The Sports Xchange
Oct 17, 2015
FRESNO, Calif. -- Senior Marteze Waller rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including a 38-yarder with 2:37 remaining for the game-winner, as Fresno State rallied for a 31-28 victory over UNLV in Mountain West Conference play on Friday night.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Kilton Anderson completed 19-of-31 passes for 193 yards and also rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns for Fresno State (2-6, 1-3), which trailed 28-14 with 5:13 left in the third quarter but scored the final 17 points of the game to pull out the win and snap a five-game losing streak.
Sophomore Kurt Palandech completed 12-of-24 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns and senior Keith Whitely rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries for UNLV (2-5, 1-2).
Waller's 38-yard run off left tackle gave Fresno State its first lead of the game, 29-28, and Anderson then hit tight end Chad Olsen with a 2-point conversion.
UNLV then drove to the Fresno State 32 but shunned a chance at a potential game-tying field-goal try thanks in part to a sudden downpour in the final minute. Palandech was sacked by sophomore Justin Green on 4th-and-6 and then Fresno State ran out the clock for its first win over an FBS school this season.
UNLV, trying for its third win in four games, took an early 7-0 lead on senior fullback George Naufahu's 1-yard plunge that capped an impressive 75-yard, 13-play opening drive.
But Fresno State, trying to avoid its first three-game losing streak at Bulldog Stadium since 2006, bounced back to take a 14-7 lead on a 6-yard run by Anderson and a 17-yard run by Waller.
The Rebels, despite being outgained 202-146 in the first half, rallied to tie it 14-14 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Palandech to sophomore wide receiver Kendal Keys just 42 seconds before halftime.
Fresno State, which came into the contest averaging just 115.7 yards per game rushing, had 138 on the ground by halftime. Anderson, making his second college start, had 61 yards rushing on five carries and completed 8-of-10 passes for 64 yards in an impressive first half.
NOTES: UNLV's last road win over Fresno State came in 1983, 20-7, when future NFL MVP Randall Cunningham was playing quarterback ... UNLV won more than two games just once in the past five seasons. That was in 2013 when the Rebels finished 7-6 and lost to North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, 36-14. ... Fresno State's 1-5 start is its worst since 2006 when the Bulldogs began 1-7.