First down
Fresno State converted 8 of its 13 third-down plays into a first down in its opening rout of Idaho, a big 61.5 percent, and a lot of that success occurred because of what the Bulldogs were able to do on first and second down against the overmatched Vandals.
Fresno State ranked only eighth in the Mountain West last season in third-down conversions (35.6 percent), the Bulldogs threw the ball in third-and-7 or longer situations 70 times, third most in the conference...
Pass rush production
The Bulldogs dialed up a fair amount of pressures against Idaho, but the pass rush didn’t consistently have the impact that it could have in this game.
The Bulldogs had one sack, by defensive tackle Jasad Haynes. They were credited with three quarterback hurries, one by Haynes and two by linebacker George Helmuth, though defensive end Mykal Walker could have been credited with one on the second-quarter play that Tank Kelly intercepted and returned 39 yards for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs obviously are working new combinations up front, but that still is a bit troubling given they were playing a FCS opponent and that FCS opponent had two inexperienced offensive tackles on the field most of the game in Logan Floyd and Irving Schuster, who had all of three starts between them going into the game. A year ago, that Bulldogs front was very productive with five of the top eight in tackles for loss, led by ends Robert Stanley (11.5) and Tobenna Okeke (11.0)...
Experience counts
Fresno State has had a rough go against opponents from Power Five conferences, losing its past nine games by a combined 461-160.
That’s 51.2-17.8.
That’s 33.4 points per game.
The last time the Bulldogs beat an opponent from a Power Five conference was 2012, a 69-14 blowout of Colorado at Bulldog Stadium.
That Colorado team and the Minnesota team Fresno State will play on Saturday have something in common — inexperience....
Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/co...-football/article217779080.html#storylink=cpy
Fresno State converted 8 of its 13 third-down plays into a first down in its opening rout of Idaho, a big 61.5 percent, and a lot of that success occurred because of what the Bulldogs were able to do on first and second down against the overmatched Vandals.
Fresno State ranked only eighth in the Mountain West last season in third-down conversions (35.6 percent), the Bulldogs threw the ball in third-and-7 or longer situations 70 times, third most in the conference...
Pass rush production
The Bulldogs dialed up a fair amount of pressures against Idaho, but the pass rush didn’t consistently have the impact that it could have in this game.
The Bulldogs had one sack, by defensive tackle Jasad Haynes. They were credited with three quarterback hurries, one by Haynes and two by linebacker George Helmuth, though defensive end Mykal Walker could have been credited with one on the second-quarter play that Tank Kelly intercepted and returned 39 yards for a touchdown.
The Bulldogs obviously are working new combinations up front, but that still is a bit troubling given they were playing a FCS opponent and that FCS opponent had two inexperienced offensive tackles on the field most of the game in Logan Floyd and Irving Schuster, who had all of three starts between them going into the game. A year ago, that Bulldogs front was very productive with five of the top eight in tackles for loss, led by ends Robert Stanley (11.5) and Tobenna Okeke (11.0)...
Experience counts
Fresno State has had a rough go against opponents from Power Five conferences, losing its past nine games by a combined 461-160.
That’s 51.2-17.8.
That’s 33.4 points per game.
The last time the Bulldogs beat an opponent from a Power Five conference was 2012, a 69-14 blowout of Colorado at Bulldog Stadium.
That Colorado team and the Minnesota team Fresno State will play on Saturday have something in common — inexperience....
Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/co...-football/article217779080.html#storylink=cpy
