RENO, Nev. — Fresno State's Ryan Mathews may not have been the fastest player on the field but he probably had the most fun.

The freshman running back overcame a bout with the flu to run for 171 yards and three touchdowns and the Bulldogs' special teams came up with two long scores yesterday to beat Nevada, 49-41, in a Western Athletic Conference game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.

"I'm still a freshman, I'm just trying to have fun," said Mathews, who missed practice Thursday with the flu. He scored on runs of 3, 54 and 67 yards, the longest coming on the second half's first play from scrimmage to open a 35-13 lead for Fresno State (3-2, 2-0 in the WAC).

"I was throwing up after that first long run. After that, I kind of got my second wind," Mathews said.

"My whole mind set when I get open like that is to get to the end zone. I'm not the fastest dude out there. I just don't want to get caught from behind," he said.

Fresno State totaled 307 yards rushing, including Lonyae Miller's 72-yard TD run to seal the victory with 12:35 left in the game. Earlier, Clifton Smith scored on a 67-yard punt return and A.J Jefferson returned a blocked field goal 40 yards for another touchdown.

"We really felt we could run the football on these guys and we did," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said, adding that the special teams play was "just awesome."

"A great effort by everybody. Those types of things change games," he said. "We didn't have the ball a lot. We had a lot of offense, but not a lot of plays. And that's all right."

The worst news for Nevada (2-3, 0-1) was the loss for the rest of the year of starting quarterback Nick Graziano, who left the game with an injured tendon in his foot when he was sacked in the second quarter.

Fresno State plays at Hawai'i Nov. 10, while Nevada will host Hawai'i Nov. 16.

SAN JOSE STATE 28, IDAHO 20

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Adam Tafralis threw a pair of touchdown passes and James T. Callier rushed for two touchdowns to lead the Spartans (3-3, 2-0 WAC) past the Vandals (1-5, 0-2) for their third straight victory.

Kevin Jurovich caught 10 passes for 161 yards to become the first Spartans receiver with back-to-back games of 100 receiving yards or more in five years.

MISSISSIPPI 24, LOUISIANA TECH 0

OXFORD, Miss. — Seth Adams threw two touchdowns passes and the struggling Rebels (2-4) beat the Bulldogs (1-4) to notch their first shutout since 2003.

Ole Miss, which came in allowing 33 points per game, snapped a four-game losing streak while holding the Bulldogs to 301 yards of total offense.

Louisiana Tech lost to Hawai'i, 45-44, in overtime, Sept. 8

UH OPPONENTS

C. SOUTHERN 28, SAVANNAH STATE 0

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Freshman DeMarcus Moon ran for 103 yards as the host Buccaneers (3-3) held the Tigers (1-4) to just 66 total yards.

The Buccaneers picked off Savannah State quarterback Greg McCrary three times and Nick Ellis hit field goals from 37, 29 and 28 yards.

Charleston Southern lost to Hawai'i, 66-10, Sept. 22.

AIR FORCE 31, UNLV 14

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Chad Hall scored two touchdowns and ran for a career-high 169 yards to help the Falcons (4-2, 3-1 Mountain West) soar past the Rebels (2-4, 1-1).

Hall's personal-best 52-yard scamper in the third quarter gave Air Force a 14-7 lead and put the Falcons ahead to stay.

UNLV lost to Hawai'i, 49-14, Sept. 15.

IDAHO STATE 26, NORTHERN COLORADO 14

POCATELLO, Idaho — Eddie Thompson caught 10 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns to help the Bengals (2-3, 1-2 Big Sky) turn back the Bears (0-6, 0-2).

Northern Colorado lost to Hawai'i, 63-6, Sept. 1.