Fresno State defense finds answers, while an intriguing run option starts to emerge

The Fresno State Bulldogs’ defense did what it most always does and in some respects, did it even better.

In their 27-3 victory over Wyoming on Saturday night, the Cowboys completed only 37.5 percent of their pass attempts and had a passing efficiency rating of 61.96, rushed for 3.5 yards per play and were 5 of 17 on third downs, 29.4 percent.

Those are not good numbers for the Cowboys. And it took a team effort by the Bulldogs with Patrick Belony sliding nimbly in at defensive tackle for Jasad Haynes, who was tied for second on the team in tackles for loss but missed the game with an ankle injury.

“Next man mentality,” Belony said after the game.

The Bulldogs’ run game also did what it has for the most part through the first half of the season: production down again, just 3.2 yards per rush.

But they did get a peek at a potential answer to their issues there with quarterback Marcus McMaryion making big plays with his feet and working run-pass options.

When that happens, good things usually follow.

McMaryion, who completed 22 of 32 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, also rushed seven times for 53 yards and two scores.

He led the team in rushing, including producing two of Fresno State’s three runs of 10-plus yards.

The Bulldogs had trouble with a couple of exchanges – the cynic would suggest the running back didn’t think McMaryion was going to pull the football, because there have been times this season when he hasn’t with opportunities to hurt a defense.

But the senior quarterback also made some strong reads with the football and took off with it at times, breaking off a 26-yard run, another of 15 yards and scoring on runs of 1 and 6 yards.

“We have to trust,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “He’s the one playing, and sometimes there’s a technique called a surf technique where the defensive end is not necessarily going, he’s kind of playing soft a little bit, and so that’s a hand read. You hand those off.

“Later on in the game, we got in a couple of formations where we got the defensive end to get inside and really pinch hard and (McMaryion) did a really nice job of reading it. He faked us out one time, too. We were saying, ‘He should have kept that,’ and he had it and was running around the edge. He fooled us, as well.”

McMaryion has been a red zone weapon – he has seven rushing touchdowns this season, including four in a victory at UCLA, and 11 in the past eight games dating to last season.

But 4-yard runs here, 5 yards there by the quarterback can be valuable between the 20s, as well.

McMaryion also should benefit practicing those runs against a Fresno State defense that now leads the Mountain West in yards per play allowed at 4.4, as well as scoring (13.5 ppg), passing defense (180.2 ypg), total defense (301.2 ypg), third-down conversions (26.1 percent), red zone scoring (54.6 percent) and touchdown (45.6 percent) percentage and explosive plays of 20 or more yards allowed (14).

Quarterback runs can be effective plays – as Fresno State’s opponents also have shown.

In three of the past four games, the Bulldogs’ longest run allowed on defense came from the opposing team’s quarterback. And the leading rusher those games has been the quarterback, too, with Fresno State doing a strong job shutting down opposing running backs.

On Saturday, Wyoming quarterback Tyler Vander Waal almost had as many rushing yards (35) as Cowboys running back Nico Evans (58).

Quick-hit passing

In addtion to the quarterback runs, another area McMaryion exploited against Wyoming’s defense were quick shots outside to wideouts and tight ends.

“I thought we mixed it up more throwing the football instead of beating our head against the wall trying to mash it up in there a lot,” said Tedford, now 8-1 at Bulldog Stadium. “I thought maybe we did that a little last week (at Nevada). We kept thinking, “OK, we’re going to crease one here, and we never did.

“I thought we did a really nice job, and there are a lot of times, too, where a run play is called and we’re getting the ball out to guys on bubble screens and things like that. That’s part of the read play, too. Part of the read can be a quarterback keeping it or pulling it and throwing it and I thought we made some positive yards on those concepts.”

McMaryion, who had just one rush at Nevada when the Bulldogs generated only 30 yards on 24 rushing plays, no doubt could enhance a run game that over the past two games has just 87 yards on 41 plays from its running backs.

The Bulldogs quarterback was leading the team in rushing at halftime, most of his yardage coming on that 26-yard run where he had to yank the football out of the running back’s hands.

In the second half the run game production was marginally better but less than ideal – 3.5-yard average on 20 plays, up from 2.6 yards on 13 plays. But the Fresno State running backs did all have their best plays in the second half – Ronnie Rivers had a 19-yard run, Josh Hokit had an 8-yard run and Jordan Mims had a 7-yard run.

By the numbers

28,501 – Attendance for the Bulldogs’ victory over Wyoming, the lowest for three home games this season.

2.9 – Yards per rush on first downs for Wyoming (15 plays for 43 yards). The Cowboys had come in averaging 5.8 yards, the third best mark in the conference.

8 – Quarters without a touchdown against the Fresno State defense. The Bulldogs last allowed a touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 49-27 victory over Toledo.

9 – Pass breakups for an aggressive Bulldogs secondary – cornerback Tank Kelly led the team with four and safeties Juju Hughes, Mike Bell, Arron Mosby, cornerback Jaron Bryant and linebacker Dorrzel Hicks each had one.

3.6 – Yards per play for Wyoming, the lowest allowed by the Bulldogs this season. It also is the third lowest in the 20 games under coach Jeff Tedford. Fresno State held San Jose State to 3.5 yards per play and Incarnate Word to 2.2 yards per play last season.

3 – Times Fresno State has won after allowing an opponent to score first under Tedford. The Bulldogs are now 3-4 and 1-1 this season. Wyoming kicked a field goal on its first series, a 47-yard drive. It did not have a longer drive the rest of the game.

4 – Punts dropped inside the Wyoming 20-yard line by Bulldogs punter Blake Cusick. The Cowboys started those series at the 7, 3, 8 and 14 yard lines and their average starting field position was their own 16. Cusick, in his junior season, has put 18 of his 30 punts this season down inside an opponents’ 20.

0 – Red zone possessions for Wyoming. The deepest the Cowboys made it into Fresno State territory was the 28-yard line, on that first drive.

12 – Passes quarterback Marcus McMaryion targeted at tight ends – Jared Rice had nine targets, Cam Sutton had two and David Tangipa had one. The Bulldogs tight ends caught nine passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

53 – Rushing yards for Wyoming running back Nico Evans, who went into the game leading the Mountain West Conference with 612 rushing yards and 153.0 per game. Evans was averaging 7.9 yards per rush, but was at only 3.2 against the Bulldogs.

17 – Consecutive games Fresno State has held opponents to under 30 points, tied with LSU for longest streak in the nation. Wisconsin had been the national leader at 20 but lost 38-13 to MIchigan.

This story was originally published October 14, 2018 at 8:12 AM.