Warszawski: Fresno State offense goes dormant in loss to San Diego State

Fresno State did not get blown out Saturday night

That’s the good news.

The bad news is the Bulldogs barely produced a gust of offense.

Unable to run, pass or do much of anything, Fresno State dropped its fourth straight game and fell to 0-2 in Mountain West Conference play while tumbling 21-7 to San Diego State before 29,996 at Qualcomm Stadium.

An exciting game, this was not. It was about as exciting as watching grass grow – especially when the Bulldogs were on offense.

The return of quarterback Zack Greenlee following last week’s one-game suspension resulted in 89 yards of total offense and six first downs. So much for hopes, expectations and wishful thinking.

Fresno State scored its sole touchdown – a 16-yard pass from Greenlee to KeeSean Johnson – thanks to a short field following a fumbled punt.

Besides that, the Bulldogs did a whole bunch of nothing offensively. Greenlee finished 12 of 25 for 77 yards. Marteze Waller was a nonfactor, rushing for 20 yards on 11 carries before leaving with an apparent concussion.

How bad was it? Fresno State ran 11 plays on its opening drive. The 10 that followed (including the touchdown) lasted three or fewer.

With 10 punts, Garrett Swanson was the busiest Bulldog in the stadium.

Fresno State played a better defensive game than we’ve seen lately but couldn’t contain tailback Donnel Pumphrey, who ripped off a season-high 124 rushing yards before exiting the game in the third quarter due to injury. Pumphrey spent most of the fourth quarter standing on the sideline in street clothes.

Where do the Bulldogs go from here? That remains to be seen, but it won’t be the MW championship game. Seems pretty certain at this point. Bowl eligibility? Talk to me after they beat an FBS team.

It’s early October, and football season at Fresno State feels like a fait accompli.

Halftime

The demise of Fresno State football has been greatly exaggerated. Or at least slightly.

Taking advantage of a fumbled punt and a defense that stiffened as the half wore on, the Bulldogs and San Diego State were tied 7-7 at halftime.

Aztecs tailback Donnel Pumphrey rushed for 68 yards on San Diego State’s opening 78-yard drive, capped by a 33-yard touchdown.

But Fresno State kept the Aztecs off the scoreboard for the remaining 26 minutes, 23 seconds of the first half while evening the score on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Zack Greenlee to KeeSean Johnson with 9:50 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs didn’t have far to go on their lone scoring drive after the Aztecs bobbled a punt and Stratton Brown made the recovery at the SDSU 28-yard line.

The Aztecs started the game with 15 straight runs before attempting their first pass on third-and-5. It resulted in a defensive holding call and a first down.

But after San Diego State produced 111 yards and six first downs on its first two drives, the next three resulted in 21 yards and zero first downs.

Credit Fresno State’s defense for figuring things out. Offensively? That’s another story. The Bulldogs managed just 67 total yards on 27 plays.

Pregame

When San Diego State coach Rocky Long predicted that Fresno State would pass the ball “50 times” Saturday night, his words were greeted in the Valley with a wink and a smirk.

After all the Bulldogs’ best football player is tailback Marteze Waller. The senior is having a solid season (94.8 rushing yards per game, 4.5 yards per attempt), but not the dominant one many expected. Still, Waller’s 21.2 carries per game are up over last year’s 16.1.

Also, Fresno State has hardly been a pass-happy offense in its three games against FBS teams: Mississippi (24 pass attempts), Utah (26) and San Jose State (33).

Even though the Bulldogs trailed in each of these games, they never abandoned the run.

So when Long says he expects Fresno State to pass 50 times, the natural reaction is to go, “Sure, Coach. Whatever you say.”

But maybe the 65-year-old Long isn’t so crazy after all.

I don’t think the Bulldogs will come out guns blazing a la 2013. They have to run the ball with Waller. But if you look at the numbers and matchups, the passing game probably gives Fresno State its best chance to produce points and yards.

Quarterback Zack Greenlee certainly has his hands full deciphering San Diego State’s exotic 3-3-5 defense. Provided the sophomore can call the right protections, there should be an opportunity for him to get the ball downfield.

Fresno State’s young receivers, specifically Jamire Jordan and KeeSean Johnson, were the lone bright spot last week. And junior Da’Mari Scott practiced all week after injuring his shoulder during the opening kickoff.

Another “secret” weapon is tight end Chad Olsen, who has been held one catch (for 4 yards) over the past two games.

Other keys I’ll be watching out for:

Getting run over – Thanks in no small part to Fresno State’s defense, San Jose State tailback Tyler Ervin is now the Mountain West’s leading rusher after gashing the Bulldogs for 300 yards on 42 carries.

The question now is, will it be Donnel Pumphrey’s turn?

After rushing for a school-record 1,867 yards a year ago, Pumphrey has yet to kick it into gear. His current 3.5-yards per carry average is about half of last year’s 6.8.

The Spartans had great success with two-back sets during last Saturday’s 49-24 rout, which is a San Diego State staple.

“It’s real similar,” Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said. “(Ervin and Pumphrey) have similar styles in that they’re both very explosive runners and can make guys miss. They’re tough to tackle one on one in space, which means we’ve got to get multiple guys at the point of attack and take proper angles.”

Where’s the juice? – The difference in sideline energy was palpable last week, and not just after San Jose State raced out to 14-0 first-quarter lead.

The Spartans were noticeably more juiced during pregame as well, which seemed to carry over after they stuffed Fresno State’s opening drive following Scott’s 66-yard kickoff return.

“I think there’s an intensity you have to play with and if you’re not it’s hard to win,” DeRuyter said. “We’ve got to take that next step. We’ve got to have guys on both sides of the ball say, ‘I’m going to make a play and get us juiced off of this.’ ”

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Warszawski: Fresno State offense goes dormant in loss to San Diego State."