Fresno State wins home opener in 2OT, inducts legendary coach Jim Sweeney into Ring of Honor

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Instead of your typical red wave, Valley Children's Stadium turned into a sea of white as Fresno State kicked off its home opener against Eastern Washington with a close win.

Bulldogs needed double overtime to pull off the 34-31 win over Eastern Washington after Senior LB Levelle Bailey sealed the game with an interception to stay a perfect 2-0 on the season.

Fresno State would open the scoring early -- RB Elijah Gilliam finding the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown to cap off a 3-play, 42-yard drive to go up 7-0 with 11:34 left in the 1Q.

Eagles would respond with a 23-yard FG, after a long 21-yard, 85-yard drive to chew off nearly 9 minutes of clock to make it 7-3.

Fresno State would head into the half up 14-3, after a 6-yard TD pass from Mikey Keene to his TE Jake Boust.

'Dogs would stall on offense in the second half, as the Eagles mounted a comeback to take a 24-21 lead after a 33-yd rushing TD from RB Justice Jackson.

Needing a field goal to tie things up, Kicker Dylan Lynch would knot the score at 24-24 all with 6:44 left in the game.

Keene and company would get one more shot for the win in regulation, putting together a 12-play, 44-yard drive to get Lynch within scoring distance. Lynch would go wide right, missing a 35-yard FG for a possible game-winner.

'Dogs and Eagles would head to overtime, with both going 25-yds on 4 plays to keep things tied at 31.

Fresno State would take the lead with a 25-yd FG off the boot of Lynch to make it 34-31.

Needing to stop the Eagles from scoring a TD, Senior LB and defensive captain Levelle Bailey sealed the deal for the 'Dogs with an interception near the sideline, leeping the 'Dogs winning streak of 11 games straight, alive.

Sophomore QB Mikey Keene ended up finishing the night 23/38, 223 yards, with 2 TDs and 1 INT.

Senior wide receiver Eric Brooks ended up once again leading the receiving corps, snagging 8 balls for 95 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldogs finished 4 for 15 on third downs, even pulling out the win despite being outgained (366-364) against the Eagles.

Fresno State is now faced with another big task on the road next Saturday, facing Arizona State in Tempe on Sep. 16.

It also marked a historical night for the program, inducting the late great former Head Coach Jim Sweeney into the school's very first Ring of Honor.

His son and former legendary Bulldog QB Kevin Sweeney was there to accept the recognition in place of his father. Kevin is one of nine former Bulldogs to have their jersey retired by the program, and will now serve as one of the charter members of the Ring of Honor.

"It's the culmination of a long career of a man that did so many great things in this community," Sweeney said.

With 144 wins in 19 seasons at the helm, Jim Sweeney remains the winningest coach in program history.

His successor, former Head Coach Pat Hill will join Sweeney in the Ring of Honor when the 'Dogs host UNLV on Oct. 28 for homecoming.

For sports updates, follow Alec Nolan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.