The Fresno State football team opened their season on Saturday. Expectations couldn’t be any higher for the team, as they finished last season on a 9-game winning streak, were Mountain West Champions, and defeated Washington State in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. They ended the season ranked #24 in the nation.
With all the hype, there were also plenty of questions. They lost their star quarterback Jake Haener to the NFL, along with star wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper. They also lost defensive captain Evan Williams to the transfer portal but gained UCF quarterback Mikey Keene and Boston College wide receiver Jaelen Gill. 7 of their defensive starters from 2022 would also be coming back for this season.
They started the season in West Lafayette, Indiana, facing the Purdue University Boilermakers. The Boilermakers played in the Big 10 championship game last year and finished with a record of 8-6. Although the Bulldogs were not favored to win the game, they were only 4-point underdogs.
55,000 Boilermakers fans packed Ross-Ade stadium, creating an electric environment. The Bulldogs started off on offense by going 3-and-out and punting the ball to the Boilermakers. On their first third down of the game, Purdue quarterback Hudson Card hit wide receiver Deion Burks on a slant route, and he took it all the way to the end zone for an early 84-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs’ first touchdown came in the middle of the first quarter on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mikey Keene to Erik Brooks. Fresno State’s offense started to move the ball very quickly, and it became apparent to everyone that this wouldn’t be a blowout win for the Boilermakers.
Purdue would score a touchdown at the end of the first quarter, making it a 14-7 game. Fresno State’s offense and Mikey Keene answered right back with another touchdown of their own, tying the game. At the end of the second quarter, the Bulldogs made a field goal to make the score 21-17 going into halftime. Every Bulldog fan held their breath as Mikey Keene went into the locker room after taking a bad hit at the end of the drive.
Keene returned to the field to start the second half, stating he was only shaken up from the hit and that he was good to go the rest of the way. Purdue started the second half by returning the kickoff for a touchdown. This would be Purdue’s biggest lead of the day, going up by 9 points. On the next drive, Keene found Jaelen Gill in the back of the endzone for a score, and then converted a 2-point attempt to make it a 28-25 game.
The Bulldogs got a stop on defense, and then running back Malik Sherrod caught a touchdown pass to take their first lead of the game. On a crucial third down that could have sealed the game, Mikey Keene made his only bad decision of the game. Keene threw up a deep ball that was intercepted by Purdue’s Dillon Thieneman. The Boilermakers immediately scored to make it a 35-32 game with 4 minutes remaining.
Keene and the offense marched down the field, using the clock efficiently to not give the Boilermakers any chance of scoring again. With 59 seconds left, Keene found Erik Brooks in the back of the end zone for a 22-yard score, his second of the game. The Bulldogs made the extra point, meaning they went up by 4 and Purdue would have to score a touchdown to win.
With 31 seconds left in the game and on 4th down, Hudson Card’s pass was tipped by Fresno State Linebacker Levelle Bailey and the Boilermakers turned the ball over. The Bulldogs beat Purdue by a score of 39-35, stunning a Big 10 opponent at home, and creating huge momentum for the rest of the season.
Mikey Keene finished the game completing 31 of his 44 passes, throwing 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Erik Brooks had a standout performance as he had 9 receptions for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Keene to Brooks will be a connection that Bulldog fans will see all season long.
Mikey Keene’s debut for the Bulldogs was about as perfect as you could ask. With the combination of a shutdown defense and a very balanced offense, the ‘Dogs are the favorites to repeat as Mountain West Champions this year. Fresno State returns to Valley Children’s Stadium this Saturday as they host Eastern Washington University at 6 P.M.
