Is Bulldogs’ run defense trending the wrong way at the wrong time?

It had been 12 games since any back had rushed for 100 or more yards against the Fresno State defense – eight this season, four last season.

But it has happened now in back-to-back weeks. First Charles Williams, the Bullard High grad, racked up 121 yards on just 16 plays, the lone bright spot for UNLV in a game the Bulldogs won 50-20. Then Alexander Mattison gained 144 yards and scored two touchdowns on a career-high 30 carries to help lead Boise State to a 24-17 victory that knocked the Bulldogs out of the Top 25.

Now, Fresno State gets San Diego State, normally a downhill running team that last week absorbed one of the more perplexing losses in Mountain West play.

The Aztecs come into Bulldog Stadium off a 27-24 loss to UNLV, which was:

▪ a 24-point underdog;

▪ riding a six-game losing streak;

▪ ranked last in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 5.1 yards per play and 210.9 yards per game on the ground.

Despite that, the Rebels loaded up the box and held San Diego State to just 89 rushing yards on 34 plays, 2.6 yards a play and that includes a 27-yard run by Juwan Washington, the Aztecs’ lead back.

That’s not a good look for San Diego State, which actually passed the football (36) more times than it rushed it (34) against the Rebels.

“They have some athletes, but the truth of the matter was that they controlled the line of scrimmage,” San Diego State coach Rocky Long said after the game.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage on defense because we didn’t block them, couldn’t block them and we weren’t able to run the ball. We threw the ball OK, but eventually that cost us the game. We weren’t able to run the ball. We weren’t able to play the kind of offense we’d like to play and the kind that we normally play.”

It was the second time this season the Aztecs had rushed for less than 100 yards – Air Force held them to 84. Before this season, San Diego State had been held to less than 100 rushing yards just once in the past 55 games, or four seasons plus one game.

UNLV 99 times out of 100 is not a team to emulate, but on Saturday the Bulldogs cam clinch the West Division title in the Mountain West and a spot in the conference championship game if they have the same success stopping the run.

The question after the past two games: Can they?

San Diego State likely will try to reestablish Washington and its run game against the Bulldogs, who were allowing just 3.4 yards per rush and tied for second in the MW before playing UNLV.

And, the Fresno State rushing defense appears to be trending the wrong way.

The Bulldogs’ FBS opponents and their leading rushers with attempts, yards and yards per play:

▪ Minnesota: Bryce Williams, 25 for 87, 3.5.

▪ UCLA: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, eight for 49, 6.1.

▪ Toledo: Mitch Guadagni, eight for 55, 6.9.

▪ Nevada: Cristian Solano, 23 for 71, 3.1.

▪ Wyoming: Nico Evans, 18 for 58, 3.2.

▪ New Mexico: Tyrone Owens, 19 for 83, 4.4.

▪ Hawaii: Cole McDonald, 12 for 62, 5.2.

▪ UNLV: Charles Williams, 16 for 121, 7.6.

▪ Boise State: Alexander Mattison, 30 for 144, 4.8 .

In four of the Bulldogs’ first seven games, the opponent’s leading rusher was a quarterback and not a running back. The starting running backs in those games: four rushes for 7 yards, 1.8 yards per play; eight for 26, 3.3 ypp; six for 29, 4.7 ypp; and five for 24, 4.8 ypp.

Williams and Mattison were only the third and fourth players to rush for 100 or more yards against Fresno State under coach Jeff Tedford – the other two are Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts and Hawaii running back Diocemy Saint Juste last season.

The Aztecs’ Washington certainly is capable of getting there, the results against UNLV notwithstanding.

Washington opened the season rushing for 158 yards at 6.6 yards per play with one touchdown at Stanford, 156 yards at 4.3 yards per play with three touchdowns against FCS Sacramento State and 138 yards at 5.1 yards per play with one touchdown against Arizona State. He also had 61 yards at 5.1 yards per play against Eastern Michigan before being sidelined with a broken clavicle.

This story was originally published November 12, 2018 at 1:18 PM.