Are Bulldogs facing the wrong defense at New Mexico to get run game right?

Fresno State through six football games has protected its quarterback and not allowed many tackles for loss. The Bulldogs are ranked first in the Mountain West in both of those statistical categories, allowing just 4.0 sacks and 23.0 TFLs. Those numbers play nationally, as well, each tied for fourth in the FBS.

But they have had difficulty rushing the football consistently, more so in matchups against teams that play a 3-4 or a 3-3-5 defensive alignment.

At UCLA, a 3-4 team, the Bulldogs rushed for 150 yards, but it took 52 plays to get there; they averaged 2.9 yards per play.

At Nevada, playing a 3-3-5 stack, Fresno State had just 30 yards on 24 plays.

On Saturday at New Mexico, the Bulldogs will see another three-down front.

But they will be going at it differently, and perhaps more diligently.

“We definitely learned that we need to be more on point with our assignments,” center Markus Boyer said. “We have to work our stuff better. We can’t do what we did in the Nevada game We kind of laid an egg there, didn’t rush the ball very well there.”

After that victory at Nevada, the Bulldogs made some lineup changes, moving Boyer back to center from right guard, Micah St. Andrew back to right guard from center and inserting Logan Hughes at left guard.

Boyer has been a career center and St. Andrew has more than 30 starts at right guard; they moved because of matchups, getting a bigger body on a bigger threat. (UCLA, for instance, presented 380-pound nose tackle Atonio Mafi.)

New Mexico may be an easier mark, too, than the rushing defenses Fresno State has faced. Minnesota, UCLA, Nevada and Wyoming all are allowing less than 4.0 yards per rush and are in the top 60 in the nation there.

New Mexico is on a nice four-game run in allowing only 370 rushing yards at 2.5 yards per play, but it also has faced some poor rushing offenses in that stretch: New Mexico State is 123rd in the nation, Liberty is 104th, UNLV is eighth and Colorado State is 117th.

And put an asterisk on UNLV. The Rebels, who are Fresno State’s Nov. 3 opponent, have struggled since quarterback Armani Rogers was sidelined by a foot injury and was replaced by sophomore Max Gilliam.

In four games with Rogers: 1,346 yards, 6.3 yards per play. In two games without Rogers (including a 50-14 loss to New Mexico on Oct. 6): 197 yards, 2.6 ypp. Rogers’ 488 rushing yards still rank second on the team.

New Mexico also opened the season against Incarnate Word, the team Fresno State drilled 66-0 last season, and it gave up 244 rushing yards at 7.2 yards per play.

All of those numbers suggest running success on Saturday. But the Bulldogs will create their successes, starting upfront.

“We have a lot to prove as an O-line,” Boyer said. “We haven’t proven ourselves yet this year. I’m proud of us five (starters) and all 18 of us in the room, we’ve been working our butts off, but it hasn’t shown yet on the field.

“Potential is a dangerous word, but we have a lot of potential in our room, a really good group, and we have to go out and prove it. We have to stop talking and we have to start doing it.”