Bulldogs tight end Jared Rice proving to be a force heading into matchup at New Mexico
Fresno State put a spotlight on its junior tight end, Jared Rice, two weeks ago at Nevada and again last week against Wyoming. Rice caught three passes on four targets for a career-high 98 yards in a 21-3 victory over the Wolf Pack, then seven passes on nine targets for 94 yards and one touchdown in a 27-3 victory over the Cowboys.
In both games, he led the Bulldogs in receiving yards.
Will quarterback Marcus McMaryion continue to look to Rice and the tight ends on Saturday when the Bulldogs play at New Mexico?
The Lobos defense has given up 28 explosive pass plays of20 or more yards, in a three-way tie for 10th and last in the Mountain West — and in six games New Mexico has not seen anything like the 6-foot-5 Rice running down the field.
The Lobos, 11th of 12 in the conference in passing defense, have played two good passing teams in Liberty and Colorado State, ranked Nos. 8 and 20 in the nation. But they have also played New Mexico State, Wisconsin and UNLV, ranked 72nd, 109th and 124th in the FBS throwing the football. Nex Mexico’s sixth game was against Incarnate Word, an FCS program.
None of them make great use of the tight end position in the passing game, or likely have a weapon on the outside like KeeSean Johnson to go along with a versatile tight end to make pass defense a dicey proposition.
A tight end has been targeted only 15 times against New Mexico, 7.1 percent of the pass plays that it has defended.
Fresno State has targeted Rice 33 times in six games, 17.6 percent of its pass plays and second on the team to Johnson, who is the active national leader in career receptions (218) and consecutive games with at least one reception (42).
The Bulldogs could create a lot of problems for the Lobos with Rice, who is difficult to defend is his length and athleticism, and his routes. Against Wyoming, he worked over two of the better safeties in the conference on a 35-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, splitting strong safety Andrew Wingard and free safety Alijah Halliburton in a two-deep coverage.
“He had great savvy on what to do,” coach Jeff Tedford said of Rice. “He was supposed to get to the opposite hash and he saw they were in two-deep and he stayed straight up the middle, so that’s great understanding of someone knowing what’s going on.”
Wingard was the preseason defensive player of the year in the conference and usually is paired with free safety Marcus Epps, but Halliburton is a junior who has played a lot of football for the Cowboys and went into the game third on the team in tackles.
The Bulldogs’ deep group of tight ends also could get play against the Lobos, who have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete only 53.7 percent of their passes but have been burned for 271.3 passing yards per game.
Rice and Kyle Riddering have two touchdown receptions apiece. David Tangipa had his first touchdown of the season in the victory over Wyoming. Cam Sutton also has a catch in two of the past three games, the first for 18 yards and the second for 20.
But Rice, who is also on the field on run downs, is the primary target. He can get down the field — the Bulldogs’ longest pass play is a 69-yard pass and run to the tight end, and he also has 37- and 35-yard receptions. He is a tough cover in the red zone, where he has three receptions for 21 yards including a 1-yard touchdown at Minnesota.
“He’s a matchup issue because he can run so well, but he’s not a one-dimensional guy, which is what’s great about him,” Tedford said. “You can have him in there every down when you’re running the football.
“It would be different if you jog him out there every time you’re going to throw the ball. But he’s efficient in the run game. He’s a technician. He’s not 250 pounds, but he’s technically sound, very efficient in what he does in the run game and understands exactly what we’re doing.”