarter they're ready for the college football season here at fresno rutgers with the 10-7 lead [Applause] [Music] [Applause] nighttime central valley california we're at fresno state the bulldogs and the scarlet knights of rutgers 10-7 rutgers has the lead start of the second quarter they fleming mike malotti here along with louis johnson and at the start of the second quarter derek carr and his bulldogs offense they've got a very big third down play coming up they've got a lot of room to throw this their third nate uh balls on about the 12. they can get a first down inside the three but they can also throw to the back of the end zone so it's really difficult because rutgers has to defend the entire end zone interesting first quarter rutgers ran twice as few plays as fresno state and yet they've got the 10-7 lead with great special teams a big part of that but fresno state threatening to go back in front fake handoff sprinting left derrick carr angles the body and it's intercepted in the end zone intercepted by rutgers and a good idea probably to just get down and ian thomas does the redshirt freshman with the big pick in the end zone ian thomas played him they had an over under route going in the corner you'll see derek run to his left here he uses this a lot to move and get outside the pocket the ball storm right now quickly he has a chance but great play by the corner sloughs off the underneath route and sort of plays with carr says okay try throw it over me i'm ready great job did a great job in coverage and some of these rutgers young guys are really looking impressive in their college football debut we saw the dynamic touchdown return on the kickoff from generian grant and now the redshirt freshman thomas with the interception we asked rutgers okay who are your best cover guys the first name was the kid who's never played a snap yeah and then you know what they played pretty good defense last year a lot of these kids who played a little better watch they learned something they know what to do clock is moving by the way so they're going to have to address that that may be why we have a little bit of a delay the ruling on the field is an interception defender tackle it end zone for a touch back the players under further review okay so we're going to have a review and we're not reviewing whether the ball was intercepted we're i think reviewing about the touchback the clock also was not running during that play but i think what's being looked at here is whether thomas went out of the back of the end zone or whether he got down for a touch back do you think that's possible yeah yeah the left foot there was that little slip so you have a replay official upstairs tony bennett listed as the replay official for this game kyle flood i think he's trying to figure out exactly what is being looked at and i think the way that the head referee worded that i think that's exactly what they're trying to figure out tracy jones whether the kid thomas who intercepted the ball was tackled in the end zone for a touch back or not see if we can get another look at it if you voluntarily run out of the back of the end zone that is a safety so that's that may be what they're looking at the previous play was reviewed for a clock adjustment please reset the gamecock for 14 minutes and 52 seconds thank you well as it turns out that was a great look there it turns out he did not go out of the back of the end zone but the whole thing was just about the clock so they'll get the clock corrected eight seconds taking off 14 52 to go in the first half and rutgers off that interception off the turnover will have the ball back rutgers playing great defense have really a different team since the first series they've gotten their breath they've relaxed a little bit they say we can do this this was a team that was fourth in total defense in all of college football last year lost a lot of defensive talent to the nfl but they feel like they've replaced it with some very talented young guys a broken tackle and a big run left side near the first down pushed out of bounds and it is pj james paul james with the carry his first touch of this game out of first down records if your edge defender doesn't set the edge of the defense watch out you're going to get the outside and get a lot of yards going with a little quick tempo offense nova in the pocket he's going deep left sideline and the pass is caught 20-10 end zone touchdown and it's leonte carew the sophomore with the long touchdown reception of 69 yards they talked about leonte as the surprise of fall camp just a young athlete that kept making play after play here he has great concentration getting the ball and then taking off and boy is he a happy camper and is this crowd shell shocked right now a big time talent kid who played high school football with the quarterback gary nova they're not exactly the same age but at don bosco prep in new jersey the extra point coming for rutgers the bulldogs are stunned i think and the kick is up and it is good 17-7 that's the rutgers lead and another big play for the scarlet knights this time in the past game this time the young guy leonte carew he just blew right by the defense 17-7 scarlet knights on espn and also live on watch espn and derek carr some of the matchups on saturday night aj mccarron of alabama casey paw hall of tcu and we'll see if he actually does start that game for the horned frogs but the best touchdown interception ratios in the country career-wise of any quarterbacks those two and the fresno state quarterback here tonight great choices at quarterback they could all play for me i'll tell you that much [Applause] but rutgers is the team after watching fresno state go right down the field on the first possession of the game and take a seven nothing lead rutgers now up 17-7 nick marsh kicking off deep and way back in the end zone and it'll be a touch back as fresno state will start but first another look at that touchdown mike this is a great throw lj jones the corner on that side has eyes on both receivers and as such he doesn't realize the speed of peru he just gets out passive he loses sight of the receiver one of the things you have to do as a db is stay deep as the deepest white is the widest failed in that attempt well and leonte carew and several of his young teammates are opening eyes here in the opener for rutgers because the kids getting a chance to play with all that talent moving on to the nfl and the kids are playing real well here tonight the coaches sound pretty excited about some of those young receivers so it's no surprise the spread offense for fresno state three receivers left one right carr will hand it off and they carry for a gain of a yard maybe two with some forward progress one thing records is doing is containing the big plays not allowing the big break at plays excuse me noah is averaging 26.6 yards for completion car only 8.8 great job by rutgers defense quezada the byu transfer back in the game he had that short carry so it's second and nine and they'll give it to him again the hole closed up pretty quickly rutgers swarm into the ball on defense not quite a manageable third down you like it to be third and four or less 36 means you got to throw the ball down the field a little bit they've been running the ball look for some type of seams internal scenes are where you get this type of first down daryl stevenson was in on that tackle he goes to the sideline third and six for the bulldogs carr in the pocket throws middle a flag is thrown and the ball was caught man did he put some zip on that pass josh harper with the reception we'll see what the penalty flag is for [Applause] we nearly got the call now a little conference chop block it looks like yeah and that's a combination like high low on alignment personal foul chop flop offense number 56 distance to the goal third down what a big penalty that is against fresno state yeah that takes away a completion for the first down and that happens often on the quick passing game when they're trying to get the hands of the defensive lineman down so they can't block the pass and somebody's engaged and the guy goes low that becomes a chop wall penalty on lars bramer the fifth year senior center for the bulldogs explanation was given to tim de rooter the head coach for fresno state the third and very long third and about 20 coming up for the bulldogs back inside their own 15. it would have been a first down first one concern is how do you protect for something this long rushing just three cars got time but they had good coverage so he dumps it off short and they'll come up way short of the first down drop back make him throw it tackle him inbounds underneath the first down that's defensive philosophy 101. so harper with the catch but they needed 20 and did not get anywhere close to that they got about five so fourth down coming up and the bulldogs will send garrett swanson the sophomore punter back to punt so far it's been the big plays of rutgers and then they're improving defense over the course of this game rutgers forces another punt here fresno state looked unstoppable nearly a block fair catch signal four and janarian grant holds on right around the rutgers 40-yard line so time-out here at bulldog stadium 17-7 that's the rutgers league so that's a pretty impressive score thousand with that win 33-18 over a team that's in the aac with rutgers rutgers looking a little better here on the road at fresno state leading 17-7 and uh mike i think the defensive coordinator for the bulldogs he's got some thinking to do well try to figure out get this game but then will my baby sleep tonight or like will i get to see her nick toth who's a young guy second year defensive coordinator here at fresno and a brand new dad as in like 24 hours ago but here he is on the sideline he took a couple hours to go to the hospital and be with his wife now on the sideline but rutgers been moving the ball in this first half still 12 26 to go until halftime 10 point lead for the scarlet knights on a play fake they're going deep again and they've got a man again that's coleman well into fresno state territory the big play guy with another big catch that one goes for 22 yards coleman's stride length dictates respect from the dbs he's so large you've got to give him cushion because with that stride length he can get past you and he can get to top speed very quickly so he's going to have his pick if they play him tight he's going to run by him if they play off they're going to run 18 to 20 yards down the field be able to throw it it's a great opportunity gary nova the quarterback he's attempted 10 passes and throwing for 155 yards in this first half so they're taking shots down the field formation and they give it to the tailback running right picking his way forward and tackled short of the 30-yard line again that's paul james the sophomore from glassboro new jersey you know we talked about the fact uh gary nova has not been a high percentage completion guy so you're much more likely to take shots we've got a big receiver we're not going to complete 65 to 75 percent of our passes let's take more shots the odds are he will complete that i like it play to your strengths exactly if he's not going to complete 70 of his passes and that's not been the track record use the strong arm use the big play white outs and we've already seen they've got several of them so second down here and about six to go single coverage down there but now they're running the ball james with another carry there wasn't a whole lot of room there he got a yard or so to set up third down manageable third down but gonna require a completion of five to six yards or more well we've seen they're just about in field goal range now their place kicker with an impressive 48-yard field goal earlier kyle federico but rutgers does not want to settle for a field goal try the other good thing about the ball almost in the middle of the field gives all of your passing game because you can go either way right or left side james still in the backfield and rutgers will shift on offense a tightly bunch formation here play clock down to three nova throws he's got the pass complete up the middle first down inside the 20 down to the 18. nice job of shifting the bunch from one side to the other which creates confusion in the mind of the defense the idea of the bunch is to create mismatches so you can get releases for your receivers they cross and then somebody doesn't get picked up and it's an easy completion for five yards they use the fullback michael burton there the former walk-on who's turned into a nice player for rutgers burton will handle the ball more this season and you can see why first and ten scarlett knights at the bulldogs 18-yard line kind of a high snap but the handoff given right side running and some fairly powerful running just not a lot of room for paul james well i still don't think the wretcher's team is built for the speed run to the outside the linemen aren't built that way inside like to go downhill and that's honestly what they should do nova be in the huddle records has huddled up for most of this game on offense fresno state has hardly huddled at all the two different styles on the offensive sides in this match-up rutgers and the bulldogs of fresno state at second and ten nova from under center goes middle another pass complete short of the first down the third down and a more manageable distance that time the tight end tyler croft i think we're seeing great decision making by gary nova he has improved just in the course of this game from his accuracy his sense of timing of getting rid of the football and then putting it on one side or the other away from the defender so i'm liking what i'm seeing yeah that's a good point and the offensive line has given him time this is a pressure defense for fresno state they have not gotten much of a pass rush going so it's third and fourth inside the 15 of the bulldogs play fake looking left still looking end zone and caught but out of bounds so no touchdown leonte carew pretty athletic play again he came down with the ball but out of bounds it's fourth down well covered great protection but really nowhere to go on that play great coverage by fresno state you see him playing it into the end zone using that as the 12th defender the end line so the field goal try coming up kyle federico hit one from 48 yards earlier this time 29 yards but that angle from the right hash mark [Applause] the snap and hold the kick is on the way and the kick is good so federico his second field goal in this first half rutgers impressive start to their season the scarlet knights on the road now leading 20-7 [Music] rutgers with the 20-7 first half lead on the road against the fresno state bulldogs fresno state had a seven nothing lead in this game and i think a big play in this one the freshman janarian grant took the kick off after the bulldogs touchdown and showed off some great speed i agree it's not just the play itself but it took away a lot of momentum that fresno state had created on the first drive and then this perfect pass nice job poor play by the fresno secondary got him going in fresco had a chance to come back and inadvertently throw air in the end zone there by derrick carr intercepted and tough because that's that's a seven-point swing grant larue and thomas young guys with big plays and how about the quarterbacks derek carr the guy getting all the publicity and yet gary nova has gone toe-to-toe with him and really in some ways has outplayed him fresno state getting the ball back here the coverage has been excellent for the scarlet knights dylan root brings it back across the 20-yard line first and 10 bulldogs i would agree with you and right now gary nova's i think upped his annie in terms of hey i'm a guy he reads the papers too he's parodying about he's going to play this other quarterback that's got the heisman looks and all this type of thing and he says hey we got some players too i'm going to make some plays and he certainly is doing that derek carr who's got the pedigree younger brother of a former number one overall nfl draft pick guy who set a conference record for passing yards mountain west conference record last year over 4 000 yards and 37 touchdowns explosive bulldogs offense last season and yet so far the wreckers defense has played very well first and ten fresno state carr pressured steps up a little pump fake he's gonna run and he'll get a block to the edge to the 35 dances out of bounds at the 39 across to the 40-yard line that that's what a veteran quarterback can see you know they're in an empty formation which means that there's nobody back there but the only russian four guys everybody else is dropping in coverage and looking at the receiver so once he breaks if if he doesn't see somebody open he can get by the line of scrimmage he knows you've got a long way to go and you mention that 40 time the ball is loose on the ground and nobody sees it rutgers is going to fall on it and it's a turnover the scarlet knights have the ball comes up with the fumble and rutgers stuns this fresno state even more with another big play on defense another turnover they're coming by the defense first name you know his knee may have been down though when he was on the ground it we'll see if we can take a look i know that they're probably looking at it upstairs right now but take a look and see right here when he goes down ah i think he might be down that might be that might come back what a big play that would be that would be a great break for fresno state because right at that point if his right knee touches down and the ball's on the ground i don't know maybe he got the ball off it but if his knee is down he's down yeah so the question would be is the knee down and did he have possession of the ball while the knee was down and i believe that the previous place is undefeated so they are going to look at it and that's exactly right mike they're going to try to see rutgers thinks it has the turnover and you can see why they would think that but it could be that fresno state got the break there and i guarantee you the rutgers coaches are going run a play run a play hurry up before they signal it dead and it this will be a big play a lot of momentum huge huge potential turnovers let's see if we can see knee down and did he have the ball in his hand in possession with the knee down the knee is definitely down right there and he has possession i believe i think he has it it came out real quick it was almost moving as he lifted it up to try to get away from the hit of darius hamilton yeah right there his knee is down and he has the ball clearly in his hands he's trying to grasp it with the other but i think i think they would judge that to be control of the ball i would think so too but they're still taking a look upstairs and obviously both coaches are sending prayers hopefully it's my way rutgers wanting the ball and fresno state hoping that no my player's knee was down we need the ball back because this could be a huge field position opportunity for rutgers that ball is at the 34-yard line going in there already almost in field goal range it's worth pointing out with all of the review plays that we have there has to be evidence that is worthy of overturning the call on the field so that's a key to any replay review tracy jones the head referee waiting for the ruling from upstairs indisputable video evidence and it was there was a lot of evidence there i guess there's a question whether it was indisputable or not okay yeah and i will tell you this the officials do an unbelievable job because we have to literally go through replays five and ten times to determine what really happened they're making split-second decisions on the field and as a coach i used to not like the officials very much a lot of the time but most of the time i'd go back and look at the films and they were right mike valadi here with me tonight head coach long time head coach at oregon very successful and you came here a couple times with your ducks two bulldog stadium played against fresno state a couple times yeah one of the few teams that would come here and play them i think during the course of my career i played fresno state five times three up in eugene and two down here and we were very lucky we won every one but they were all tough hard-fought battle what were you thinking doing that scheduling yeah i didn't do the scheduling back there that's that's exactly what it was someone else was doing that scheduling so the officials and i think they are now getting the ruling and it looks to me like they're trying to signal across the field to kyle flood the rutgers head coach jim derudo the fresno state head coach talking about what's going on if it does go back to them it's going to be second and 14 or 15. so it's going to be a difficult long yarding situation obviously would be a big break for fresno state even at a difficult spot the turnover would have given rutgers the great field position so now they may have to be determining about where the ball is spotted so take another look at it just to get the spot correct let's listen in after review it was determined that the runner had possession of the ball and was down at the 35-yard line it will be second down and 15 from the 35-yard line please start the clocks on my signal that might be a play that helps spark fresno state a little bit that now the other thing is oftentimes rutgers or the defense will come with the blitz after that type of play they're mad the coaches are frustrated also it's a long yarded situation they may want to come after him well and ultimately that's a good look at what they were looking at ultimately the idea of replay get the call right and i think that in this case they got the call right absolutely there were a lot of coaches that were not for replay they didn't want the officials to be i was i said let's get it right you hit it right on the hood derek carr that first drive was something else since then it's been a lot tougher and not just the yards but the way they've had to go about it the rutgers defense made a pretty good adjustment in this game and now still some confusion we'll get ready to play ball here in just a moment second at 15 coming up fresno state has lost some of their rhythm and part you get going in a rhythm getting the ball off quickly getting outside get three to five yards each time they've lost that ability so they're getting more negative yardage play or no yardage play which sets up more difficult situations i think that's true i think these high tempo spread offenses are based in large part on rhythm carr pressured and he's going to be dropped a penalty flag is thrown but the scarlet knights drop carr it's a sack and a loss of about five yards holding offense number 76 penalties declined third down marcus thompson who may be the tough guy on the team the penalty was against alex fafeta but the penalty declined the sack holds its third and very long we saw this situation just the two series ago third and 20. rutgers will probably sit in a zone bring minimum pressure and make sure that carr has to dump the ball off underneath rally to the ball and tackle the guy short of the first down five receivers empty backfield car in the shotgun on third and 19 with the clock moving second quarter here in fresno and even that four-man rush gets some pressure on the ball was tipped an excellent play by the defensive back there and the incomplete pass lou toller knocked it away it's fourth down and you see the chess match fresno state calling the play where the pass is thrown all the way 20 yards down the field with sort of a pick route or a wheel route as we call it because they knew that they would be sitting in the zone no more good defense from rutgers enforces another punt for swanson [Applause] a low punt we'll see if grant has a chance to return he mocks the return he signaled fair catch lost the ball and fresno state has it this time the special teams play in favor of the bulldogs yeah sometimes the freshmen giveth and sometimes you take it away you know a touchdown and a fumble ruling on the field is a muff punt recovered by the kicking team first down actually looked like he caught that ball oh no he didn't it just bounced right out of there yeah for that backwards angle it did look like he had it for a moment and if a fair catch was ruled maybe he could have had possession but clearly from that angle he did not recovered the fumble for fresno state on special teams a pass out into the flat verse upfield first down inside the 30 and down to the rutgers 25. back to their bread and butter the rhythm throw outside three on two the quick screen to the to the field 15-yard completion and fresno state with the turnover on special teams their fortunes have changed here they should do it again either top of the bottom carr passes middle and it's caught at the 20-nifty move from harper and with the extra effort he gets about eight yards inside the 20 down to nearly the 16. they like harper you know he got hurt last year but they think he has the same type of abilities devonte adams big time receiver that can do something with the ball after the catch the junior from saint mary's high school in stockton big time football program their car pressured and he gets rid of the ball heaves it out of bounds incomplete and avoids the sack rutgers much like fresno state wants to be a pressure defense i don't know that they want to turn loose defensive lineman inside though i think that was a mistake inside by the fresno state offensive line isaac holmes put the pressure on and forced that in completion so it's third down and one [Music] rutgers has a chance to force fresno state into a tough decision it probably could be down i would go two downs i'd run the ball because i think and again rutgers is an anticipating run that comes up very tight loading the box right now they're they don't have enough defensive backs out here at the bottom of the street you see three receivers only two guys they fake the handoff car looking left and he throws short left the pass is caught and it is a first down for fresno state once again josh harper with the reception they had an underneath guy that was sort of the pump and go they were showing that quick screen trying to catch the recorder's defense off guard great job of being patient but fresno state still picks up the first down harper now five catches only 27 yards carr and fresno state on the move the live play adams a lot of contact flag is thrown that unfortunately was an easy call that was contact inhibiting the receiver from getting to the ball and the defensive back did not have his back eyes to the ball defense number two the ball would be spotted at the two-yard line automatically you can take a look right here there it is he would have to turn into him look back for the ball have any chance he cannot grab a hold or make contact easy call that one yeah not a lot of nuances to that call so gary with the penalty it'll be first in goal fresno state at the two that's what you call great field position right there yeah four chances to punch it in and make this a closer game you have two backs waller and micenheimer they give it and waller stops short of the goal line he got a yard but only one i thought he was gonna score right there i thought there was a big enough hole but the rutgers guys inside rallied to close that hole immediately second goal from the one normally i'd say i'd be surprised if they take the ball uh and put it in here i think they'd run this in the crowd doesn't like the fact that uh one of the rutgers guys is down right now and i think he really is i don't know if it's a cramp or whatever but glossin who just committed that penalty and it could well be a cramp that the heat is still very warm here the sun has gone down mercifully it was over 100 degrees in fresno today it was just a scorching hot day despite practicing double days too kids are not prepared for the amount of expenditure of energy they do in a first game in the combination of nerves and running up and down the field it takes its toll we oftentimes have more cramping and more situations dehydration in a first game basis than any other time well you and i were watching that south carolina north carolina game earlier today to sort of kick off the college football season and i think we saw that very clearly in that game no question the point i was going to make though at the one yard line second down i don't believe that they're going to throw the ball they could because fresno state does that but i would believe they're going to punch this one in a goal for the bulldogs rutgers with the 20-7 lead but trying for a goal-line stand on defense patrick suha in the game who plays mostly linebacker he wears number 30. you can see him in the huddle but he comes in as a fullback type on these kind of plays so he's in the backfield along with carr and they give the ball once again but again i think stops short that time it was mice and heimer and he could not get in i think rutgers has substituted also in godzilla their goal line package which typically is an extra down lineman so they go to like a double eagle five-man five-man down see how stubborn fresno state is trying to punch it in sometimes coaches want to be stubborn they want that and chest themselves early to make sure everybody in the stadium knows we're going to run the ball we need to be able to punch it in this is their 11th third down play of this first half another hand off and again stop short meisenheimer stood up inside the one but brilliant defense from rutgers one of the stars of this half darius hamilton but now a penalty flag is down unsportsmanlike conduct defense number 91 after distance to the goal automatic first down wow did i say good field position earlier let me rephrase that this is good field position well hamilton who really has played a great half for rutgers he's been doing a lot of good things just a sophomore from west patterson the son of a new york giants great keith hamilton a very talented kid but that was an ill-time penalty no and unfortunately that was a great play by rutgers one of the problems for fresno state their backs right now are not quick enough to get to that hole the hole is open it's closing faster than they can get now quickly to the line derek carr takes a snap they're going to try to throw and toward the corner of the end zone incomplete intended for harper there was contact no flag thrown [Applause] i thought they might be able to get an easy one there people were thinking they're gonna run the football but i think they're gonna come back and run it i think right now their manhood has been challenged by rutgers and they're going to say guys we need to prove something to ourselves well this has been anything but easy there was some contact there but not nearly as much that was a good no call that was ian thomas again the redshirt freshman on the coverage it's a second ago and they do hand it off fighting for the goal line waller reaching and what's the signal touchdown and that was about as difficult as it could be for fresno state but they finally punch it in fresno was pretty lucky not to have to be faced with fourth or one or make a really tough decision that penalty obviously helped him a great deal get him four more downs down there fresno state does get the touchdown and it was meisenheimer malik meisenheimer who did get that carry into the end zone extra point coming up here [Applause] and we may have a review of this one the ruling on the field is the runner who broke the plane of the goal line for a touchdown the player is under further review meisenheimer is their battering ram type guy let's see if we can take a look and see it looked to me as if he put the ball over at some point before his knees went down let's take a look i don't think he's down i think the ball is over right there and his legs are still off the ground because the defenders have a hold of them so the real question i think is just where that ball ended up but he's got possession we're not going to see it for the massive bodies probably tough to tell very hard to tell and that's why i say this line judge is coming in trying to figure it out too but we sort of look right here he puts his arm i think right there he's got the ball over because his the ball is at the same number as 30 something right there yeah i think he's in and two keys on that review number one i think you said the the it looked like the knee was never down at any point there but number two you got to have evidence to overturn the call exactly and it was determined to be a touchdown on the field so unless they can see something that the knee was down or the ball was not in let's take one more look here maybe we see something from this angle it might show it to us there's the ball there's the ball yeah i think i actually think even from this angle looks as if the ball did cross the plane yeah i just don't think they're even if it didn't i don't know how they would overturn that call how many plays was that down there four five six four after review the ruling on the field stands touchdown so that language does tell you they'll say confirmed if the video evidence tells you oh yeah we got the call right for sure we see that we got it right they use the language the call stands if well we just couldn't tell so the call stands fresno state needed those points to stay in this game so it's the true freshman from austin texas colin mcguire goes on to try to kick the extra point point game and he does just that so fresno state with a big score getting toward the end of the first half and a lot of mistakes for wreckers helped make it happen first there was the punt return they gave fresno state the ball back excellent field position a pass interference call in the end zone and then finally after a bunch of tries fresno state punches it in [Music] plus we'll show you how it wrapped up in columbia dave all right matt thanks hey it's still baseball season we could have a baseball score in a football game so that one fairly surprising this one you might call it a surprise rutgers an underdog coming across the country to play on the road and they have a 20 to 14 lead though 417 to go until halftime nine or ten point underdog and they have and they didn't help themselves on that last drive unfortunately with a couple mistakes they fought the fumbled pun as we talked about and then a couple of penalties that really helped fresno state yeah i think that's safe to say they did not help themselves you saw jeremy dearing who's an excellent kick return man he's back deep to receive and the kick is a very short one and that'll be caught short of the 30-yard line rutgers will take over some of the best players from around the country are featured on the espn high school football showcase don't miss this one colquin county and georgia against hoover alabama 11 p.m eastern on friday on espnu and also live on watch espn powerhouse kind of programs part of our espn high school football showcase now gary nova and rutgers it's been a while since they ran a play yeah that's i was going to say that that last drive took a long time a lot of reviews a lot of look in the film on that one 27 minutes of real time since they last ran on offensive play only about four minutes of game time but there were reviews and reviews and that was a weird few minutes of football pass complete left side and man is he impressive brandon coleman nfl scouts are talking about possible first round pick big time playmaker and maybe not totally in the limelight at rutgers but this kid can play i don't see any weaknesses right now as they've talked about he's got range he's got speed he seems to catch everything thrown at him and then he can make yard deck for the catch so wow i dropped him a very quiet guy they call he's only a junior they call him grandpa because he's just kind of laid back doesn't act like one of the kids but when he steps on the field he can really really play second at five nova under center short drop and the pass is complete over the middle across the 40. and it's a first down for rutgers this time rouhan peale with the reception and they like him too another young receiver he was probably so excited just to catch the ball had he turned and put his foot forward he could have run for 10 more yards but he was excited there just to catch the football well the redshirt freshman got his first reception of his rutgers career if you're a rutgers fan right now part of this first half you got to be excited about the young kids pitch play left side and trying to get to the edge no good pursuit from the bulldogs defense ron smith the all-american candidate at safety tackles sevon huggins duron smith can make those kind of plays all over the field i've said this already several times tonight rutgers should not run laterally they don't have the speed against this fresno state defense they're more built for downhill run inside rutgers bike looks like it's trying to be deliberate here late in the first half and perhaps trying to keep fresno state from getting the ball back i think no question their goal would be to go down and score with no time left on the clock that pass complete but very short and a quick tackle for a short gain of maybe three yards pio gets another reception but it'll be third down it's a big third down here as you talk about if they can get it first they can take the clock down under two minutes and they got a chance also to get into uh president state territory otherwise they got to get the ball back so huge play got to throw it i i would be not be surprised see him move the pocket a little bit take advantage of nova's agility fresno state has all their timeouts they did not use one there so rutgers sort of milking the clock third and seven and pressure immediately nova nice move and the pass is tipped up and incomplete he had a man for just a moment but good defense from the bulldogs it's fourth and seven bulldogs a little bit lucky there they had a blitz coming gary nova eluded it uncontested and then almost to it right into the hands of the defender so donovan lewis the linebacker in pass coverage with the nice play they like his athleticism his range he's one of those young guys that they said can run also nick marsh the new punter for the scarlet knights with some pressure but he gets the punt off and it's a booming kick it's gonna bounce into the end zone so a very long punt 55 yards it'll only net 35 but with pressure on him nick marsh did a nice job yeah he booted that actually too well he's not going to be very happy and neither will the coaches they much love that to be inside the 10 anywhere because you basically give them 20 yards of field position well fresno state playing here at home trailing by six but they do get the ball back fresno state part of the mountain west conference and big expectations the mountain west now divided mike into two divisions for the first time this year they will play a conference championship game yeah and they're the odds on favorite in that west division i think they coming in this game will consider to be maybe the best team in the conference boise is a young team but joe south with the corvette for boys he's done a great job second half of last season hard to bet against the broncos but those are the two favorites in the mountain west pass complete left side and out of bounds to stop the clock short of a first down but davonte adams with the catch fresno state should be well equipped for the hurry up offense i was just going to say this actually may help them because they like this tempo they've got to go fast they're going to use the middle of the field to get first downs and the sideline to get out of bounds two-minute offense that's a regular offense setting up a screenplay and the pass is caught 30-35 across the 35 down to the 38-yard line there's malik meisenheimer the guy who got the touchdown for the bulldogs with a nice gain in the pass game 12-yard reception the screen is a great way to neutralize the defensive line rutgers showing some pressure derek carr back to pass and complete left sideline out of bounds clock stops again the pass caught by greg watson great job by the fresno state offensive line there were six or seven guys from rutgers up there faking like they were coming dropping they all sort of came they did a great job of picking it up here's adams turning it up field and tackled inbounds they're going to stop the clock because i do think he got the first down but now a penalty flag all the way on the other side of the field the officials going to get together and talk about it [Applause] sometimes a defensive player on the far side may not know they want to get it sorted out before they make an announcement here the play did get the bulldogs a first down maybe some sort of substitution type penalty against rutgers substitution attraction defense 12 players on the field at the snap five yard penalty results in their first half so they'll march the ball right near midfield fresno state on the move rutgers has played well in this first half but they're back on their heels right now and they shouldn't have got that penalty when they're in in quick going they have to know that and not try to substitute first and ten fresno state derek carr in the pocket looking short middle pass caught coming across the field and all the way across out of bounds the quickness there on display for josh harper wow he had a burst right there they they had two guys with angles to tackle him inbounds he beat them he knew i had to get out of bounds to stop the clock second down and three after the seven yard gain carr again swings it out left side meisenheimer got stacked up right at the first down marker what a tackle there big hit excellent play by nadir barnwell the true freshman with a big hit meisenheimer more of a battering ram than a ballerina he couldn't make that guy miss in the open field fresno state their first time out of this first half 52 seconds to go fresno state on the move rutgers with the 2014 lead rutgers with the 2014 lead here at fresno state 52 seconds ago in the first half of the bulldogs on the move in their two-minute drill kind of hurry up offense derek carr their senior quarterback out of the timeout he's got plenty of time on the play clock to survey things and the bulldogs now snap the ball pressure comes from rutgers car throws and it's caught by davonte adams left sideline dancing along the sideline he was pushed out of bounds though back outside the 20s still a nice game derek carr reincarnated to the guy who led him on the first drive this is the tempo he loves he is confident he's poised in the pocket he understands the protection he's directing traffic out there and delivering the ball on time yeah you've been saying that all half play up tempo that's when their offense really hums 18-yard play now the dump pass left side and the shove out of bounds so quezada with the catch and then gets out about seven yard gain fresno state is in their element and by doing that they've taken rutgers out of theirs directors cannot get the defenses they can they want to do well the time now shouldn't be a factor at all fresno state still has two timeouts 40 seconds and they're right at the 15-yard line of records so the clock should not be a concern look at the numbers on the drive for derrick carr no he as i said he's that's exactly what he's very comfortable dink and dunk and throw the ball field pressure he's got the screen outlets he's doing a great job of directing traffic and distributing the football [Applause] quizada stays in as the tailback one receiver left that's adam's three to the right and now a whistle and rutgers calls a timeout i think they decided they needed time out but i think it's a smart time you're not preserving time for the opponent in the two-minute drill you're just trying to get organized on defense absolutely you want to make sure your personnel groups you want to make sure that they understand if you're doing pressure or coverage or what looks that they're giving because right now carr has come back into his element he's feeling so comfortable they've got to do something to disrupt that timing whether it's an all-out blitz or probably more importantly it's going to be a show blitz and drop into coverage and flood those zones well devonte adams the sophomore coming off a huge year this was a big play for fresno state to get down inside the red zone one of the other things about this catch is not just that see the back step up and take on the blitzing linebacker that's what david carr has a derrick carr excuse me has to have and he's comfortable with older brother i'm sure is watching and rooting derek on 40 seconds to go in the first half fresno state for the touchdown and an extra point could take a lead into the locker room here's a throw middle and a good catch no it hit the ground isaiah burst with a great effort there but could not hang on it's third down yeah this i think they've got to get the first down here i don't think they're going to do this too far and they might even run a quick trap or something like that because as you saw last time rutgers is dropping the linebackers into the pass lanes they're susceptible to a run play right here rutgers trying to hold and force a field goal try third and three derek carr pressured throws and it's caught by adams over the middle the tackle inside the 10. but it is a first down for the bulldogs first and goal they're going to get a minimum of the field but they really want a touchdown here they're going to work very hard to get that ball in the end zone now another whistle and another timeout second charge timeout fresno state well there is derek carr the fifth year senior has a chance to set a lot of records at fresno state his older brother david set a bunch of records himself yeah and i think that was sort of his model to work from and i think certainly he's learned a lot being around his brother probably from his brother i'm sure that they in the off season sometimes gets the chance to throw the ball and just talk about football talk about a little bit like the manning brothers you know i mean they they have a chance to emulate some of that there's a big age difference derrick was a little kid when his brother was starting here at fresno state the whole family with the quarterback pedigree he was a pretty cool kid derek carr farewell sort of born to be a quarterback and uh our espn colleague another part of the quarterback legacy here at fresno state david carr's number retired and i think derek someday will be as well 25 seconds to go it's first and goal [Applause] car plenty of time on that play clock out of the timeout so just getting organized those three receivers bunched up on the right side back to pass looking right pass is caught on the slant inside the five by isaiah burst and the clock rolls 15 seconds to go until halftime i wouldn't have taken that other time out i was going to comment on that i'm not sure why they did that and now they want a timeout and they will take it and that was not handled well no they should have clocked it they should not and in my opinion they should not have taken that every time out just keep them in your pocket you didn't need it they just got in a decent place third and final timeout fresno state it'll be a thirty second timeout now what happens is you have to have a decision because six seconds is not enough time if you run a pass play in theory unless it is a quick immediate pass you probably will not have another play so they have to decide if they're going to go for the touchdown or kick a field goal for the sure points yeah if you're going to use the timeout there your final timeout just call it as soon as the tackle is made and they would have what 12 13 seconds something like that maybe more or don't get yourself down to that situation they called the timeout before there was nothing wrong with the play and wrong with the situation at least from our vantage point so you know you never know what goes on there may have been something to happen on the sideline the players can miscommunicate the group was wrong or something like that but in this situation you write a quicker timeout call or spiking the ball and quick much quicker or running a route that was going to be in the end zone as opposed to catching the ball outside the internet and now you have to throw the ball if you run and are tackled short the clock's going to expire so basically it takes away your options unless you're really willing to gamble on second and goal with six seconds to go derek carr who's already attempted 35 passes in the first half he'll attempt another one over the top adam caught and he's inbounds touchdown he is a sore puppy right now he landed right on his tailbone but the good thing is that tailbone landed in the end zone great catch the perfect throw to right where he could get it and look at the clock one second to go until halftime fresno state has tied the game devonte adams sacrificed himself for that touchdown catch but he's a mismatch because he has height and he has length not quite the length of a brandon coleman but he's still a tough matchup it's not a real high percentage play and had the ball been knocked away time may have expired they may not have had a chance to set up for a field goal we'll hope that davonte adams is okay and derek carr with the fist pump i think he tells everybody that he is well whether he's hurting or not he's pretty excited about catching that ball and getting the touchdown so he'll make it off the sideline 14 touchdown receptions as a freshman last year just a spectacular freshman year starting off strong as a sophomore when you talk about bursting on the scene watch this ball thrown up again perfect location he does a great job at the jump ball and then coming down inbounds now the extra point fresno state before halftime will try to rule it on the field is a completed pass for a touchdown the play is under review they may be looking at his feet if his feet hit out of bounds before his sheep or butt hit down inbounds and i i couldn't tell from our look at it let's see i think he's inbound foot just got down it was really close though yeah the heel i think touches down yeah i think right in inbounds yeah the toe is still up in the air as the heel hits down you know what's really funny is you look at these plays as they happen they won't just touch down easy and all of a sudden you realize that's really really close so adams he was fighting to get that leg down i'll look at it we've had plenty of reviews in this first half and we've said it every time has to be indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field this is a good challenge though by if if it was challenged i don't know if coach flood challenged this or was just a review but you might as well take your shot that was pretty good effort by luke holler the defensive back there watch where adams catches the ball not even close to that sideline and toller shoved him all the way near out of bounds yeah that was yeah that's a great effort that's a great shot of it right there any part of the body comes down in contact in the end zone first so i think that one will be confirmed and at a minimum the call is going to stand but we'll see and i will say this i think the fresno state coaches have to think about this at halftime after review the ruling on the field stands touchdown my advice to them and they may see it or fans may tell them go to hurry up the entire time that's what derek carr is the most comfortable the most effective the most efficient it puts the most stress on the rutgers defense so it's tied 20 to 20. the extra point bulldogs attempting to go ahead here the true freshman colin mcguire has looked comfortable in his first college game his kick is perfect and so the bulldogs in the two-minute offense 11 plays 80 yards every one of those plays was a pass play and derek carr was 10 for 11 on the drive yeah it's so easy from up here in the press box you know the film we could talk about that but i think derek carr will probably say to coach coach i like that tempo can we keep it going it was an advantage they got the ball back with a minute 44 to go until halftime and that made their offense better they didn't have to think about it they just did it derek carr has not been the big play passes tonight that have hurt rutgers and that's pretty interesting graphic there everything has been short well if you have guys like burst and harper and adams that you can throw the ball underneath and they're going to run for 5 10 or 15 yards you keep doing that they're high percentage you know you're going to get them a chance to catch the ball and then with their speed in space they're a tough matchup 36 passing attempts in the first half for derek carr 217 yards a dark horse heisman trophy candidate according to some and he's going to put up some numbers this year i mean this is a good rutgers defense and they're going to be some games where the numbers are just going to look almost impossible you're right this is a very talented very good but very young rutgers defense that lost 14 players from their team last year seven draft choices and seven free agents to the nfl and they've come back pretty well well the little kickoff just dribbled and it touched by rutgers that will allow the final second to tick off the clock and we go to halftime fresno state they were down 20 to seven but the bulldogs come roaring back with a couple of touchdowns near the end of the half and fresno state takes a one point lead into the locker room a white out night here at bulldog stadium a lot of excitement to get the college football season started and fresno state kind of a wild ride rutgers played well for a good portion of that half the head coach of the bulldogs is standing by with lewis johnson all right thanks very much well coach take us inside the last two minutes that led to that defonte adams touchdown well we do that drill all the time i really like derek carr in it our offense is is efficient when we go fast and we made some plays how much would you consider upping the tempo in the second half because that really seemed to work for you guys that's that's our game plan and we'll keep changing it but uh we're gonna try to go even faster and what do you make of this first game first half of the first game up and down really we knew it's going to be a football game they got great players they've made plays we've made plays we just got to make one more in the second half and we'll see you then thanks louis all right dave all right louis and just what we were just talking about the coach talking about the quicker tempo in the second half bulldogs with the lead let's go to our sportscenter u studios with matt and charles [Applause] [Music] [Applause] plenty of action in the first half ready for the start of the second half for bulldog stadium fresno state with a 21-20 lead against rutgers dave fleming mike pilate back here at bulldog stadium it's finally finally starting to cool down maybe just a little bit these two teams rutgers was the team that got off to the hot start they fell behind seven nothing but mike rutgers then took control of the game it was a sequence of mistakes though in the middle of that first half that really cost the scarlet knights the momentum in the game it's pretty amazing i i was in love with fresno state the first drive and the last drive because derek carr was in sync in between rutgers took cabanas a big place gary nova but then fresno state the fumble on the punt really set this up the pi in the end zone game the first and goal of the two they eventually score had to be looked at and then finally at the end of the game going back to the no huddle get the big catch from devonta and he gets the seat down the endzone take a one-point lead we got us a ball game back and forth the ebb and flow momentum has been really crazy that's typical of a first game so derek carr and company after that fumble and the mistakes that mike was just talking about carr was almost perfect 13 of 16 and he ended up putting together a big first half and i know that we i said this before and i think uh lewis asked him get the ball going get it up tempo get it moving so for rutgers one bit of good news they do get the ball at the start of the second half and rutgers did a lot of things very well that sequence of mistakes cost him big time but i think wreckers could still feel good about their chances to win this game well gary nova has really come of age in my mind i mean he has hit some big big plays and obviously brandon coleman but leonte carew too i mean huge play so the kickoff again will go short and it's caught at the 30-yard line so rutgers will have the ball let's check in with lewis johnson lewis well dave i sensed a lot of confidence from the rutgers team as they made their way back onto the field and when i asked the questions the things that we were just talking about in terms of all the mistakes there really was not much focus on that in the locker room because the coaches believed that the players were simply trying to make plays on offense they want to try and do a better job of running the ball that's important to him right now and as for the miscues they said look guys are just trying to make plays we want to see a better second half of football here a clean half that's we're looking for but again i sensed confidence in the sweater scene all right louis thanks and i think they they should have some confidence they did a lot of things very well but they're down by a point as nova and the rutgers offense handoff trying to establish that run game and a good cut up field there that was a nice run by pj james and the nice job about that was that really wasn't an end run that was a zone run to the outside and cut up when you see daylight that's a great job the one place where rutgers has fallen short penalty they've had six penalties fresno stage only had one i don't know if that's home cooking or the reality it just does knows a better team in that regard but some of those penalties have definitely hurt rectors another hand off this time the bulldogs were ready for it and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage maybe the effort by james got him back to the line of scrimmage it'll be third down nice thing about third and four or third and five is you do have it's an either or down you can throw the quick pass you can throw a regular five-step drop you can move the pocket they're on the hash so i'll look for them to move the pocket or use the bunch set that they used in the past to try to free up receivers off the line of spinach you saw those modest rush game numbers for rutgers [Applause] third and fourth nova in the pocket pressured throws and it's incomplete intended for the big play receiver brandon coleman not quite a perfect pass though it's fourth down not perfect but certainly catchable and that that would have been a big play because they caught him crossing underneath and he could have run for quite a while that's not the way you want to start that third quarter drive when you get the ball the three and out will give the bulldogs the ball back so fresno state over end kind of pun it's gonna bounce and burst trying to save some yardage he will 25 gets to the outside cuts up field 30 runs into his teammate and ultimately gets knocked off balance and tackled at about the 33-yard line but that was a good return and unfortunately i think they are gonna have to credit his teammate with the tackle celebrating its ninth year sponsoring the good hands field goal nets allstate makes contributions to participating universities general scholarship funds for each field goal and extra point kick to date allstate has contributed more than 3 million dollars in scholarship monies so thanks to allstate now derek carr who finished that first half with a real flourish 36 pass attempts already in this game and he's got his first possession of bulldogs offense back on the field in the second half [Applause] from the shotgun and the pass almost like a wide receiver screen to burst another catch but well defended they're not as good an offense right now when they let the rutgers defense affect their play calling or affect their choices at the line of scrimmage i'd rather see him go up tempo the heck would you may get an occasional play that isn't as good but you would be getting the ball out of his hands a lot quicker could tackle by the senior jamal morrell but second down and 10 cars swing play left side and another tackle on the edge by rutgers so quezada with the catch but a very short game to set up third down and for a young rutgers defense they're actually doing a pretty good job of attacking that's the other thing on the first game basis you really worry about are we going to be able to tackle you can't do it enough and fall camp because you worry about getting people hurt to make sure you can do it in a game all spread out five receivers carr alone in the shotgun on third and ten looking middle flushed right he'll throw short it is caught but the tackle in the open field well short of the first down harper with the catch but fresno state's going to have to punt rookers had success that time sitting in the zone they can throw underneath and then rally to the ball tackling before you can get the necessary yardages and i i'm going to say this one more time i don't like fresno state as much when they're not at warp speed it just seems to me that they are they are more tentative themselves so grant back to receive for rutgers one touchdown one fumble so let's see he will run up and make the catch on the move of the ball pops out again this time though rutgers is there to jump on the loose ball well we saw the big play from janarian grant but that's a couple of mistakes and the scarlet knights get lucky as they will keep possession third quarter 21-20 fresno state leads [Music] well yeah matt it might be a little too early for that but that is a crazy finish and what a win for ole miss mike a team that showed a lot of promise last year brought in a lot of new talent they go on the road in conference and get a victory great recruiting here hugh freeze getting it done and vandy a great team too james franklin is done there that is a tough loss at home the run game for rutgers just has not gotten going 21-20 that's the fresno state lead here now we've had a fairly wild game back and forth rutgers was up 20-7 fresno state got the final two touchdowns of the first half and now still a long way to go here in fresno yeah in the first half it looked like rutgers was gonna sneak away with the game via big plays but uh fresno state come back got a couple of their own and now we've got it's neck and neck gary nova the quarterback the junior for rutgers another handoff right side running in a big hole to the 40 to the outside to midfield 30 down inside the 20 all the way inside the 10 and finally shoved out of bounds after a very long run another carry for pj james and that's the biggest play of his college career and they like his explosiveness they talked about that they got a mismatch on that short side into the boundary got great blocks at the line of scrimmage and then he makes he makes the first guy miss and now with the foot race gets it all the way down to quick play and incomplete intended for coleman in the corner sonova trying to get off the quick snap and the pass in completed second and goal 65-yard carry for paul james they call him pj the sophomore who had five rushes in his career before tonight and he has emerged he's made a couple of nice runs you know they like it they talked about it's a youth movement on this team and they're going to like what they see in the future well james still in the game it's an eye formation receiver pratt in motion second a goal from right around the five and a hand off james picking his way forward james inside the two and stop there it'll be third and goal okay the question mark now of your third and one is are you gonna take it on the ground or you give the quarterback a run pass option on the edge which i would vote for just to give him that opportunity play action fake rolling out over the top try to utilize the width of the end zone receiver in the short flat receiver in the corner rutgers third and goal inside the two yard line nova under center well just throw it up to brandon coleman how about that that would be a pretty good option too handoff though left side and nothing there james tripped up and he might have lost a half yard awesome defense attacking they get there the real question is what do you do now on fourth down and great job by the interior backers i think they decided to take the sure points to go for the lead yeah carl mickelson with a heck of a play he was pleased with the effort so the field goal try and maybe if they were at the half yard line they might have gone for it but they've all spotted back outside the one well at this point you can take the lead and i think that's the most important factor for coach floyd 18-yard field goal drive for federico has made two kicks already in this game the snap and the hold and that one just barely knuckles through not by much but he got the job done rutgers goes ahead once again well the long play in the run game rutgers said they were going to stick with it try to establish the run game paul james with a big play on the ground that set up the field goal scarlet knights back up by two back here in fresno and a wild game and we got a long way to go still 9 48 to go in the third quarter 23-21 rutgers on a field goal of 18 yards goes back ahead a long drive and they get the three points nick marsh will kick it off now the bulldogs set up the return game fresno state's going to get the ball back it's dylan root deep and way deep out of the end zone for a touch back plumbing mike belotti with you and for rutgers mike the big plays have been the real story of this game that has been the ticket the kickoff return to jump start him and i think due to momentum the big 69 rtd reception by kuru and then paul james on the 65-yard run that didn't score but set up the field and i love what our colleague louis johnson said coming out of halftime sticking with the run game that was the message he got from rutgers and those first few attempts here in the second half were going nowhere but they stuck with it and broke the big one yeah and sometimes patients will pay off so derek carr and the powerful bulldogs offense back on the field now down 23-21 pass out into the right flat and it's incomplete and the defensive back for rutgers sort of jumped that route and nearly made a play on the wall that's jamal morrell the linebacker looking like a db yeah that was scary and i'll tell you what what can happen now is the fresno state coach said we can't let them jump that let's do the pump and go so they fake the screen they pump it and they try to go deep there's his brother jameel a real loss one of the best players on defense for rutgers and a game time decision he is as you can tell not in uniform he's not playing he's got a foot problem [Music] and now taking it all the way to the other side of the field to the 40 shoved out there josh harper who's having a big game for fresno state that was an interesting play in development they actually sprinted the quarterback to the field and brought the receiver back underneath and then he he really did a great job of getting all the way to the other side picking up the first down 15 yards for harper and they hit adams this time and the sophomore cuts it up field makes a couple of records defensive players miss he gets nine yards tempo tempo temple again they're trying to pick it up yeah you can see the quarterback car he's barking at his teammates 17 straight pass plays for the bulldogs and they'll have another one here a catch and another stiff arm broken tackle it's isaiah burst run after catch a great part of this offense has is the premise of catch the ball and then make five to seven yards after the catch and even after initial contact so the first down fake handoff sprinting left the throw incomplete and cars upset at himself and maybe he thought adams was coming back towards him so maybe a miscommunication there i think he's supposed to settle down in that dead zone once he gets past the underneath coverage i think it was just a lack of being on the same page so second down second and ten cards going deep right side harper out there but good coverage and it falls incomplete great coverage because he was at the level of the receiver he turned into him got his head back to the ball so no pi could be covered red shirt freshman ian thomas again take a look right there does a great job just gets a hand there initially but his eyes go back to find the ball he'll never get called there it's been 25 minutes of football and i think you can already tell that ian thomas is going to be a heck of a player for records they're excited about those young defensive players i'll tell you they've got a great legacy to live up to dude from baltimore played a lot of wide receiver in high school third and ten carr turned out of that quick tempo deliberate play clock winding down throws and the pass is caught the tackle and finally wrestled down verse short of the first down mark by about three yards brings up a big fourth down call i'll tell you what if they decide to punt i would not put generion grant in to return the punt i think again but they're not going to go for they're going to i mean excuse me they're not going to punt they're going to go for this which i applaud them now fresno state tim garuda they're going for it here fourth and three car from the shotgun now he'll shift that back in the backfield and a fake hand off card keeps it he's got the first down and more and he takes a big hit but pops back up first down fresno state yeah but he's got to learn not to do that he had got the first down easily he wanted to punish somebody make a statement but that's the way you break your collarbone knock his shoulder down he's got to stay healthy great job on the reed zone but get down once you've got the first thing not usually a huge part of this fresno state offense but that looked pretty good and it caught rifters by surprise here's the pass caught by adams makes the first man miss that quickness for the sophomore devonta adams down near the 10 another fresno state first down these receivers all have the ability and even the quarterback in space to make people miss they have that step of quickness well that's how eight catches for davonte adams and the pass is caught touchdown josh harper a lot of weapons on the field for fresno state harper's having a big game adams bursts all the whiteouts and derek carr the tough guy play to keep the drive going tough guy play that i guarantee you the coach is going to tell him on the sideline please do not ever do that again get the first down get out of bounds or get down great job derek now don't ever do that again 10 plays 75 yards just over two minutes the fourth down conversion was huge extra point coming and it's colin mcguire the kick is up and it is good back and forth action here at bulldog stadium derek carr and the bulldogs are back in front well we got a lot of football left here i'll tell you what take a look at him right here he's at the full speed but now you don't need to be a tough guy you don't need to be a fullback you need to be an nfl quarterback but he is on that next play you look at the touch where this ball is placed right where he can get it tremendous job and again the tempo thing i think really helps derek carr feel in his element yeah he took one there that was a shot you see the cut coaches they're talking to him too you see he's smiling laughing yeah hey maybe i get some stitches you know i look like a tough guy a little higher derek a little higher yeah there it is carr who's having another big game and i don't know he might still be feeling the effects of that ahead collision i was going to say they'll be talking a lot about that the coaches are saying hey did you learn from that did it hurt you a little bit we don't want to do that anymore well the guy who set the mountain west record for passing yards in a season last year he threw for 37 touchdowns only seven interceptions he threw a pick tonight and that's unusual but he has bounced back from that mistake and derek carr and the bulldogs are back up 28-23 another short kickoff they're doing this over and over again another fair catch at the 31-yard line rutgers gets the ball back part of the offense for fresno state mike is spreading the ball around getting everybody involved look at that today 11 for burst 10 for harper seven for adams that's we've talked about the diversity of his weapons but also his ability to distribute the football he's like a point guard in basketball he literally feeds who's open and find ways to get the big men the ball and he's doing a great job of it yeah that's pretty amazing it was still 7 43 to go in the third quarter that's a lot of conclusions now those receivers they're just going to put up ridiculous numbers this year handoff and another good hole so to carry for almost eight yards and paul james once again they're giving him the ball and the strength of this rutgers offensive line is starting seemingly to wear down the fresno state front just a little bit they're getting more yards per carry now the big plays held but again they're a big strong physical unit up front yeah it's interesting you say that fresno state they've got a junior tyler davison right in the middle of that line you see him there number 92. he is a dynamic force he's a good athlete and we have not talked about it much tonight he hasn't made very many plays at least to our knowledge offense number 86 five-yard penalty second down that's the seventh penalty mike already against rutgers fresno state has still only committed the one penalty and that's uh you know typically sometimes that will happen to a road team first game the noise and also to young teams when you have young excitable players they're trying to get an edge or a jump on the snap count and they're a little anxious to get going big difference in that number there the penalties and the yards second at seven instead of second and two and two nova with that tight formation under center and a fake handoff back to pass going deep again he's got his man out there and it's incomplete brandon coleman the big play receiver and maybe the ball just drifted to the opposite shoulder yeah probably one of the toughest catches a receiver has to make is when the ball is directly overhead offense number seven 10-yard penalty second down and it wouldn't have mattered anyway you hear the referee in the background with the holding penalty gonna come back so from second and two now they've had two penalties they're taking them back and you don't want to do that obviously takes it out all of your game plan and goes in the in the tank after that second to two no second and 17. and back well into their own territory at the wrecker's 24 yard line the goal of this if you don't get the first half just to get to a manageable if you can cut this in half get the third and seven third or maybe third and five and you take it james alone in the backfield nova in the pocket throws and a great catch leaping up short of the first down but a nice gain for rutgers nice job in traffic to catch that ball but even more importantly you see the catch but now they've got a very manageable third down great job of getting the dbs on their heels stopping in that void and then going up to catch the ball now karan pratt he's made a couple of impressive plays he sort of gets overshadowed with brandon coleman but he can [Applause] [Music] [Applause] a little bit of pressure in people in the box play clock's starting to wind down as rutgers breaks the huddle only five seconds left on the play clock nova knows he's got a hurry and he gets the play off he's gonna rush it forward he had a long way to go that was an interesting play call almost like he thought they were a little closer to the first down i don't think he got there gonna be close and i don't think he did i think he may have seen a void in the front in the interior and said i think i can sneak this for the necessary yardage well they're gonna stop the clock probably major this thing i would think i would guess that's what they're going to do that's what they're getting ready to do they'll bring the chain out and take a look i couldn't tell if that was a design quarterback sneaker he actually just saw a void and said i think i can run right through that hole a couple inches very very close but not quite when you're on the road and you're up by two no you're behind by five do you go for it on your own 40. we'll see how much of a gambler is coach flood well this is a this is a tough decision five and a half minutes roughly to go in the third quarter by five a decision like this a lot of times can make a coin coach his reputation with his team in terms of trust confidence courage all those type of things yeah well he's made his decision and he looks pretty confident about it so here we go more than inches we'll see if melvin just tries to push it forward himself receiver in motion and they're going to hand the ball off and they get the first down a hole on the right side right over the guard nice play coach flood is impressed first down rutgers and that play will pay dividends for them the rest of the year because coach flood his offensive line the running backs the entire team will have confidence they'll be able to go for it anywhere anytime because of that call i like something you said earlier in the game too mike and that is hey it's the first game you're almost in a way testing your own team you want to see what they can do in those kind of spots so first down another handoff and a good cut there paul james over 100 yards now and another pretty impressive run and those runs that were netting one or two yards or getting stymied at the line of scrimmage are now getting almost five yards as i talked about the strength and physicality of the wrecker's offensive line is starting to wear down that front of fresno state the rest of the rutgers rushing attack has not been affected but james they have found a guy to give the ball to this is a breakout game for him i formation james stays in on second down at six they hand it to him this time right side running those legs keep churning again what could have been a short gain and he gets to midfield and picks up about three the other thing about when you can run the ball effectively or efficiently you're getting three to four yards per carry it sets up the play action that comes off the running game so here in third and three they've got an opportunity to run it potentially to run the play action off of the run play or to boot the quarterback third and three rutgers under center right at midfield nova fake handoff back to pass he'll throw and it is intercepted no dropped fresno state made a play on the ball there garage smith the all-american candidate was back there in coverage great job great anticipation he wasn't fooled by the fake step back on the ball and he thought about it he thought he had 70 yards out in front of him to go well the guy who's the pre-season defensive player of the year in the mountain west conference and he almost had his first pick of the year he had six of them last season so that good defensive play even without the interception does force the punt nick marsh who's got the big leg this time a low line drive kick that takes a sideways bounce at about the 18-yard line so not a great punt there rutgers goes back on defense coming up to the 3 33-yard kick it's 28-23 [Music] 28-23 fresno state leading rutgers the scarlet knights hanging in on the road last year rutgers got a signature win away from home early in the year they went down into sec country and beat a talented arkansas team brandon coleman had a big game gary nova had probably his best game of his career he threw for almost 400 yards and five touchdowns a late score rutgers on the road beat arkansas 35-26 so with a lot of the same players particularly on offense mike records knows they can go away from home and get a big win they did they were 5-1 on the road last year they actually were a very good road team with some young kids in the mix but still some veteran leadership they're down five the ball back to fresno state carr with the handoff straight ahead running in the run game for fresno state has not been particularly dynamic quezada with a short game the standard run game traditional run game has not been effective for them they need to get the ball outside in the hands of those playmakers at receiver that's the running game for them second and nine for the bulldogs carr looks middle and the pass is caught there so a good catch going down to the ground the tight end marcel jensen who has really improved as his career has gone on talk about range i mean he's a big guy that also can catch the football and split him out he can also block him into alignment he's 6-6 270. third and four carr back to pass with time the throw he's got his man and the pass is incomplete and not a receiver the running back down field quezada and he just could not quite hang on to the ball pretty tough he he great effort by him he is he's actually caught several passes tonight this one just test his reigns just a little bit running backs aren't known for those 20 yard down the field catches well mike it is interesting that the freshman janarian grant is going back to receive this punt again for rutgers we saw the good the 100 yard touchdown on the kickoff return from grant but he's also made two mistakes in the punt game yeah and the second was a physical mistake the third one was a mental mistake he should not have come up and tried to attack that ball good angled punt at a fair catch he holds on to it securely so rutgers will get the ball back scarlet knights coming back on offense we get a chance to remind you nascar sprint cup series in atlanta on sunday at 7 on espn and also live on watch espn the sprint cup series in atlanta sunday at 7 eastern so the scarlet knights back on the field down 5-2 32 to go third quarter about time for a big play from records it's got their motorcycle on every other series big play every second series they've had some very big ones in this game they had a 20-7 lead they will hand it off right side running james big hole 40. here comes the big play 50 with the acceleration to the 30. he's going to be dragged down from behind but inside the 20. mike belotti said time for the big play and what did they do they dialed it right up well as i said they are getting more push from their offensive line they are staying on blocks doing a great job of sticking on men james is finding the hole using his speed and acceleration to get to the outside the fresno state defense is starting to be a little bit porous versus the right 55-yard carry there for paul james pj having a huge game nova gets away from the initial rush flush down to the right he throws end zone of the passes off the hands of the receiver incomplete yeah it's too bad he had two guys and i'm not sure he where the ball was going but the guy got a chance to catch this one it's a great play by gary to keep the play alive right there in the hands and just not great concentration at that point yeah the redshirt freshman rouhan peel who has made a couple of nice catches in this game that was a touchdown though and they didn't capitalize the pitch play james gets through that initial tackler and james tackled just inside the five down to the two darron smith saved the touchdown there the all-american candidate with a heck of a tackle but another big run for paul james 13 more yards for him and he needs a breather absolutely a saving tackle and right now the front seven of the fresno state defense is getting blocked they are not able to get off blocks and james is getting a chance to get a full head of steam going in the secondary he's got 16 carries 179 yards he had had five career carries coming into this game high formation fake handoff nova throwing and he throws it out of the back of the end zone incomplete and a penalty flag is thrown i don't know that he was out of the pocket i don't see a receiver in the area they may have called grounding right here wow that would be a huge mistake by a veteran quarterback holding office number 28. king of tennessee first set so it wasn't that but it was still a big mistake by rutgers another penalty against the scarlet knights it's been a big part of the story of this game yeah you can't shoot yourself with a foot in the red zone you've got to score touchdowns when you get down there especially in a game like this where fresno state can score so quickly you can't pass up opportunities like this first and goal from the two is a lot different than first and goal from the 12. these are what you call self-inflicted fake hand off rolling left nova he's going to throw to the end zone and that one again is incomplete very nice play fake but it did not fool a secondary fresno state secondary staying at home covering the receivers as they come down the field giving nova not a lot of people open other than when he scrambled in the first play he's throwing had to throw the ball away because of great coverage from fresno state second a goal now still at the 12. [Music] that penalty just is looming so large at the moment rutgers was two yards away from going back in front as we near the end of the third quarter at bulldog stadium receiver in motion huggins is back in the game and he fumbles the handoff still as a whole huggins inside the five still going and down inside the two wow from a near disaster to a big game yeah actually the slight pause might have helped him a little bit there he'll see the ball sort of bouncing around he stops i think everybody else stops and the whole wide swarm also it's like the party of the red sea or the white sea just like they drew it up huh exactly and now almost back to the spot where they started this first and goal huggins still in so no paul james he got banged up on this drive sprint out right throw caught end zone touchdown and another one for brandon coleman who has racked up the touchdowns in his rutgers career he's got one here the scarlet knights lead 29-28 he got very wide open there i'm not sure how it was either a great move or somebody got picked or slipped there but tremendous he is such a tough guy to cover down there because you can always just throw the alley-oop he can move he can retrace his steps inside now breaks really amazing well you see the kicker federico running off the field so with a one-point lead nearing the end of the third quarter rutgers has decided to go for two which makes sense two-point lead doesn't do much good food for you well still no james who's been the star running back you'd like to have him on the field in a spot like this this is probably beginning some type of pass or delayed sprint out they're going to spread the field nova he's going to take it himself and he's in two points for rutgers as gary nova watched the hole open up and then shot right through nice execution that was his design quarterback draw they obviously had seen something and uh we're ready to go great execution watch this you can see the line step down then they block out he pump fakes steps inside they're double teaming all the way down the field nice job nice execution gary nova right now making a lot of plays both with his feet but really mostly with his mind in his arm now the juniors got a lot of experience he was the starter for every game last year when rutgers won nine games shared the big east conference championship so you get that quarterback experience coming back even when you go on the road in the opener rutgers was feeling pretty confident well you know and he's the leader of a team that want to share the conference championship last year i mean they they feel pretty good about themselves i think everybody thought they lost too much talent but he's saying wait a second i'm back i'm going to be better this year well i'm impressed by this performance from rutgers still a quarter plus to go but they did lose a lot of talent seven players drafted 14 signed in the nfl gary nova who is the leader now on this team 24-0 as a starter in high school for the power don bosco prep he won his first career start against pitt sort of announced his presence in the rutgers program sort of shared the job initially took over his full-time starter last year through 22 touchdowns and led that 9-4 season yeah he's coming of age and right now he knew this was going to be a big stage tonight opposite derek carr and he's living up to that opportunity well not out of bounds the line drive kick and brought back to the 20 and then the tackle there dylan root with the exception of the fumble where rutgers lost the punt i would agree with you in your observation rutgers is playing better on special teams they seem to be hungrier or maybe they're playing more of their athletes i'm not sure what it is maybe when you have a travel squad uh you know at home you have to play everybody try to play everybody on the road you're gonna have to play your starters sometimes on special teams so that might be why they appear to be a little quicker a little more hungry on special teams yeah interesting point fresno state they pride themselves on good special teams and they have gotten out played in that phase so derek carr back on the field back down wild game back and forth the quick hitter to the right side and the catch and again out to the 30 for josh harper and that was very important there was no help they were blitzing on that play nobody in center field had they missed that tackle that would have been a touchdown they spotted him back at the 29 down there so it's second down and three quick snap handoff right side running first down outside to about the bulldogs 35-yard line there's a theory with passing teams you pass to set up the run you get people playing on their heels a little bit that running play was a result of the pass on first down waller got the first down they fake it to him this time the throw in the pass was knocked out of the hands of the receiver they're going to call it incomplete and i think that's the right call big hit on josh harper and the ball popped loose but an incompletion very fortunate had he cut it possessed it and taken a step into the third quarter so the big hit and maybe even a little closer than it looked on first glance the third quarter is over fresno state they've got a fight on their hands rutgers has traveled here to the central valley of california and we've had some big plays excitement on both sides at the end of the third rutgers 31 fresno state [Applause] 28th start of the fourth quarter here at fresno state 31-28 rutgers has the lead big plays all around paul james what a third quarter 164 rush yards in the third quarter alone derek carr has been tremendous for fresno state [Applause] so carr back to pass right side and complete on second down second and ten beginning this fourth quarter and it's going to be third down with a flag down on the play illegal formation five players in the backfield offense five yard penalty second down so third [Applause] second down and 15 after the penalty that one is caught short another flag thrown a missed tackle big hit near the 45-yard line near the first down mark for martez waller i think that one's coming back i think uh derek's pulling back i think it's going to be a holding of some type no maybe not now let's see personal foul hands to the face defense number 91 15 yard penalty automatic first down [Applause] okay that's a that's a dangerous thing in a pass rush a lot of times a uh defensive player will try to get the push to get the offensive lineman off and the hands slide up and go in the face so that was a big call there they may have declined it and taken the play right now i'm not sure what here i thought that the spot was short of the first down first and ten fresno state carr back to pass and the ball is caught after the little juggle or a short game maybe three yards with the forward progress for martez waller it's a great tackle because it's a one-on-one with the entire field to make a move that's great defense second down and seven derek carr swings it out incomplete again trying to throw to that back coming out of the backfield and so it's third down coming up i don't see a sense of urgency with fresno state when they play slow they just don't tend to play as hungry or as hard or as fast i would love to see him go up tempo again asap so big play here early in the fourth quarter third down and seven rutgers on defense fresno state back to pass pressure the throw caught by harper and tackled short of the first down good team defense from the scarlet knights you know one reason fresno state may be going slow is to give their defense some rest on the sideline too sometimes you go too fast you go three and out that defense is getting pushed around a little bit and how about this one they've already had two big fourth down conversions on the night one for a touchdown one in the middle of a touchdown drive they're going for it here fourth and a long three survey time want to see what the defense was in now they got the play the snap and it's a punt so derek carr he could do it all and that one will be downed inside the 20-yard line at about the 17. so they use carr as the punter rutgers gets the ball back they lead by three [Music] 13 20 to go fourth quarter at bulldog stadium in fresno 31-28 rutgers has the lead fresno state mike lots more first downs they've run more plays but rutgers has the advantage why the big plays just explosive plays the kick return the big reception and paul james just went crazy in the third quarter i mean 160 some yards of offense just running the ball give it to him i'd keep giving it to him yeah he's hungry out for some plays he's back in now for rutgers as the tailback on first and ten nova hands it to james right side running he's got a nice burst and he also has some power too he carries that one across the 20 and all the way out to about the 23 so pretty nice pickup of five yards when there didn't seem to be much of a hole he makes it look pretty effortless he finds those seams and he's got good enough speed but then he can lower his shoulder and carry the 10.9 yards of carry i'd keep giving it to him for fresno state go up tempo for records give pj give paul james the ball pretty good coach man excellent and i can see why you succeeded for so many years in the business you saw it coming stacked up right around the 25 so pretty short game that time of two yards carl mickelson the middle linebacker with a big hit brings up third down [Applause] it's a big third down now third three or four got it either or you know honestly you could do anything in the playbook with that type of down and distance you're on the right hash which might predispose you to go to the field unless you get single coverage into the boundary rutgers 3 of 11 on third down tries in this game in the fourth quarter they've got third and three nova back to pass looking middle pressured he throws over the top and it falls short incomplete and the pressure i think got to gary nova that time absolutely great job of pressing off that short side he wanted to hold the ball just a little bit longer because the receiver was breaking open couldn't do it the pressure got to him on that play that's a big stop fresno state needed that they need to get the ball back i mean it is interesting mike freso state has not had a sack in this game and they've hardly pressured nova that time finally they got some heat on the quarterback and they forced the incompletion low snap but a pretty good looking punt burst back to receive and he's going to bring it back to the 40 gets to the left side 45-50 in director's territory to the 40 still on his feet breaking tackles coming back middle he's finally dragged down he actually lost a couple yards there but incredible effort from isaiah burst the senior who is having a very big night so first he made something happen on special teams the bulldogs at home in the fourth quarter they're down by three here in fresno bulldogs stadium derek carr and his fresno state offense will be headed back on the field down in the fourth quarter 31 28 rutgers leads 11 39 to go tell you what a lot of scoring in every single quarter this game will go right down to the wire derek carr having a big statistical game but rutgers the team that has the lead back on defense great field position after the big punt return for isaiah burst they give up the middle the hand off for a gain of maybe four yards on first down josh quezada making his fresno state debut tonight a byu transfer and he's had some nice moments going back to up tempo here the hitter out onto the left side and a good gain burst again who has just been so dynamic all evening long and they are going big time up tempo they have different versions of up tempo and this is where they've been so dangerous in this game the quick snap and the fake handoff a little pump fake he's got his man the great cut into the end zone touchdown devonta adams [Music] [Applause] he made it look easy devonte adams once he catches this ball he just sidesteps and part of the thing is the tempo puts the defense on his heels it isolates defenders one on one in the secondary and allows the fresno state players to make one-on-one plays 31 seconds and fresno state goes 40 yards a 20-yard touchdown from carr to adams the freshman cessation last year and this pass attack for fresno state is tough to stop yeah this is just uh you score i'll score i'm gonna score next here you can see again nice catch right here but then just the vision just sidestep and the db has to come from a ways away and sell out to try to get there but that's all because of derek carr's throw on the move so quick the ball finishes he sees that underneath defender sitting in between great job look at the numbers for the receiving core the top three wide receivers two already in double figures with catches that had never happened in a game in fresno state history and devante adams is about to make it three for the first time odds are they're gonna have three this is this may break some records for everything receptions completions the whole thing and they're only ahead by four points yeah so the wide receivers get the ball from their fifth year senior quarterback derek carr who has gone through such a trying time carr who's the leader of this team the pre-season conference player of the year on offense had his first son born about three weeks ago and his son had to have emergency surgery almost right away had two surgeries he spent the entire fall camp going back and forth to the neonatal intensive care unit his son is back home now and is doing well and he's playing the first game of 2013 and looking like he took every snap during fall camp and i'm sure that he's playing for his son just a little bit too because all the complications that young man went through and him at the hospital every night to see him he's very very pleased that one he's playing football in two that his little guy is gonna be okay he said his son's a tough kid i think derek carr is a pretty tough kid himself well another one of those short kickoffs that's just become the strategy for fresno state now when they've kicked the ball deep sam bergen made the catch there that's the fourth time he's made a catch on a kickoff in this game you give up one kickoff return that's enough for the day that's enough for the year 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown tied the game at 7-7 we have had six lead changes so it's been a total back-and-forth game under the lights here late night college football on opening night 2013 and two teams that have some big dreams this season both these teams feel like they've got a chance for a bcs bowl berth if paul james is still strong enough i watch him going off the edge right outside between tackling in because he can develop enough speed and stretch the defense a little bit but that's where he's been the most effective tonight now they can still run the ball they got a long time to go in this game james is in there two backs alongside nova it's getting loud and here comes a penalty flag the play clock went to zero the layup game i don't know if that was on the quarterback or the center expiring the quarterback kept clapping his hands as if he wanted the ball but that may have just been his way of communicating a play change he's got to see that he's a veteran he needs to understand that and see that one of the things you do with a quarterback in the fir when you're at away stadium you point out where the 25 second clocks know that look at it see it we talk about it before the game no they're talking about it now while they do let's send it down to lewis johnson lewis well dave as rutgers tries to find a way to climb back in this game they've got some injury issues a few moments ago we saw robert jones on the turf he is now on the trainer's table they're working out his right calf they're rubbing it out he looks to be in some pain earlier i noticed jonathan aiken or you guys saw him the backup safety is on crutches no word as to what his injury is but he's clearly out of the game and then from the first half andre civil had ice on his right elbow just saw him in street clothes so he is totally done for the night that's a starting offensive lineman for rutgers their right guard out for the game the record rutgers getting a little beat up they did get the timeout so no penalty but still out of the timeout loud again on first and ten nova fake handoff and kind of a busted play and he's going down that looked almost like a quarterback run or a shovel pass that didn't develop correctly great pressure from the fresno state and take a look here it's hard to say what that play was actually it wasn't good we know that and out of the timeout that will make ron prince the first year offensive coordinator for rutgers very unhappy you have to burn a timeout you huddle up you talk about it you come out and you lose 10 yards second and 20. james from behind tackle no gain donovan lewis [Applause] yeah it's not fun dialing up third and 20 plays i'll just tell you having been there done that a few times it's a very hard down to convert but you got to try to throw vertical seams or if you can get a one-on-one route a double move route like the post corner has worked for them early in the game derek carr the offense they got these fans going and now it's getting louder and louder the play clock winding down again third and 20. nova a little wide receiver screen and even the talented brandon coleman can't do anything with that one shannon edwards with the tackle and rutgers goes backwards they'll have to punt you've got to hit that screen going inside it's like blind faith and he unfortunately wanted to play and maybe get to the outside but he wasn't getting any help and he negated the blocking angles of his offensive linemen coming out to help him so that was not a highlight offensive series for rutgers and they'll have to punt the ball garrett swanson and fresno state's going to get good field position out of this regardless whether they get a return or not nick marsh the punter a low line drive kick it'll bounce and it'll be taken there another missed tackle burst to midfield and he's still on his feet this guy is one tough fun returner isaiah burst he gets the bulldogs to midfield that fresno state offense will come back on the field when we come back to bulldog state and the momentum on the side of the dogs 35-31 [Music] derek carr in the bulldogs offense back on the field 35-31 that's the fresno state lead 8 54 to go fourth quarter we've had six lead changes but the rutgers defense may well be wearing down and the field position has not helped rutgers because fresno state's been in great field position these last several possessions you get the ball here at midfield you expect at least an opportunity for a field goal and get some points on the board if not the touchdown there's adams with his tenth catch so that means three different wide receivers have 10 plus catches in this game there is a flag down on the place we'll see if the catch stands after the play personal foul late hit 72 offense 15-yard penalty second down so it is a completion but then austin wentworth with the personal foul penalty moves the bulldogs way back yeah he's a veteran yet you don't want that the line to gain was made the 15-yard penalty first down so they get the first down then apply the penalty after that so it's still first down it's first down a new first down for fresno state but backwards from where the play ended it's a dead ball foul in which they actually have a first down but lost four yards not the way you want a first down to go wentworth who's a preseason first team all mountain west left tackle with a mental mistake there a little pump fake and the pass over the middle is incomplete but he tried to go to adams again the point we were making mike about the wide receivers that's three different receivers for fresno state now with 10 or more catches in this game and i believe that uh derrick has broken his record for attempts and completions now in this game and certainly there's more to come still 8 37 to go which the tempo of this game means about five more possessions for fresno state here's a slant adam breaks a tackle goes outside and then finally gets wrapped up and dragged down right near midfield so to be third down maybe seven to go lou toler made the tackle [Music] [Applause] harper with the catch and the ball came out there at the end of the play they're saying fumble and rutgers has the ball back the official right there called it uh we couldn't quite see how it came out [Applause] it's a completed pass fumbled and recovered by the defense first down i don't think the knee was down before the ball popped out i think you're right based on that view let's take a look ah the left knee might have been down again maybe so yeah hard to tell i think they will take a look at that one let's see if that knee got down yeah well it's close is that is that no that's yeah no i think he was down again now the balls may be starting to be punched out but that knee was definitely down on the ground the wreckers would have loved to just run up and run a play but they're going to review plague is under review let's see if we can take another look at it it's hard there's a couple angles that might show his knee and the ball i think right there he's in control of the ball and his knee is down well let's see i'm not sure we can see the ball or not i mean that's the problem you can definitely see the knee down and the call is a fumble on the field so we have to remember that evidence has to be indisputable to overturn the call so that ball's not out right there i think he still has it he has it and his knee is down so i would say that to me is enough proof that it is not a fumble but it will be a close call very close toller came in with that punch and we've had several of these the first half was littered with video reviews and they were not necessarily easy calls they had to take a lot of looks and this one may be similar and a couple and at least one was overturned so let me see it again [Music] fresno state got the benefit of a call earlier when replay overturned the call and it was similar because it looked like the ball was out but his knee was down first and this may be the same situation yeah that was with carr the quarterback earlier tonight this time with josh harper the junior wide receiver who's had a big game well kyle flood the rutgers head coach very interested party ball security is what the fresno state coaches talk about all the time especially because so many people handle the ball in this offense one last look we'll see that's pretty good look the question is what if that ball is out when the knee is down there it was hard to tell that looked a little bit more like it could have been out on its way out well i think it's very very close but i thought the knee was down and he still had not had the ball punched away we'll see if that's what the replay says [Music] after the review the ruling on the field stands for second well and i think i think what we were just discussing there mike it was just so close you couldn't quite tell if the ball was moving before the knee came down right and i didn't think there was enough actually to overturn the call on the field because we see the ball but we can't tell if it's it looks like it might have been the act of being dislodged yeah it's almost like his own knee started to move the football before the punch even came in the rutgers gets the call go their way first down scarlet knights down field of the pass was tipped up and intercepted what an interception from darrod smith the all-american candidate what a great play you think there's a reason he's the pick for the defensive player of the year preseason he's going to make those things happen that's a great break on the ball nice job and all you have to have is one foot in bounds in college great tip great break got both feet inbound whoa the field is an interception inbound first down they won't need to see this one again i hope come on guys let's go you can take one quick look and know not just an interception about as athletic of an interception as you'd ever want to see and great time for it unfortunately he sort of telegraphs he looks looks looks and the underneath defense gets a chance to get in the path or flight of the ball got the tip and he breaks down it perfectly gets his feet down he knows it everybody knows it [Music] [Applause] don't blink here because the ball may change again well he had a turnover after a review another turnover on the very next play and now a handoff and the ball's loose and did we have it again you bet unbelievable i thought you were kidding why coaches get gray first games and ball security we just talked about that 30 seconds ago and you just have to be every little thing in this people get tired sometimes the snap doesn't come up the same way sometimes the quarterback hangs on to it just if it's the read zone it's just a lot of things but you got to secure the football what a sloppy play on the exchange third consecutive play that ends with a turnover so rutgers gets it they give it back and they get it back and now the scarlet knights are well inside fresno state territory the result of all those turnovers they marched it right down the field travel started the bulldogs 33 first and ten under eight minutes to go nova back to pass a pump fake and he swings it out dangerous pass but caught and turning it quickly upfield the star of the night paul james very dangerous i'm not even sure that was a pass that might have been a lateral and hadn't been tipped or even intercepted oh my gosh he's got to look gary nova got to keep his eyes just a little bit more move on on a swivel i'm glad he held on we don't have to review that one because that one was going to be close that was going to be a while gain of about eight second and two inside the 25 handoff to the up back and a first down to the 20 there for rutgers and that's james again he's set up a little closer to the line of scrimmage and gets the first down what a game he's having they're going to feed it i said when a running back carries the ball and has that kind of success they get a euphoria going it's like that runner's high you just you want to carry the ball it doesn't weigh you very much it's just a little football give me that ball i'm hungry now they're going to reset the play clock please done both claps thank you it was a first down paul james p.j 192 yards tonight for rutgers obviously fresno state they were great i think they were second in the nation and passed defense last year but they need to shore up their run defense [Applause] four point lead for the bulldogs the first down totals still lopsided but rutgers has a chance with a touchdown to go back in front nova pressure and he throws it is caught for a loss so the catch was made but they lose two yards nova in an almost panic mode got rid of the ball keel made the reception i'm not sure why rutgers is going to drop back passenger right now i would think play action would be better and move the pocket slightly they're a sitting target in the pocket uh you utilize nova's legs to get outside give them a run pass option that's a good question considering all the success they've had with james who's in the backfield now on second along back to pass nova lots of time pump fake and nova is going to take off so the 15 cuts it up field and gets tackled short of the first down but a nice gain he got almost 10 yards there on the scramble to set up a third in short 13 yard line very manageable obviously it's still just a pure drop back pass didn't get a lot of pressure he had time to survey the field everybody was covered great coverage down the field that allowed him to sneak out he built it he tried to create an opening for a receiver by getting a defender to come up on him didn't work third down has not been the best down for rutgers three of 13. short drop the quick throw it's incomplete so they threw it again and darron smith who's making big plays down for fresno state knocked it away it's fourth down and his record is going to go forward they've got to go for a three-pointer still leaving behind i would believe they'll have to go for the touchdown thinking it was four down territory to me that makes it even more surprising that they didn't try to run the ball on third they did not now it's fourth and three i think they have trust we've talked about that earlier when it went for it fourth and one uh at their own 40-yard line under center nova play clock down to two back to pass for the end zone and it's caught touchdown rutgers leonte carew with his second touchdown reception of the game and rutgers goes back in front 37-35 one-on-one coverage he found the right matchup put it where only he could catch it and carew comes up with a second touchdown catch of the night pretty awesome what a breakout game he's having that young man is having himself a night he had never had a catch before tonight he played on special teams he's becoming a star at receiver the extra point and snuck inside that left up right so a three-point lead for rutgers and we have had just a heck of a game here tonight at bulldog stadium one of the things you think about when you're on the road is you go for the win you don't go for the tie go for the knockout punch records back up 38-35 [Music] on abc will there be a punt in that game who knows we've hardly had punts in this one this has been a wild night in fresno be a lot of offense in that uh georgia clemson game i'm not sure any more than what we see tonight they still have 5 32 to play in the fourth quarter rutgers has gone back in front 38-35 we've had seven lead changes tonight comes up and takes the ball at the five picks his way forward to the 20 and is stopped at about the 22 yard line kickoff coverage has been good for wreckers all game long [Applause] looking ahead rutgers if they can hold the bulldogs here and get the ball back stay with about four minutes to go you will see what i call the four minute offense rutgers is going to try to run the clock out of their head but they've got to keep the ball move the chains be interesting to see how they do that they may have to still mix in running past but obviously fresno state has different ideas they want to get the ball in the end zone fresno state has been good on opening day opening night in the recent past but they haven't played many teams as good as this rutgers team there's adams on the left side cuts his way forward and near the first down we'll see where they spot the ball i think about a yard short the tackle by lorenzo waters thing about the equal distribution to the receivers is each of them is still hungry they're not tired they seem to have bouncing their step when they touch the ball now another catch by adams and he just barely barely made it to that first down mark i think they will give him the first down lou toller who's been everywhere in this second half wrapped him up we'll see where they spot the ball and i think they did give him a first down i think you're right and i i think the real key is president's got to get a minimum of a field goal out of this drive to tie it up obviously they'd love a touchdown derek carr back to pass swings it out left side caught and a tackle at about the 35 after a gain of two josh quezada the running back with the reception plenty of time they're not really in their warp speed mode they're just going up tempo [Applause] another pass attempt a little pump fake now flushed out left side he's going to throw down the field and it is a jump ball and a catch inbounds devonte adams spectacular first down into rutgers territory great job by derrick carr pump fake sort of froze the defense sprinted outside the pocket bought time and then put the ball right where his receiver could catch it one foot in college very good completion yeah excellent catch by the star white out devonte adams now carr again on the move and he's going to flip that one out of bounds incomplete great job protection wise he's had a lot of time here he's really not under pressure but rutgers is playing more zone or they're not rushing a lot i think they don't want to give up the big play to recognize how dangerous these receivers are in space three-point lead for rutgers fresno state on the move second down the slant harper catches turns it back outside tries to use that stiff arm but a tough play there and thomas pushes harper out of bounds ian thomas has had an excellent rutgers debut tonight it's third down real question is after this do you if you don't get the first down you kick swing pass left side it's tipped up and incomplete and they are going to have that decision that looked like an easy pitch and catch fresno state does that over and over again intended for greg watson and he could not hang on and i think they're sending out let's see what they decide to do i think they're sending out the field goal team to try to tie the game this is an interesting decision you got the true freshman colin mcguire from austin texas trying to tie the game with 353 to go looks like it's going to be at his back helping him a little bit he has a big leg 47-yard kick it is on the way and the kick is perfect with plenty of leg despair what a debut for colin mcguire and that field goal makes tim deruder's decision look good fresno state ties the game at 38. and i'll tell you what that's a great kick because that's a pressure kick to tie a big game that'll pay dividends for both the kicker the coach and the team much as we talked about when you have that type of success in a first game basis big pressure situation you can take that with you to the bank the rest of the season now the head coach said yeah i knew what i was doing the true freshman he had the leg a lot of push-ups tonight a lot of points on the board 38 38 3 48 to go that kick was pretty good that was effortless that young man had a really nice delivery looked a little bit like some of my better golf swings that's exactly what i thought right i knew your contact with the ball the true freshman kicker for south carolina had a great debut today helped the gamecocks get a win against north carolina and the game that started this full afternoon and evening of college football on espn [Music] rutgers is getting the ball back he's been the return specialist you wouldn't necessarily expect it but sam bergen they've been using those pop-up kicks we'll see if they try that strategy again rutgers already has a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the game that came way back in the first quarter maguire runs up and they do it exactly the same it'll be taken though this time by the deep man and there's going to be a return trying to get to the outside to the 30 and a spin move to the 35-yard line and that's that freshman janarian grant he's got a lot of talent and a lot of speed so rutgers gets the ball back look at the quarterback numbers gary nova's been effective but derek carr 50 of 69 418 yards i'm not sure what to say on that that's off the charts i'm not sure charts go that high 50 completions and 69 attempts wow i mean remember this rutgers now they're replacing some talent on defense that's for sure this was the fourth ranked total defense in college football last year number four in the country and derek carr and the bulldogs have just lit them up through the air but gary nova and rucker still in position to pull off what would be an upset they've got 65 yards to go to the end zone the handoff and fresno state knew it was coming james dropped for the loss nico mata who's made some big plays for that bulldogs defense sometimes it's surprising what can motivate a team getting fired up just a long field goal you beat your guy in an inside rush and make the play they have been going to that type of off tackles a steady diet fresno state got there before the running back here and remember mike what lewis told us andre civil the right guard hurt and out of the game a starter for rutgers and that may be starting to hurt the scarlet knights pass over the middle and what a catch reaching up high the tackle short of the first down mark but a heck of a play and leonte carew the sophomore from edison new jersey another big play for him i like that young man i'll tell you what he he'll go over the middle and catch the ball he'll go deep and catch it he's really doing a great job this is a great sticky hands kind of thing reach up over the top and hang on to the football brings up a very manageable third down though first of all roughing the passes wow defense number 27. that's something that you can't do you have to talk to your players about that the completion is one thing you get a chance to stop on third down but that type of play at the end tacks on 15 and immediate field position and momentum back directly the 14-yard catch 15 yards on the penalty almost a 30-yard play rutgers moves into fresno state territory they're down to the 43. they need a field goal to go ahead tie game fourth quarter the short reception there and the tackle right at the 40-yard line [Applause] that's the fullback michael burton with the catch let's look back at what that roughing the passer penalty was [Applause] well that's that's so late that's with the head too i'll tell you what he's lucky that there wasn't more yeah with the new targeting rules that one had a chance to be one of those kind of penalties donovan lewis strike with the crown of the hell but it's so late too that's that's a shame terrible penalty second at eight for rutgers not quite in field goal range but they've got a kicker who's got a big leg too nova delayed handoff and nowhere to go for james it's a loss back to the 45. yeah they're getting beat inside up front uh it could be at the right guard position on that year chris muller i know was battling civil all the time they weren't sure who was gonna start there but uh obviously they're right now either fresno state is very fired up jumping the snap counter there's trying to make plays but directors has to come back up big on this third long third and 12. rucker's just three of 14 on third down conversions a minute and a half to go and it's loud coming with his own blitz nova gets it off the pass is incomplete there was contact here comes the flag carl mickelson the middle linebacker sort of got tangled up it's going to be another huge penalty against the bulldogs yeah they're coming with zone pressure on the outside brought to safety defense number 43 automatic and unfortunately the defensive player grabbed and almost tackled the receiver before he touched the ball and that one could cost fresno state the game a minute 25 to go the bulldogs do have all three of their time out so it's not like rutgers can just go into total stall mode and try for a field goal to win it but they want to take everything they can off the clock and they'd be willing to settle for a field goal with two seconds left i guarantee you nobody in the shotgun so they're not being conservative here they're going for the end zone the pass is incomplete out of bounds dude that was close i'll tell you what what an effort there and gary nova he thinks that was a touchdown he wants to see that one again i think it was pratt let's take a look because i'm sure they're reviewing it right now that was kuru again [Music] wow what an effort from the sophomore leonte carew nova is just convinced i'm not sure they should have tried to score that quickly to the truth with fresno state i mean i would take a little bit more talon and move it down there they're going to review referee does not say that the play was challenged [Applause] that is very very close leonte crew he's already got two touchdowns in this game let's see does he have it there got it a touch i think he's got it right there trying to figure out why it's not a touchdown right his foot is in the end zone one foot is control of the ball the other foot does not have to come down now did he have possession that might be the question well let's take a look i don't know if we can see it again to see how clean the catch was we need to see that moment the foot planted on the ground the ball is in his hands then the foot comes back up off the ground and he gets shoved out of bounds but did he have possession with that foot down on the ground in the end zone i don't know even there the toe almost came down inbounds on the second effort i think this is our best look at it this is the look and his right foot or is it does he have possession right there and then does he complete the catch all the way through the end i think he does i i don't see it bobbling at all right that's total possession his foot has already been down in the end zone with the ball in his hands i i would say that's a touchdown now i've been known to be an offensive coach and sort of think that way but we'll see so you haven't had enough touchdowns tonight well i like i like touchdowns and i also like the opportunity to come back let's listen in after review the receiver completed the process of the catch with his left foot in bounds results in a touchdown touchdown rutgers amazing i'll still say this i think they might have scored too soon i don't know i know you always you never turn down an opportunity for a touchdown but the reality is if they could have gotten a few more ticks off that clock i'd feel a little bit better well how about the gambling style of rutgers going for the end zone there when we thought they might try to just work the clock down leonte carew has just had a monster performance now rutgers needs to get organized here we've got an issue with somebody missing some player on the field you got to make sure they're ready to go on this one you cannot rush it and miss the extra point the kick is good so rutgers in dramatic fashion in the final two minutes on the road they have gone back in front 45-38 now the question is what did it take uh fresno state to score on that last drive of the second half do you know the time frame they have they have three timeouts in a minute 18. they've had one touchdown drive in this half of 30 seconds they've had plenty of touchdown drives in the game of two minutes or less the last time they scored it took a minute 43. okay so they got to speed it up just a little bit if they have a chance and then the other question is if they get that chance to score do they go for two to end the game or go to kick it and go over time well i hope we have to find out i'm just i'm just asking as a coach you always think ahead to the what ifs i hope they they have to make that decision because we've already had just a spectacular game here tonight one of the things with rutgers you always worry a little bit about kicking deep although they've had great coverage for the most part today on their kickoffs if you squib kick it you give it maybe a little bit more yardage and better starting position so all those things factor in you're hoping fresno state hopes they get a great return rutgers hopes to get great coverage well i'm with you don't go conservative now they've covered kicks so beautifully just kick it deep and and trust your special team players that rutgers has just dominated in that regard tonight and nick march he's got the strong leg this has been his rutgers debut he played for utah last year fifth year transfer eligible right away and he's had a nice night that's right coming home to the central valley yeah he's from california he kicks it kind of a low line drive kick it'll take a bounce and dylan root across the 15 to the 20. cuts back 25 30 and root into the open 40 to midfield and now finally dragged from behind inside fresno state territory into rutgers territory the kick return the coverage breaks down at the very worst time for the scarlet knights one minute eight to go but 57 yards for dylan rood that makes it a little bit easier the time more manageable but that's one of the concerns you have in kicking deep is if they break a kickoff it's just one of those things that you really are scared about as a coach and this was a poor kid it was very low got there very quickly allowed the fresno state people to get a lot more yardy down the field before they engage the blocks and then nice run nice return weaving his way through traffic finding a way putting them in a great situation now but make no mistake about it this is a time for the rutgers defense to stand up well the tight end tyler bellia made the tackle leonte carew though and maybe that's a cramp i don't know i hope so that he's been too good a player for him too uh influential in this game has he had a spectacular night or what [Applause] please correct the scoreboard rutgers has two timeouts remaining thank you for the scoreboard here in bulldog stadium showed one rutgers timeout they have two timeouts remaining carew is still down on the field leonte carew who came into this game without a single career reception he's a sophomore really playing wide receiver for the first time four catches 124 yards three touchdowns three touchdowns he he could fly home by himself he won't have to board the plane just and i mean he's just been spectacular they're gonna get him up but i don't know that that's just a cramp it may still be but he's definitely hurting now let me just set the stage here remember this is three timeouts 108 to score a touchdown there's no kick and field goals it's the whole world is four down territory now and they have three timeouts so it's very very manageable the field position game has been huge for fresno state this is the third time mike that they've started from the rutgers 40 yard line yeah this is the drill you set up okay we've got a minute eight you have three time out here on the 40-yard line defense got to keep them out so derek carr the fifth year senior has had a monster game statistically carr 69 pass attempts he's going to get number 70. he's going to get it right here 418 yards unless they score in the first place he's going to get more than 70. i guarantee you the first and 10 fresno state carr takes a snap here comes pass attempt number 70 down the middle and caught inside the 20 down to the 15 isaiah burst now fresno state's going to score too fast and we've called isaiah burst the inside receiver that's the classic route the seam route middle scene read for the inside receiver he does it perfectly on first and ten from the 15. card takes that snap he's pressured he's throwing toward the end zone jump ball and it's incomplete coverage over there the pass intended for greg watson again but incomplete second down clock stops 50 seconds to go plenty of time they've got shots there they have the ability to throw the ball into the end zone underneath you know it's really anything that they want to do the clock should not be a factor they've got their timeouts intact second and ten bar now the play clock under 15 changes the call takes that snap some pressure comes and zone incomplete just a little bit of an overthrow intended for burst okay this puts a little bit more pressure to get a positive play here now in third and ten you don't want to be fourth and ten having to get that first down to keep the ball yeah with the game on the line essentially so two plays to get 10 yards or get in the end zone for fresno state third down carr [Applause] again walks up makes a change to the call get back in position the snap car middle incomplete but the flag is thrown intended for verse again and it's gareth glasson who's had a couple of costly penalties in this game he got flagged and the reality is [Applause] number two defense automatic first down if you are beat and he was to the inside you might as well hold him do not give him the touchdown here you can see a distinct grab there wrestling down obvious automatic call so it's first and goal 41 seconds to go in the fourth quarter a touchdown and an extra point away from ty in the game fresno state carr spreads it out even near the goal line throwing end zone and it's caught touchdown josh harper one point game fresno state needs the extra point to tie and that's how they're going to play it past interference defense number 24. that was his decline result of the play touchdown penalty didn't even matter [Applause] now unless they've dialed up a trick play out of their p-a-t field goal it looks like rutgers is getting another chance but every time's a possibility well the home team i think usually plays it this way whistles blow kick wet through prior to the snap second charge timeout that's interesting they they made it one 30 second timeout to set up a block because this point is crucial and obviously they may have something they want to remind their kids about because otherwise you get the ball back you get a good return that timeout would have been important to have them they get a field goal and they could win it oh that timeout is huge you got a field goal kicker who's got range you burn one there on the extra point i don't know well i'll tell you what if they block this kick it's all worth it it will be totally worth it and nobody in the last few years has blocked as many kicks as rutgers it's something they specialize in sometimes you know and that may be to ice the kicker too there's a lot there's a lot of thought and strategy going into this number one in college football since 2009 they sure could use one here fresno state needs the clean point after try the snap was a little high the hold was a good one and the kick is good this game is tied at 45 with 38 seconds to go my goodness i'd say those fans are getting their money's worth here tonight and then some josh harper with the pass interference didn't matter derek carr's big night continues how many times how many times are you throwing the ball tonight 73 attempts 52 completions four touchdowns my arm would fall off if i threw 73 passes those guys arms may be about to fall off i don't think so they're they're so fired up right now and got adrenaline and so excited they could play for another three hours or at least another quarter we're gonna test it look at the scoreboard totals and really on both sides we've had a huge offensive game we're right up against a thousand yards of total offense just short of it and if rutgers gets a couple first downs will vault right past a thousand total yards and then we may well have overtime and these were actually two pretty good defensive teams last year one the best defense in its conference in rutgers and and certainly nationally ranked well the secondary took so many losses rutgers secondary [Applause] the return man janarian graham who's had a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown jeremy dearing also a very dangerous returner but i'm not sure fresno state's going to give him a chance i would doubt that i don't think they will either but the trouble is getting the pooch kick you get the ball at the 30-yard line that's a pretty good field position that's a kickoff very deep so booming it toward the end zone but reckers decides to take a knee well that worked out well for fresno state and now we'll see how aggressive the scarlet knights are here they have one timeout left they're playing on the road we'll see they have to get a couple well they've got to go a minimum of what 50 yards i mean something to get down in field goal range so starting at the 20 yeah they've had plenty of big plays in this game so they need one here but they've had a lot of them james on the ground carrow's been the big play man in the past game they have brandon coleman one of the best receivers in college football start at the 25 nova pressured steps up throws short middle good catch and right at the first down mark that will stop the clock carew back in the game and he continues his big night he's still got a ways to go that's a great play because it stopped the clock but every single one has to be that way nova now throws down field and he's got his man caught in fresno state territory out of bounds brandon coleman with the big play and rutgers now moving closer to field goal range 21 yards for first down one more completion like that they will be in field goal 22 seconds to go in this one 45-45 nova in the pocket scrambling throws middle and it's dropped dropped by brandon coleman that would have been field goal range it's second and ten he would have been able to keep running on that one in all honesty for quite a bit of yardage great job by gary nova tremendous job unbelievably wide open and separated from his man here we go down the field and that one is caught inside the 30. they have a timeout if they need it rutgers running down to the line of scrimmage we'll see how they play this one they might just spike the ball they can use their timeout they can run it try to get three or four yards and center the ball clock is moving the head coach over there he'll call the timeout and now wreckers will set up for a field goal they're going to find a timeout they're going to win the game so we've got tremendous drama in fresno we'll be back for what could be the game-winning kick [Music] [Applause] well here we go 45-45 seconds to go 43-yard field goal attempt for the sophomore kyle federico trying to win the game for rutgers remember fresno state has three timeouts they can call them all to ice the kicker if they want we'll see if they decide to do it federico three for three kicking field goals in this one and now they burn at least one of those timeouts see if they can't get in ahead of the sophomore fresno state remarkable game more than a thousand combined yards of total offense the career long for kyle federico 52 yards rutgers got the ball back mike at the 25 after the touchback with 38 seconds to go and just have gone straight down the field to set up a potential game-winning kick gary nova did a tremendous job in that drive his accuracy his choice his ability to move in the pocket to buy time in fact the only pass that was incomplete was dropped so the reality is he did a tremendous job and may and that last i mean it's hard to pick a quarterback here because they both have played exceptionally well i would guess he's going to call another timeout and then play with him on the last one if need be well we'll find out 43 attempt trying to win the game federico gets ready to snap the hole the kick on the way and it is no good wide right and this game will go to overtime tough really tough you know you assume that if you're in a regular range that you're going to make that kick 43 yards go right go right young man go right okay i guess it's only fitting that these two teams get to battle some more that many yards and that many lead changes [Applause] well what time is it this one approaching midnight now here in california so rutgers time i mean these kids came out a couple days early but the scarlet knights from new jersey are playing into the middle of the night here in fresno so we'll take a break and get you set up for overtime a wild one at bulldog stadium 45-45 [Music] potential game-winning field goal for rutgers goes wide right coach deruder yeah we live to see overtime fresno state 45 rutgers 45. partner you enjoying this one loving it get that ball out of here that ball cannot go through neither one of these teams deserve to lose right now we're going to find out who wants to win it more but i guarantee you the rutgers coaches are telling their kids it's a long ride home let's make it a happy one we got a chance we got to come back now we had some heartbreak on our side we have played our tails off tonight and the same thing coach at fresno state they're saying the same exact thing we both deserve to win but there's only one winner let's find out eight lead changes better than a thousand total yards plus we get the overtime format now so who knows what numbers we might pile up between fresno state and rutgers this game could just keep going on and on this is a defensive coach's nightmare right here just move down the field like that but the offensive coaches are feeling pretty good they'll feel a lot better when one of them can win the game and there is some strategy involved in overtime it partially at least involves the toss who wins the toss who loses and that can impact so we're going to get the toss here at midfield heads is called [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that way so ruckus has won the talk elected to the defense first first and ten fresno state so while the teams get set up for overtime let's go back down once again to lewis johnson well i'm just walking behind the fresno state bench and you know it's an interesting mix of emotions here what i'm seeing i i see relief on the face of some of these players on that missed field goal but then there's there's just plain fatigue these guys are worn out down here coaches and trainers trying to hydrate them if my clock is right guys we're looking at what four and a half hours since this game started and not done yet lewis and not done yet i mean there has to be fatigue there has to be physical fatigue mental fatigue right it's the first game of the year there's all of that and now is when you need some of your real leaders your veteran players who don't feel any kind of physical pain that can overcome that can make a play that'll ignite the rest of the team to finish out this overtime so again as mike just detailed rutgers wins the toss you want to play defense the reason is it's normal football from the 25 you can get a first down as many plays as it takes you in the normal scheme of things starting at the 25 but if you're the defense you know exactly what you have to do when you get the ball when you get your chance it can affect your play calling if they have scored no points a field goal or a touchdown derek carr back on the field and happy to have another chance he'll lob one over the top he's got his man one play end zone touchdown greg watson that's they do a lot of different things off of their sprint out package and they snuck a receiver right down the middle field across the grain and he found him a great job by derrick carr sprint outside over the top and then perfectly thrown ball coach floods not very happy but what it does is just tell them that now rutgers after this extra point is probably looking at having to score a touchdown an extra point in their overtone period so they're gonna kick the ball here go for the extra point behold the snap was a little low that time but the kick from maguire is up and good and rutgers does know exactly what they need to do they need a touchdown and one to tie you can see from ground level great job just perfect touch over the top great job by the receiver sneaking through but great pass on the run for derrick carr and what we wouldn't expect any less the way overtime works in college football also you can go double overtime and the teams still have a choice to kick the extra point or go for the two-point conversion once you get to triple overtime and who knows where we're going here tonight in fresno but once you get to triple overtime the teams are forced you cannot kick you have to go for two correct which you try to prepare a couple of two-point plays for every game one in case you need regulation and then obviously if you get to overtime and get to that third overtime so no field goal possibility rutgers gets the ball one chance with their four downs starting for the 25 gary nova and he's had a heck of a night the rutgers quarterback can the bulldogs get a stop and get a win in overtime nova sets up a screen play and that one was red well remember as you said they can get first downs they're looking at you know second and ten now but they just gotta whittle away a little bit they can't choose to go for the big play which has been their motorcycle runday all night long coleman with the catch jennings with the tackle second and ten nova looking downfield middle caught inside the ten down to the five first down rutgers first and goal first and goal at the four or so must score tesla but got four shots at it at least barring penalties rouen feel with the catch the redshirt freshman making his college debut tonight nova slat caught touchdown so now rutgers they could decide to go for two and try to win the game they could that is their option brandon might be keeping the offense on the field so that would give us the ultimate drama every team gets one timeout in each overtime period and it looks like rutgers is going for the win so this game is going to end here one way or another no need for the headset coach can just watch and they put the ball on the left half so it's probably some type they're going to use the right side of the field if they're going to move any direction they'll probably be that way what a night and here we go this is the game double covering on the outside put him in motion nova rolling right end zone incomplete the bulldogs celebrate 52-51 in overtime i guess it had to end at some point it's a shame it's that's a great victory for fresno state at home and a tough loss for rutgers on the road having to travel back that way having the game in hand with an opportunity to end it in regulation and not getting it done a very very gutsy call for the second year head coach kyle flood he went for the win but he gets the loss and a very warm hug and a handshake with deruder and flood that's two guys with a lot of respect for each other they both deserve it because they have done a great job in their first year and obviously have teams that are very young but uh put on a heck of a show tonight just that close to a rutgers victory and when the ball dropped the bulldogs celebrated a wild wild game and look at the players out there congratulating each other on a game that was played that's a neat thing to see in this day and age tim deruda victoria's head coach down on the field with louis johnson all right thanks very much well coach describe the missed field goal and then the play that you call that scored the touchdown that ultimately led to this win well we got lucky down there you know we got a great push from our line we were a lot of guys were praying on that sideline and uh you know he just barely pushed the thing wide get a chance going overtime coach ram dialed up we saw him in in a zero deep and greg watson beat his man inside and dc put it on him you look like you've just run a marathon what's it like to win your first game with all the ups and downs the roller coaster that we just witnessed this is a special group of guys and i'll tell you what give all the credit to rutgers those guys battled both guys were up down coast flood does a great job to get this win that's huge for our guys describe this record night that derek carr had for you i don't know what to say about the guy everything he does is what you want in a quarterback he leads us does a fantastic job i'm so happy for him and his family and the bulldogs and when you leave the field tonight you go to that locker room how will the emotion of this win fuel the rest of this season well it's going to be huge we're going to be singing bulldog spirit in the locker room and having a good time with it we honored coach sweeney we're going to honor him in the locker room all right coach finish your marathon in the locker room congratulations on thanksgiving thanks lewis all right dave well great job by coach and mike uh derek carr almost as his coach was talking about him demonstrating that leadership what a night it was for him and a moment there between coach flood and derek carr this was a heck of a night this was a great game and two guys with unbelievable will to win both he and gary nova did just about everything they could to rally their teams and a great support i mean just just a fun game to watch a fun game to do and two coaches who now that i know i respect them for what they've got out of their kids are we glad the college football season is going now i'm loving that it's on and i'll tell you games like this make me want to come back again but now you can watch ole miss vanderbilt coming up next and judge which one was wilder the bulldogs in overtime a tremendous win for mike belotti and lewis johnson dave fleming from bulldogs stadium saying good night from fresno

Channel: Wally the Bronco

Views: 299

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Fresno State, Rutgers

Id: ELwO_BV157I

Length: 204min 47sec (12287 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 08 2021