In an electric and energizing season opener, seven different Bulldogs scored touchdowns as Fresno State smothered the visiting UC Davis Aggies 51-0 on Saturday night before a packed house surrounding Jim Sweeney Field.

Junior Ryan Colburn made his debut as Fresno State's starting quarterback and scored the night's first touchdown on a 1-yard dive for an early 7-0 lead.

Another junior, running back Ryan Mathews, scampered for a 60-yard dash later in the first quarter to put the Dogs in control of the non-conference contest and never looked back. Mathews led the Dogs with 106 yards rushing on 11 carries for an average of 9.6 per touch.

In a night of an array of firsts, linebacker Nico Herron snatched a Greg Denham pass early in the second quarter and sprinted 94 yards to the south endzone for his first touchdown at any level as the defense showcased a rejuvenating and unrelenting presence before 37,267 loud fans.

Colburn highlighted the air attack by zipping a 92-yard strike to Marlon Moore with 4:05 left before the break.

Head coach Pat Hill used all three of his talented quarterbacks. Redshirt freshman Ebahn Feathers effectively directed a late first half drive that ended with Feathers running to the left pylon for a 20-yard score to put the Bulldogs up 35-0 at halftime.

Colburn finished his evening with 161 passing yards and played only one series in the second half to pave the way for Feathers and true freshman quarterback Derek Carr to shared time under center during the second session. Both of them calmly managed Hill's run-focused approach for the game that allowed for six different halfbacks to touch the ball.

Even with strong depth in the backfield, true freshman running back Robbie Rouse made himself a household name as a shifty and nearly impossible to tackle game-changer. He danced and juked his way to 75 yards on 10 carries and scored on a 5-yard carry, his first Fresno State touchdown, as one of the two Bulldog rushing scores in the third quarter. The other came when senior tailback Lonyae Miller plowed in from three yards off the goaline.