<body><div>The Fresno State Bulldogs just suffered their most lopsided loss since 2015. What did interim head coach Tim Skipper have to say about it?BarkBoard.com interviewed Skipper at Allegiant Stadium following the game regarding the performance, a 59-14 loss at UNLV.Skipper said initially, "Obviously didn't do a good enough job getting these guys ready to play. We had (four) turnovers, a blocked punt in the first half, then we couldn't stop the run. They ran it pretty well and efficient."We couldn't change the tide. We couldn't get our energy going. It just seemed like one of those games where we were always a step late, or somebody messed something up - It just didn't go our way today. We didn't play Bulldog football the way we want to."Skipper said the Bulldogs intended to take a physical approach, but failed to deliver. Not one of the Bulldogs' 12 rushing attempts in the first half went longer than four yards. Meanwhile, the Rebel rushing game got going with eight carries that went at least four yards - some a lot more than four. "We wanted to play a lot more physical than we played," Skipper said. "We wanted to start fast. Ball security was the No. 1 thing. You get on the road and you gotta protect that ball. Obviously they won the kicking game big time. We always talk about wanting to win in three phases and they pretty much won all three of the phases … We just lost the situations."All the things we preach and talk about, we didn't do today."The Bulldogs' slow start was amplified by a blocked punt and touchdown return by the Rebels in the first half. The play put UNLV up 14-0 and the 'Dogs were never able to answer as the game got worse and worse."It's more of a momentum swing type thing," Skipper said when asked if the early hole changed the offensive gameplan. "It took the life out of us … They schemed it up well for what we were in formation wise. They had a guy go clean and he blocked that thing. It kind of just sucked the life out of us. We never really recovered from it."But with the Bulldog running game averaging less than 1 yard per carry and quarterback Mikey Keene under constant pressure, the Bulldogs had few options on offense. Fresno State did not light up the scoreboard until the 2:33 mark of the 3rd quarter. Skipper said of UNLV's defense, "They were flying around. They stopped our run. They got heat on the quarterback. They mixed their coverages up. They did a good job. We were always a play off, always a step slow. We gotta do better than that. That starts with me pointing the finger at myself."UNLV's success came despite a controversial week at the quarterback position. Start Matthew Sluka, who led the Rebels to a 3-0 start and No. 23 ranking in the Coaches Poll, left the team due to a reported NIL dispute. Grad transfer Hajj-Malik Williams made his first start for the Rebels and 301 total yards of offense with 4 touchdowns. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=29CbKp_0vnb5LqF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=29CbKp_0vnb5LqF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>(Photo: Jackson Moore, 247Sports)</figcaption></figure>Skipper said when asked if the QB change made an impact, "Nah, nah. They ran their offense, they did what they did. We're not going blame that for anything. They just outplayed us. It wouldn't have mattered who the quarterback was today the way we went out and tried to handle some things. They did a great job. They played their style of game. It's all about styles, schemes and energy - and they had all of that."Fresno State is now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West play. But the Bulldogs' momentum has tanked dramatically after a blowout loss."It wasn't the way we wanted to play, but we cannot turn this into some more losses down the road," Skipper said. "We gotta bounce back. It's gonna be a long flight even though it's a short flight. We gotta think about everything that happened, come back tomorrow, watch the film, get better from it - take a couple days off with the bye, get healthy is the main thing, and then have some hard practices."The Bulldogs will have a bye before returning home to play Washington State on Oct. 12. Will the added time give Fresno State a chance to rally or more time to stew in an ugly loss? "I think it'll help us rebound," Skipper said. "We went five straight games, we have some injuries, things adding up. It's the perfect time for us to regroup and figure out what we need to do to get things corrected and get back going. "We're not a bad football team, we just didn't play good today. We'll bounce back."</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Coach Skipper on blowout loss at UNLV: 'We couldn't change the tide'

The Fresno State Bulldogs just suffered their most lopsided loss since 2015. What did interim head coach Tim Skipper have to say about it?. BarkBoard.com interviewed Skipper at Allegiant Stadium following the game regarding the performance, a 59-14 loss at UNLV. Skipper said initially, \"Obviously didn't do a good enough...

The Fresno State Bulldogs just suffered their most lopsided loss since 2015. What did interim head coach Tim Skipper have to say about it?. BarkBoard.com interviewed Skipper at Allegiant Stadium following the game regarding the performance, a 59-14 loss at UNLV. Skipper said initially, "Obviously didn't do a good enough...

Coach Skipper on blowout loss at UNLV: 'We couldn't change the tide'

Related Search

Comments / 3

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Comments / 0