Fresno State Holds Off Nevada, 28-19

Dwayne Wright rushed for 158 yards in his first game in nearly two years, scoring his third touchdown on an outstanding nine-yard run with 6 minutes 55 seconds left in Fresno State’s 28-19 victory over Nevada on Friday night at Fresno.

Tom Brandstater passed for 124 yards and a touchdown in his first start for the Bulldogs, who opened their season with a Western Athletic Conference victory that ended Nevada’s five-game winning streak from last season.

The meeting of two WAC powers was a high-stakes way to open the year, but Fresno State had just enough offensive consistency to hold on after Nevada trimmed a 15-point lead to 21-19 early in the fourth quarter.

Mike McCoy caught two touchdown passes from Jeff Rowe for the Wolf Pack, who won their last four WAC games and the Hawaii Bowl last season, when they shared the conference title with Boise State. Rowe passed for 183 yards, and Robert Hubbard rushed for 103 -- but Nevada’s defense never quite stopped Wright.

Wright had a 1,000-yard season in 2003, but sat out most of the last two seasons because of a knee injury. He hadn’t played since Sept. 11, 2004, but the junior made several impressive runs -- including a 40-yard scoring sprint -- in his first game as the one-man replacement for last season’s tailback tandem of Wendell Mathis and Bryson Sumlin.

Fresno State’s young offense relied on him heavily, with 26 carries -- and Wright saved his best run for the final moments. With roughly seven minutes to play, Wright broke five tackles and lunged across the goal line.

Brandstater’s first appearance seemed to be a success. He passes to receivers with precision and poise and went 16 for 24, leading a scoring drive in every quarter.

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Quarterback Josh Johnson and running back J.T. Rogan rushed for two touchdowns apiece to lead San Diego to a 27-0 victory over Azusa Pacific at San Diego.

Johnson scored on runs of seven and 29 yards in the second quarter as the Toreros built a 20-0 halftime lead. Rogan, who gave San Diego a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a three-yard run, scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

San Diego dominated its NAIA opponent, out-gaining the Cougars, 354-113, in total offense. The Toreros, who were 11-1 last season, won for the 17th time in their last 18 games.

Johnson also completed 11 of 21 passes for 138 yards with one interception. Azusa Pacific quarterback Ryan Bridges replaced starter Rudy Carlton, who left the game midway through the second quarter because of a left hand injury.

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For all the talk at Penn State about the new starting quarterback, the rebuilt offensive line and the new faces on defense, threatening skies and a soggy field might have the most impact on today’s opener against Akron.

Ernesto, or what’s left of the tropical weather system, could dump a couple of inches of rain on State College, Pa.

Sloppy play might be the order of the day, so quarterback Anthony Morelli hopes those wet-ball drills at the end of practice pay off.