Inside the sleek Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Fresno State and UNLV saw what a professional football stadium looks like.
And on the field, both sides saw what a future pro football player looks like in Ronnie Rivers.
Rivers rushed for 133 yards and picked up another 99 yards receiving in Fresno State’s 40-27 win over UNLV Saturday afternoon.
“The key was the game came to him,” said head coach Kalen DeBoer on Rivers. “He just understands the situations so well, doesn’t panic, and just trusts who he is.”
“That boy is incredible,” added Bulldog cornerback Chris Gaston. “He isn’t the biggest cat, but he’s got the biggest heart.”
Fresno State opened the scoring on its second drive, when quarterback Jake Haener kept the football on a run-pass option and took it 54 yards for a touchdown. It was Haener’s first rushing touchdown as a Bulldog. Cesar Silva missed the following PAT to only put the ‘Dogs ahead 6-0.
UNLV embarked on a 12-play, 74-yard drive in response, capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by former Bullard running back Charles Williams. A successful PAT granted the Rebels a 7-6 lead.
Later in the first quarter, UNLV put together another long drive – 18 plays, 74 yards – but settled for a 28-yard field goal from Daniel Gutierrez for a 10-6 lead.
The game turned into ‘The Ronnie Rivers Show’ from that point on. The senior running back went on to score Fresno State’s next four touchdowns.
Rivers pushed the Bulldogs ahead 13-10 on a six-yard touchdown run, followed by UNLV QB Max Gilliam connecting with Tyleek Collins for a 43-yard touchdown catch.
Facing another four-point deficit, the Bulldogs put the ball in Rivers’ hands again – and he made yet another explosive play.
Rivers caught a screen pass and followed his blockers all the way to the end zone – a 33-yard touchdown catch to give the Bulldogs a 20-17 lead.
“The throw-back screen at the end of the first half, that is just great execution,” DeBoer said on the play. “There were a lot of pieces to that play going well, but there is a key that [Rivers] has with that that play, and he really made it go.”
Out of halftime, the Bulldogs fully seized momentum with a forced fumble by defensive end David Perales. Two plays later, Ronnie Rivers struck again with a 16-yard touchdown rush to extend Fresno State’s lead to 27-17.
UNLV answered with a long 13-play drive, but the Rebels were held to another short field goal to make the score 27-20.
The Rebels came all the way back with a 71-yard touchdown run by Max Gilliam, the longest play from scrimmage all game.
DeBoer on Gilliam’s big run: “He creates and he’s a little bit faster than what you think. We had guys with angles, and they didn’t take quite the angle they thought they needed to and make the play.”
When Fresno State’s offense came out to respond, Ben Wooldridge was the quarterback. The backup led an 11-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, with Rivers punching it in from 10 yards out, to give the Bulldogs their third lead of the game.
It was a lead they never gave up, adding two Cesar Silva field goals in the fourth quarter.
Chris Gaston had two interceptions in the final quarter, helping prevent a Rebels comeback.
“I was reading the progression of the quarterback, seeing what he’s doing and reading his eyes,” Gaston said of his two picks. “The first pick, he was looking directly at me, so I knew he was going to throw it there. I thank my D-Line, because they got through and brought the pass rush, and made him hurry up and throw the ball.”
On the sideline, Gaston donned a cape emblazoned with money symbols after each turnover. It is the Bulldogs’ turnover cape.
“If you get a takeaway in the game, you get the cape put on you… I think [the dollar signs] mean we’re just getting paid, we’re just getting money,” Gaston said.
The defense was feeling like money in the fourth quarter – quite fitting for the expensive stadium the Bulldogs defeated the Rebels inside Saturday.
“It was a neat experience for them, no question,” DeBoer said on his team playing inside the $1.8 billion Allegiant Stadium. “It’s a beautiful stadium.”
Haener was the top passer for the Bulldogs, throwing for 164 yards and a touchdown, along with 79 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Despite Wooldridge coming in to play four offensive drives, DeBoer asserted postgame: “Jake Haener is our starting quarterback.”
It was all about Ronnie Rivers on Saturday. The senior led the Bulldogs in rushing and receiving, and his four touchdowns total in the game placed him second all-time on Fresno State’s career touchdowns list with 43.
After passing former Bulldog greats Ryan Matthews and Robbie Rouse, Rivers was humbled to have his name in the history books among them.
“Ever since I was little, I told my Dad I wanted to come here and break records,” said Rivers. “Just being able to do a little bit of that is amazing.”
Fresno State (2-1) stays on the road next Saturday, when they travel to Logan, Utah to take on the Utah State Aggies (0-3).