Fresno State football: Despite 1-2 record, Bulldogs optimistic heading into MW play

The Fresno State Bulldogs are not where they want to be after three games, which runs deeper than just a 1-2 record that includes a 45-24 loss on Saturday to No. 21 Utah and a lot of if, if, if and if.

If the Utes had not returned a fumble for a touchdown. If the Utes had not returned a kickoff for a touchdown. If the Utes had not returned a punt for a touchdown. If the Utes had not extended drives by converting 13 third-down plays in 19 tries into first downs.

To have all that happen in the same game, well, that just doesn’t happen.

Fresno State had a fumble returned for a touchdown against it in the 2013 Mountain West Conference championship game when Jake Doughty took one back 86 yards for Utah State. Before that, it was Trevor Guyton for Cal in 2011 and before that Mike Doss and David Mitchell for Ohio State in 2000. Yep, twice in one game, Doss fell on a fumble in the end zone and Mitchell returned one for 34 yards.

The last Bulldogs’ kickoff that had been returned for a score was in 2013 when Carlos Wiggins took one back 89 yards for New Mexico and Rutgers’ Janarion Grant went 100 yards for his. Before that Taveon Rogers in 2011 for New Mexico State, and before that Ryan Mouton in 2008 for Hawaii. The last Bulldogs’ punt that was turned into a touchdown for the other guys was last season when De’Mornay Pierson-El took one back 86 yards for Nebraska. Before that Rishard Matthews in 2011 for Nevada, and before that Jesse Grandy in 2010 for Ole Miss.

The last time a team converted 13 third-down plays? Going back through 2007, the Bulldogs had allowed 11 third-down conversions eight times and 10 conversions five times. Never 13.

But even with all of that and maybe because of it, the Bulldogs do feel that they are close to where they want to be, certainly much closer than they were a year ago after three games or heading into Mountain West Conference play a week later after beating up FCS foe Southern Utah.

“I know we are,” coach Tim DeRuyter said. “I think we’re a lot closer than we were a year ago after the first three. This team has resolve. We have good, young, talented guys; unfortunately we made some bonehead mistakes. We’ll learn from that. We have good kids – they’re very coachable. We have good senior leadership and I’m impressed with those guys.

“I think a lot of guys are firming up their positions. I think we do have some depth at positions, which is what you want to have going into the league.”

The outside receivers group has been elevated by the play of junior Da’Mari Scott, who came out of a redshirt season last week in the loss at Ole Miss and in his first two games has caught 10 passes for 128 yards and is now leading the team in receptions. Josiah Blandin caught a touchdown pass for a third consecutive game, and the Bulldogs could get Delvon Hardaway back from a knee injury this week.

The defense certainly took a forward step against Utah in allowing 24 points, a dramatic improvement against teams from BCS/Power Five conferences, and the last seven of those came on a meaningless touchdown with 14 seconds remaining.

The defensive line has held up, the secondary is much more competitive than it was a year ago.

Where they are short is the QB position, which obviously is less than ideal.

DeRuyter and offensive coordinator Dave Schramm were hoping to have a quarterback established, ready to take all of the snaps, when Mountain West Conference play started. They don’t.

Zack Greenlee went into the season as the starter, but freshman Chason Virgil was going to get game reps against Abilene Christian, Ole Miss and Utah to build some depth, and each time he went out there he had an opportunity to win that job or take it by default.

Virgil did, but exited the game against the Utes in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury. And when Greenlee entered, he started throwing touchdown passes at Derek Carr Max Speed.

The Bulldogs’ former All-American threw four touchdowns in a quarter twice and three touchdowns in a quarter four times in his career. But only once did he light up the scoreboard as fast as Greenlee did against Utah when hitting Blandin for a 6-yard score with 11:21 remaining to get Fresno State within 24-10 before the special teams nightmares began, then Jamire Jordan for an 82-yard score with 8:20 to go and Scott for a 32-yard TD with 7:02 to play.

The fastest of the fast …

▪ 3:32 – Carr in first quarter of 69-14 victory over Colorado on Sept. 15, 2012. TD passes with 9:13 remaining, then 7:25 and 5:41

▪ 4:19 – Greenlee in fourth quarter of 45-24 loss to Utah on Sept. 19, 2015. TD passes with 11:21 remaining, then 8:07 and 7:02

▪ 4:31 – Carr in first quarter of 61-14 victory at Idaho on Oct. 5, 2013. TD passes with 11:38 remaining, then 7:48 and 7:07

▪ 6:11 – Carr in third quarter of 69-28 victory over New Mexico on Nov. 23, 2013. TD passes with 11:10 remaining, then 8:58 and 4:59-*

▪ 6:20 – Carr in first quarter of 62-52 loss at San Jose State on Nov. 29, 2013. TD passes with 6:33 remaining, then 2:54 and 0:13*

*Threw four touchdown passes in the quarter.

How the Bulldogs approach their quarterback situation headed to San Jose State will be determined during the week. But the starter could be a game-time decision.

“We’ll see how they go and compete this week and we’ll go from there,” DeRuyter said. “I don’t know definitively because of the health of Chason. We might be at a point if he were perfectly healthy to say, ‘Hey, we’re ready to name one of those two the starter,’ but with him not being healthy it’s hard.”

But it is that aforementioned resolve that is the difference this year from last, when the Bulldogs puttered through the season and somehow managed to lose at UNLV and to Wyoming, which finished last in the West and Mountain divisions in the conference.

This team can continue to get better as the season progresses.

“I think that’s the biggest thing,” DeRuyter said. “I think our kids are well invested. I think, like a lot of young teams, they don’t ever think they’re out of it. You’ve got to keep fighting and chipping away, never knowing how that ball is going to bounce. You’re a turnover away from being back in the game, and if we keep that resolve as we get into the conference and we continue to improve each week, we can keep making forward progress.”

POWERED UP – The Bulldogs’ defense by a long margin put together their best game against a BCS/Power Five opponent since 2012 … and by an even longer margin over the past four games, the 73-21 loss at Ole Miss this season and the 52-13 loss at USC, 59-27 loss at Utah and 55-19 loss to Nebraska last season.

Their best sequence might have been at the start of the second half, after a fumble on the kickoff gave the Utes possession at the Fresno State 24-yard line. Utah pounded the football down to the 13 on four consecutive runs, but on a first-down play cornerback Tyquwan Glass picked off a pass in the end zone.

“We got put in a tough position to start the second half with the turnovers and the short field,” DeRuyter said. “To get the takeaway was huge. Our guys kept answering the bell. I think if we continue doing that, we’ll be fine in our league.”

What does the difference in those games against BCS/Power Five opponents look like?

Rushing defense

Last four: 257.5 ypg and 5.3 ypp

Utah: 221 ypg and 4.6 ypp

Passing defense

Last four: 341.5 ypg and 10.6 ypp

Utah: 159 ypg and 6.1 ypp

Total defense

Last four: 599.0 ypg and 7.4 ypp

Utah: 380 ypg and 5.1 ypp

Scoring against defense

Last four: 54.0 ppg

Utah: 24 ppg

“I feel like we’re really close to being where we need to be,” Mike linebacker Kyrie Wilson said. “We still have a few tweaks and stuff, but when we get those handled we’re going to be good. We just have to practice hard and keep working at it, focus on the stuff that we need to get better at.”

THIRD-AND-SHORT – The Bulldogs through three games are ranked seventh in the MW in total offense, averaging 374.3 yards. Four of the five teams behind them are from the West Division. Nevada is eighth at 360.3, UNLV ninth at 321.7, San Diego State 10th at 311.7 and Hawaii 10th at 310.7. Utah State is last at 292.3.

▪ In completing 6 of 10 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns, Greenlee saw his passing efficiency rating jump to 145.84 from 108.60. The third-year sophomore was not ranked in the Top 100 in the nation last week, but now is 49th in the nation and first in the conference.

▪ The Bulldogs rushed for 124 yards on 29 plays (4.3 ypp) against the Utes, who went in leading the Pac-12 in rushing defense. Utah had limited Michigan to only 76 yards on 29 rushing plays (2.6 ypp) in its opener and Utah State to 117 yards on 32 plays (3.7 ypp). The Wolverines through three games are averaging 185.0 rushing yards per game, the Aggies 113.3.

▪ The Bulldogs again left themselves with some difficult third-down conversions – the average yards to go on those 15 plays was 6.6 yards, after a 6.4 against Abilene Christian and a 6.9 at Ole Miss. This time, they converted 7 of 15 (46.7n percent), up from 33.3 percent against the Rebels.

▪ Fresno State in its history dating to 1926 has returned 18 fumbles, 34 punts and 10 kickoffs for touchdowns, but never have they all happened in the same game and only once have they had two of the three. In a 40-10 victory at Idaho in 2005, Joe Fernandez returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and Jaron Fairman returned a fumble 26 yards for a score.

This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Fresno State football: Despite 1-2 record, Bulldogs optimistic heading into MW play."