Bulldogs shock Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. – The team that nearly knocked off No. 1 Southern California now can’t even win in the Western Athletic Conference.

Matt Kubik threw three touchdown passes and Louisiana Tech capitalized on five turnovers to deny No. 23 Fresno State a share of the WAC football title with a 40-28 victory Friday night.

Fresno State (8-4, 6-2) was in control of the WAC after ending a four-game losing streak to Boise State. Then came the trip to Los Angeles when Fresno put a scare into USC and caught the attention of the nation before falling 50-42.

That led to a Liberty Bowl bid even though Fresno State had two games left and hadn’t wrapped up the conference title. The emotions of the two big games appeared to have taken a toll on Fresno State, which lost 38-35 at Nevada last week before the collapse against the Bulldogs (7-4, 6-2).

Boise State and Nevada are co-champions of the WAC. Louisiana Tech tied Fresno State for third, but its chances at a bowl bid are slim.

Kubik threw two TD passes in the final 2:03 of the first half to put Louisiana Tech in control and added a 30-yarder to Eric Newman in the third quarter after Fresno scored on its first drive of the second half. He was 13 of 22 for 251 yards.

Paul Pinegar was 33 of 54 for 358 yards and three interceptions in his final home start for Fresno State, with most of the yardage coming after Louisiana Tech took the big lead. Pinegar threw eight interceptions in his final three games after throwing only five in the first nine.