Receiver Chad Owens was back in action for first time since a 33-22 loss at UNLV on Sept. 19. He was suspended for the past two games — a home-game win against Rice and a road loss at Tulsa — for not receiving permission from Coach June Jones for not returning with the team after the UNLV game.

Although he could not play in the two games, he was allowed to practice. Instead of sulking, he worked as if he would play. So when he returned to the starting lineup in last night's 55-28 win against Fresno State, it was as if he didn't miss a step. His seven receptions for 62 yards made him quarterback Tim Chang's second-most frequent target last night.

Owens entered the game as the team's third-leading receiver with 23 catches and caught TD passes of 9 and 5 yards from Chang, who completed 40 of 60 passes for 353 yards.

"This was a big win and I was just happy I was able to contribute," Owens said.

The Warriors wasted little time in getting Owens involved in the game. On UH's second play on its first series, Owens had a 17-yard reception on a first-and-15 situation to the FSU 27. He caught a 5-yarder on the next play to the FSU 22 that help set up Gerald Welch's 22-yard TD reception from Chang that gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

But Owens would get his TD later that turned out to be the go-ahead score for UH. Trailing 14-10, in the second quarter, Owens capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 9-yard TD catch from Chang. Owen lined up on the left side, ran a curl pattern and got wide open in the end zone. The TD gave UH a 17-14 lead.

Owens got his second TD in the third quarter. It came after Gary Wright recovered a muffed punt by Bernard Berrian at the FSU 27. Five plays later, Owens hauled in Chang's pass at the 1 and leaped into the end zone that made it 45-14.

"I knew (the defender) was going to hit me low, but I just headed upfield and jumped," Owens said of the play.

Just as Owens was happy to be back, Chang was thankful the 5-foot-9, 174-pound junior out of Roosevelt High was in the lineup. Owens, after all, has a knack of coming up with big plays.

"Chad Owens is a great play-maker," Chang said. "He brings a lot to the team. He gets the yards-after-the-catch, positive yards. And he finds a way to get open. I'm glad that he had the game that he had and I just want to welcome him back."

For Owens, it was hard to not suit up for the past two games. But he still worked out, and last night's effort showed that he was not affected by the two-game layoff. He said he hoped the two weeks would go by quickly.

"I just tried to stay positive and keep practicing hard, hoping I can get through with the two weeks," he said. "It went by quick and I was just trying to get myself prepared for this one. I was ready. I had fun."

Owens declined to comment on how he felt about the suspension. His focus was on the Bulldogs, who certainly took notice of his presence.

"It's over," Owens said of the suspension. "We won this game. That was the main thing we wanted to do. It was a big win for us and it's going to get us started for that WAC title."