HONOLULU - Fresno State earned its first win at Hawai'i since 2019 with a 23-21 victory on Saturday night at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. The Bulldogs move to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Mountain West play, winning their fourth game in-a-row.
Fresno State's defense forced four turnovers, its most in a game since October 2024. Fresno State saw interceptions from three different players, including a Pick-6 from sophomore linebacker K'vion Thunderbird. Thunderbird led the Bulldogs with eight tackles.
Offensively, senior quarterback E.J. Warner completed 22-of-29 pass attempts for 230 yards and a touchdown. Warner connected with nine different receivers in the win.
How it happened
Fresno State moved the ball down field on its first drive, highlighted by 36 yards and three catches from Ezekiel Avit. On third-and-3 at the Hawai'i 25-yard line, a fumble on a botched snap pushed the 'Dogs back and brought out Dylan Lynch for a 43-yard field goal attempt. Lynch saw his kick hooked right, keeping the Bulldogs off the board.
The Bulldog defense responded with a quick drive of its own as Simeon Harris and K'vion Thunderbird came up with a big third down stop. After a delay of game penalty, the Rainbow Warriors were pushed back and the Bulldogs had a short field after a rogue punt.
Fresno State would go three-and-out but Nick Verdugo punted the ball 46 yards to the Hawai'i 7-yard line. With Hawai'i working down field, it saw its own botched snap that the Bulldogs took advantage of as Jahzon Jacks retained possession for the Bulldogs. Fresno State had one play in it before the quarter ended with a 0-0 tie.
Hawai'i brought the pressure, and came up with a big play for a loss of five yards. On the next play, E.J. Warner found Jahlil McClain for a 11-yard completion to reset the downs. Warner found Jordan Brown at the back of the end zone. Brown caught the ball, but was knocked out of bounds to bring back out the field goal team. Lynch missed again from 26 yards out.
The Bulldog defense stayed composed on the next drive, holding Hawai'i off the board for another drive. Fresno State saw two sacks on the drive with the first from Deijon Laffitte and another from Ryan Wilson. Hawai'i punted from the Fresno State 39-yard line, and would pin Fresno State at the 3-yard line. It ended poorly for Fresno State as Warner was hit in the end zone and fumbled. With the safety, Hawai'i took a 2-0 lead with 7:20 left before halftime.
Fresno State's defense forced another three-and-out to bring the offense back for another opportunity. After nine plays, Fresno State got down to the Hawai'i 41-yard line, and a Bulldog fumble behind the line of scrimmage was picked up and scored by Jamih Otis from 37 yards out to give Hawai'i a 9-0 lead.
The Bulldog offense finally caught a break, getting on the board after a six-play scoring drive capped by a 13 yard touchdown pass from Warner to Richie Anderson III.
With 38 seconds left in the half, Hawai'i looked to drive down the field for the chance to add to their lead. On the second play of the drive, Camryn Bracha picked off a deep pass to end the chances. Fresno State trailed 9-7 at halftime.
The teams traded scoreless drives to open the second half. Hawai'i got on the board with a 40-yard field goal.
The Bulldogs took four plays to find the end zone as Warner faced pressure and pitched forward to Kamron Beachem who was off to the races for a 64-yard gain and was dragged down at the 1-yard line. Bryson Donelson punched it in to give Fresno State a 13-12 lead for its first lead of the night.
The Bulldog defense held Hawai'i to a long field goal as Kansei Matsuzawa hit from 52-yards out to give Hawai'i a 15-13 lead late in the third quarter.
On the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had Lynch take the field for a 54-yard attempt that initially split the uprights but not before Timmy Chang called timeout. Lynch returned to the field after the timeout and saw his next attempt sail right for another miss on the night.
Just three plays into the next Hawai'i drive, Al'zillion Hamilton grabbed his first interception of the season and returned it 42 yards to the Hawai'i 12 yard line. The Bulldogs couldn't find the end zone but Lynch came in for a successful field goal from 27 yards out to put Fresno State ahead 16-15 in the fourth quarter.
After Hawai'i converted on 4th-and-1, the Rainbow Warriors entered Fresno State territory before Thunderbird snagged the pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown to put the 'Dogs up 23-15 in the fourth.
With a little over three minutes left on the clock, Hawai'i strung together a 12-play scoring drive. The Rainbow Warriors went for the 2-point conversion to tie the game, but the pass attempt was no good thanks to a play by Harris. The Rainbow Warriors attempted the onside kick, but it rolled out of bounds. Warner came out with victory formation, taking the kneel to secure Fresno State's win on the island.
Up Next
Fresno State has its first bye week of the season before returning home to host Nevada on Oct. 4. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and tickets are available here.