Fresno State win streak hits 12 games with dominating shutout victory at Arizona State

Fresno State had not tackled very well in allowing 35 points in a win at Purdue and 31 in beating FCS Eastern Washington in double-overtime, and that was a potential problem on Saturday when it played at Arizona State.

The Sun Devils are not particularly good at football, ranking last in the Pac-12 Conference in yards per play and scoring offense after their first two games. But they had a running back ranked sixth in the nation in missed tackles forced and they had generated 70 percent of their passing yards after a catch was made, using a combination of scheme and big, physical skill players to turn small passes into medium and on occasion large plays.

“It’s definitely something that shows up on film,” linebackers’ coach Tim Skipper said.

But Fresno State allowed almost none of that in a 29-0 victory at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., extending the second-longest winning streak in the nation to 12 games.

The Bulldogs (3-0) forced eight turnovers including a school-record tying three interceptions by cornerback Carlton Johnson. They allowed just 230 yards at 3.6 yards per play, the lowest generated by the Sun Devils since a 2019 loss to No. 16 Utah.

Fresno State knocked quarterback Trenton Bourguet out of the game in the first quarter and made the going miserable for backups Drew Pyne and Jacob Conover.

Pyne, a Notre Dame transfer, hit just 5 of 13 passes with two interceptions, and fumbled away the football twice when under pass rush pressure. Nickel Morice Norris forced the first, which was recovered by defensive end Kemari Munier-Bailey. Munier-Bailey forced the second, which was recovered by defensive tackle Jacob Holmes.

Linebacker Levelle Bailey forced the third fumble with a hit on running back Tevin White, which was recovered by defensive end Merhauti Xepera. Cornerbacks Cameron Lockridge and Alzillion Hamilton had the Bulldogs’ other two interceptions.

Fresno State also held Arizona State to 5 of 14 on third downs and 0 of 1 on fourth down, that one an incomplete pass from the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line in the second quarter when Arizona State came up with nothing after having a 1st-and-goal from the three.

The Sun Devils made only four plays all game, three coming on plays of 24, 27 and 31 yards that included yards after the catch. But Fresno State was much better than at Purdue and against Eastern Washington when, according to Pro Football Focus, they missed 14 and 11 tackles and allowed 163 and 87 yards after the catch.

It was the Bulldogs’ first shutout against a Pac-12 opponent since beating Oregon State 27-0 in 1986, and the victory marked the first time they have beaten two Power Five conference opponents in the same regular season since 2004 when they won at Washington and at No. 13 Kansas State in back-to-back weeks.

If there was a downside, the offense turned those eight turnovers into just 15 points with kicker Dylan Lynch hitting a school-record tying five field goals in seven attempts.

But the Bulldogs’ defense hit a level it was at the end of a 2022 season it ranked second in the Mountain West in scoring defense, and has a chance to get back on a roll.

Fresno State the next two weeks will play Kent State and Nevada in their conference opener at Valley Children’s Stadium, and the Golden Flashes are averaging 16.7 points per game and the Wolf Pack just 14.7.

They are ranked 122nd and 128th of 133 in the nation in scoring offense.

BY THE NUMBERS

1.1: The Bulldogs received $1.1 million for playing the game at Arizona State and with a season-opening win at Purdue, they banked $2.4 million while going 2-0 in guarantee games against Power Five opponents.

14: Consecutive completed passes for quarterback Mikey Keene to start the game.

17: Fresno State has scored in 17 consecutive quarters, dating to the fourth quarter of the Mountain West championship game victory at Boise State last season.

11: Receptions for Bulldogs’ wideout Erik Brooks, a career high. Brooks has 28 receptions this season for 369 yards and three touchdowns.

5: Sacks allowed by the Bulldogs, who had allowed five total in their first two games.

4: Explosive plays of 20 or more yards for Arizona State, passes of 20, 24, 27 and 31 yards. The Bulldogs had one play that went for 20 or more yards, a 42-yard touchdown pass from Keene to Jaelen Gill that put the Bulldogs up 23-0.

51.5: Fresno State punter Carson King, who went into the game averaging just 37.2 yards on his punts, averaged 51.5 on four kicks against the Sun Devils.

61.60: Passing efficiency rating for Arizona State, which had three quarterbacks throw at least one pass. That is the lowest allowed by Fresno State since the last time it shut out an opponent. The Bulldogs held Wyoming to a 57.71 in a 30-0 win last season.

4.2: Yards per play for the Fresno State offense, a season low. The Bulldogs went into the game averaging 36.5 points per game, despite ranking only seventh in the Mountain West in yards per play at 5.5.