Big West Roundup : Fresno Takes Command by Beating San Jose, 17-15

Steve Loops kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the 2nd quarter that stood up for the winning points as Fresno State held off San Jose State, 17-15, Saturday at San Jose to take control of the Big West Conference race.

The champion of the Big West meets the winner of the Mid-American Conference in the California Bowl Dec. 10 in Fresno.

The Bulldogs (6-2 overall, 4-0 in the Big West) jumped to a 17-0 lead and snapped San Jose’s conference winning streak at 18 games.

Fresno limited San Jose (3-6, 3-1) to 47 yards in the 1st half.

The Bulldogs scored on Kelly Skipper’s 15-yard run on their 1st series and increased the lead to 14-0 in the 2nd quarter when James Williams recovered a fumbled punt snap in the end zone.

Hesh Colar returned a blocked punt 6 yards for San Jose’s first score in the 3rd quarter. The Spartans made it close in the final period when Ken Lutz hit Kevin Evans with a 36-yard scoring pass and then threw to Don Togisala for a 2-point conversion.

Utah State 23, Pacific 20--Russ Moody’s 3rd field goal, a 21-yarder with 2:23 left, gave the Aggies a Big West victory over the Tigers (1-7, 0-5) at Logan, Utah.

Brent Snyder passed for 328 yards and a 38-yard touchdown to Kendal Smith, in addition to running 1 yard for a score to give Utah State (3-5, 3-2) a 17-7 lead.

Tulsa 33, UNLV 7--T.J. Rubley threw for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Golden Hurricane past the Rebels (3-4) in a non-conference game at Las Vegas.

Tulsa (2-5) broke a 5-game losing streak.