Haener throws 4 TDs, Fresno State beats San Jose St. 40-9

Posted November 25, 2021 6:00 am

The Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Jake Haener threw for 343 yards with four touchdowns and Fresno State defeated San Jose State 40-9 on Thursday, winning its fourth Mountain West Conference Thanksgiving Day game.

Fresno State (9-3, 6-2) ended the first half with back-to-back touchdowns three minutes apart, then opened the second half with a field goal and a touchdown to break away from San Jose State (5-7, 3-5).

Haener connected with Juan Rodriguez from six yards out and then with Jordan Mims on a 45-yarder to build a 23-9 halftime lead. In the second half, Haener had touchdown passes of 29 yards to Jalen Cropper and 13 to Ronnie Rivers.

Cropper caught seven passes for 71 yards, Rivers had five catches for 91 yards. Cropper also ran for a TD.

Fresno State remains a half-game behind San Diego State in the Mountain West's western division.

Matt Mercurio kicked field goals of 31, 26 and 36 yards for San Jose State, which has lost its last three. Nick Starkel was 19-of-42 passing for 260 yards.

Haener has passed for 3,810 yards and 32 touchdowns this season. Haener is the seventh Bulldog to have a 3,000-yard passing season. He joins Kevin Sweeney (1984), Trent Dilfer (1992, 1993), David Carr (2001), Paul Pinegar (2005), Derek Carr (2011, 2021, 2013) and Marcus McMaryion (2018).

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