No two plays encapsulate the 2016 Fresno State Bulldogs better than these:
Midway through the third quarter, trailing 21-10, the defense appeared to catch a break. Linebacker James Bailey laid a big hit on UNLV receiver Tim Holt and forced a fumble which was recovered by Nathan Madsen, though a review overturned the initial call. It would go down as an incomplete pass and then, on third-and-11 at their own 9-yard line, this happened:
The Bulldogs would never truly threaten again and lose in the usual fashion, 45-20.
If you’ve paid attention at all to the last year and a half, there was nothing remarkable about this latest defeat: The team has lost 15 of its last 19 games, the worst stretch in the history of the program, and many of the glaring narratives have popped up before.