Fresno State celebrates Old Oil Can Trophy
Fresno State faced a 28-17 deficit with under two minutes remaining – Then came a miracle. Running back Jordan Mims scored on a three-yard touchdown with 1:09 left, Zane Pope recovered Dylan Lynch’s onside kick, and quarterback Jake Haener threw the go-ahead 37-yard touchdown pass to Nikko Remigio on the next play. The celebration ensued after Carlton Johnson’s game-sealing interception as the Bulldogs took in an unbelievable win and hoisted the Old Oil Can Rivalry Trophy. Watch BarkBoard’s footage of the scene in the embedded video above.
Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford said after the win, “That’s really what it’s about. We did, we had some turnovers and short fields and didn’t score. That was very frustrating, obviously. To keep fighting, to keep battling, the “Resilience, that all comes down to belief and teamwork. Of course you’re disappointed, but you’re not discouraged. Because it looked pretty bleak in the last two minutes to tell you the truth. Didn’t it? Huh? You can.” say it, yes it did.”
“All the things that you preach about it’s a four-quarter game. Just keep plugging along. I told a couple of guys in the fourth quarter, you know, ‘this is what great memories are made of.’ I didn’t expect it to be quite like that but what an exciting game. It’s a game these kids will never forget for the rest of their life.”
Haener added, “This is why you play. For nights like this. With everything that’s happened this year, it’s hard not to be emotional because I’ve put so much time into it with these guys and out of the stadium and in the training room, everywhere. So it’s nice to see things like this pay off and turn out like this when you put a lot of time into it. I couldn’t be happier for the program, my teammates. We’re still here, man. 4-4.”
The Bulldogs’ win marked back-to-back victories over rival SDSU and seven wins in the last 10 meetings since Fresno State joined the Mountain West. SDSU last won the trophy in 2019. SDSU’s visit was its first since 2018 as the 2020 rivalry game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year Fresno State knocked off previously-undefeated and nationally-ranked SDSU 30-20 in Carson, California.