Marcus McMaryion Leads Fresno State to Hawaii Bowl Win over Houston

The Fresno State Bulldogs capped off a 10-win season that included victories over Boise State and San Diego State and an appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game with a 33-27 Hawaii Bowl win over the Houston Cougars on Sunday.

A 44-yard pick-six by Jaron Bryant with less than four minutes remaining and a recovered onside kick in the final minute iced what was a back-and-forth contest for the Bulldogs, but quarterback Marcus McMaryion played the starring role with 342 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Mountain West moved to 3-2 in the bowl season with the victory.

McMaryion threw for more than 300 yards and ran for more than 50 yards once all season entering play, but Sunday was a showcase performance for the junior.

He threw an early interception and fell behind in the first quarter but settled in with a touchdown on a fourth-down quarterback sneak in the second. From there, he established a rhythm against the Houston defense and consistently made confident decisions in the pocket as he methodically picked apart the secondary.

He also used his legs to consistently escape pressure in the pocket from Outland Trophy winner Ed Oliver and scrambled for a critical touchdown in the third quarter after Houston tied the contest.

KeeSean Johnson (eight catches for 95 yards), Jared Rice (six catches for 84 yards) and Jamire Jordan (six catches for 80 yards) served as his primary targets as Fresno State accumulated a 473-341 advantage in total yardage.

Despite controlling much of the game, Fresno State's inability to put Houston away served as a consistent theme.

It appeared as if the Bulldogs would seize a two-score lead multiple times in the second half, but a 94-yard touchdown return from Alexander Myres on a blocked field goal helped even the score in the third quarter, and a critical unsportsmanlike conduct on Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford in the fourth quarter forced his team to settle for a field goal instead of having a chance to score from the 1-yard line.

What's more, McMaryion's fumble when Fresno State was driving on its first possession of the second half prevented another opportunity at a two-score lead.

Houston was in catch-up mode for most of the night and relied on those missed chances from the Bulldogs to remain within striking distance, but it did seize the initial lead on a memorable sequence.

A 48-yard flea-flicker set up a one-yard touchdown run from Oliver, much to the glee of those who watched a defensive tackle find the end zone:

"

Ed Oliver just scored a rushing touchdown for Houston 

— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) December 25, 2017"

He also impressed on the defensive side despite drawing a number of double-teams. More impressively, he was playing with an injured foot after he stepped on a sea urchin Thursday, per Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.

Oliver's performance turned heads, but his offense couldn't generate enough momentum against Fresno State's stout defense.

Quarterback D'Eriq King led the Cougars with 38 rushing yards, and the team as a whole managed just 2.4 yards per carry. His 269 passing yards were solid—197 of which went to wide receiver Steven Dunbar in a formidable showing—but he couldn't match his counterpart.

The Bulldogs will now turn their attention toward next season and hope to use the bowl victory as a launching point before notable nonconference games against UCLA and Minnesota.