Fresno State Pulls Away from Rice, 38-24
Rice ran for 344 yards and still lost by 14. Fresno State had 257 on the ground, 210 through the air, and a quarterback who threw three touchdowns, and the Bulldogs won 38-24 to move to 3-1.
Rice got off to a quick start. Ben Grice ripped off an 88-yard touchdown run for the game's first points, and after a Josiah Freeman touchdown catch tied it, Jacurri Brown found Max Mosey from 40 yards. Jayden Mandal answered with a 28-yard throw to Jahlil McClain, and an Enock Gota field goal as the half expired made it 17-14 Rice.
The game belonged to Fresno State after the break. Manaki Watanabe kicked a 29-yard field goal to tie it at 17, and Mandal threw a 7-yard touchdown to Ezekiel Avit for a 24-17 lead. Julius Gillick ran one in from 5 yards at the start of the fourth quarter and it was 31-17. Brown answered with a 50-yard run, but Rayshon Luke broke a 52-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later, and that was the last score.
The turnovers tell part of it. Rice threw one interception and lost one fumble, and Fresno State had none of either. Rice had 463 yards of offense, Fresno 467. Nearly even yards, and a 14-point loss. That is what the giveaways do.
Rice drops to 1-3.
Fantasy takeaway: two quarterbacks and a running back all cleared 26 points.