30-46 Hornet loss. An abysmal opening quarter put the Hornets well behind early on, but the Hornets found their composure and put together a respectable showing the rest of the way. However, Fresno State was just too overwhelming for the Hornets.
As expected, the Hornet secondary got torched and they kicked things off with a big blown coverage to gift the Bulldogs an easy score on the first play from scrimmage. That big play set the tone for the secondary for the remainder of the evening as they gave up 358 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. The secondary did manage an interception in the 2nd quarter by a good play on the ball by Eian Moore (6 tak, 1 INT) while Will Leaota (8 tak, 1 INT) had another interception in the 3rd quarter. Up front the Hornet defense played the run well. The Bulldogs didn’t surpass 100 yard rushing until late in the game, and finished with 155 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.
The Hornet offense sputtered early on, but came alive in the 2nd quarter. Kaiden Bennett (5/13, 135 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT) came back into the game and found Jared Gipson (5 rec, 138 yds, 1 TD) for a 78 yard catch and run. Unfortunately, KB made an awful play in the redzone that resulted in an interception at the end of the 1st half and was benched for the rest of the game. Carson Conklin (20/37, 219 yds, 3 TD) had a solid showing off the bench. Conklin led the Hornets for an opening drive touchdown to open up the 2nd half, made some good throws and overall had an impressive showing against a strong defense. On the ground, the Hornets found some success as Elijah Tau-Tolliver (14 car, 74 yds, 3 rec, 10 yds) had a solid game. Unfortunately, the Hornets weren’t able to convert on a few short yardage scenarios and the running game was largely negated due to the deficit the Hornets were chasing. The Hornets totaled 115 yards on the ground.
Special teams had their worst game in a long time. Cal McGough (45.4 ypp) dropped 4 of 7 punts inside the 20 and the punt coverage pounced/forced and recovered a fumble on a punt return…but they gave up a big return for a touchdown which will always overshadow the good.
Here are my takeaways from the game
- This was shaping up to be a 50 point blowout, but the Hornets weathered Fresno State's early barrage and were able to climb back into the game and salvage a respectable showing. Good on this team for not folding up the tent and mailing it in after the 1st quarter.
- Turnovers are killing this team. The Hornets put the ball on the ground too much and KB makes too many poor throws. ETT put the ball on the ground in the redzone, which was negated by Leota’s interception, which was negated by KBs awful cross body throw for a pick. A score at the end of the 1st half in that sequence would have made the 2nd half much more interesting.
- Red zone offense needs to be better. Hornets went ⅗ in the redzone with those 2 misses being turnovers. See above. Also only cashing in that muffed punt for a field goal instead of a touchdown was a missed opportunity.
- Hornet offense needs to figure out how to convert on 3rd down. A lot of low percentage down and distance situations last night, going away from the running game (due to falling behind by multiple scores) had a lot to do with that.
- The Hornet offense putting up 30 points and 469 total yards on a pretty stout Fresno State defense is a strong indication of good things to come. No need to doom over the opening losses.
- Even though KB was benched, he did bring a spark to this team and was a big part in the Hornets climbing back into this game. The errant passes needed to stop, but I think we all know that they won’t. The versatility his talent brings to the offense can’t be denied.
- Conklin finally performed well against a good defense. He looked shaky early on but had a good performance in the 2nd half. Some of his stats came late in the game and his evening was punctuated with a touchdown pass to Anderson Grover (2 rec, 66 yds, 1 TD). Conklin also made good decisions and was able to avoid some sacks and throw the ball away a few times.
- Hornet offensive line held their own. They didn’t give up any sacks and were able to get a push on the rush. I thought they would have their struggles with the Bulldog front but this group continues to impress.
- Hornet secondary got beat badly yet again, not sure if there is reason to think this will ever change. On a positive note for the defense, a lot of open tackles were made by the secondary.
- The Hornet defensive line and linebackers did well against the rush. I thought the Hornet front would get pushed around by the Bulldog offensive line but their run game didn’t stack until garbage time.
- Hornets suffered another major injury as Kaleb Higgins was carted off with an air cast on his leg. Injuries are starting to stack up and we’re only 2 weeks into the season.
No need to over analyze this game as the Hornets were facing another FBS opponent. After the first 2 weeks, the Hornet offense looks more than capable of moving and putting up points, but need to take care of the football. Defensively, the Hornets need to find answers in the secondary while the defensive line has looked strong and the linebackers look more than capable of having a presence. Now the Hornets will look to put it all together in the home opener next week.
Stingers up!