Coming from 1-11 to be bowl-eligible is a big thing. For Fresno State, on Saturday against BYU, that transition was 88 yards away and it felt a bit like it was 88 miles.
BYU had momentum there, with 4:22 to go in the third quarter, having just tied the score with a touchdown. It had cut down the Bulldogs’ kickoff return at the 12-yard line. The Bulldogs’ offense, in this game and the last in a loss to UNLV, was not hitting at anywhere near peak efficiency.
Both were low-possession games with little margin for error, and Fresno State had made some.