13/14 Kansas State Falls to Fresno State, 45-21

Saturday, September 11

Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas State University

1-1

Fresno State

2-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Fresno State	14	17	7	7	45
Kansas State	7	7	0	7	21

Sep 11, 2004 | Football

Box Score

MANHATTAN, Kan.(AP)-- Paul Pinegar threw two touchdown passes to Matt Rivera and ran for another score, and Fresno State upset No. 13 Kansas State 45-21 on Saturday.

Bryson Sumlin added two TD runs in Fresno State's biggest win ever over a ranked team -- and the Wildcats' worst regular-season non-conference loss in 13 years. Fresno State(2-0) also earned its second road win over a team from a Bowl Championship Series conference in seven days.

The Bulldogs' 45 points were the most given up by the Wildcats in a regular-season nonconference game since a 56-3 loss to Washington in 1991. Fresno State's previous most decisive win over a ranked team was a 44-24 defeat of Oregon State, then ranked 10th, in 2001.

That season the Bulldogs, from the Western Athletic Conference, also knocked off Colorado and Wisconsin on the road.

Kansas State (1-1) led 7-0 before it took a snap, but the Wildcats couldn't do much right after Bret Jones' 42-yard interception return for a touchdown less than 3 1/2 minutes into the game. They had only 2 yards of offense in the first quarter and trailed 31-14 at the half.

Fresno State's defense, which scored three times in last Sunday's 35-16 win at Washington, held Kansas State star Darren Sproles to 37 yards on 11 carries and forced two key turnovers.

Even Kansas State's one second-half score contained a mistake. With just over a minute in the game, Brian Casey fumbled into the end zone after catching a 13-yard pass, and Tony Madison fell on it for a touchdown.

On offense, the Bulldogs gave up three interceptions -- two by Jones -- but otherwise exploited the Wildcats' shaky defense with a solid mix of running and passing.

Dwayne Wright ran for 74 yards and one touchdown and caught three passes for 65 yards before being hurt on a 61-yard swing pass play in the fourth quarter -- a play that set up Sumlin's 4-yard TD run for a 45-14 lead.

Sumlin added 70 yards rushing, and Pinegar was 17-for-30 for 244 yards.

Kansas State was awful on special teams, too -- especially in the second quarter, when all 17 of Fresno State's points came after botched punt plays by the Wildcats.

First, Jesse Martinez shanked a 14-yard punt to his own 34-yard line. Four plays later, Brett Visintainer hit a 45-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead.

Dylan Meier, who replaced first-time starter Alan Webb at quarterback, answered with a 47-yard TD pass to Davin Dennis that got the Wildcats within 17-14. But after Kansas State lost 4 yards on its next possession and had to punt, a catch interference penalty against the Wildcats gave Fresno State the ball at Kansas State's 25.

The Bulldogs converted with Pinegar's 10-yard touchdown pass to Rivera for a 24-14 lead. Then, after Adam Jennings' 40-yard punt return to Kansas State's 11, Pinegar stretched just inside the pylon from the 2 to make it 31-14.

After Jones' first-quarter interception return, Fresno State scored on its next three drives. Wright's 4-yard TD run tied it at 7 midway through the first quarter, and Sumlin scored from 2 yards out with 11 seconds left in the quarter to put the Bulldogs up 14-7.

Meier threw an interception to Fresno State's James Sanders deep in Bulldogs' territory in the closing seconds of the first half, killing any chance for the Wildcats to take any momentum into halftime.

Webb replaced him to start the second half but was equally ineffective. He gave up an interception to Richard Marshall in the third quarter, and the Bulldogs capitalized with Pinegar's 29-yard swing pass play to Rivera for a 38-14 lead.