Do you equate fourth down with failure? Not for Bulldog who’s getting national attention

Fresno State punter Blake Cusick, a key component to a defense that is leading the Mountain West Conference and tied for fifth in the nation in points allowed, was selected on Thursday as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award.

Cusick this season has dropped 55.8 percent of his punts (24 of 43) inside an opponent’s 20-yard line, pinning them deep on their side of the field on short-, medium- and long-range kicks, which is the highest percentage among the 10 semifinalists for the award presented to the top college punter in the nation.

With long fields, opponents have had little chance against a Bulldogs’ defense that goes into a game on Saturday against San Diego State with a division title in the Mountain West Conference there for the taking and this season has allowed only 15 touchdowns and 13.5 points per game.

Only four times this season had an opponent had a drive of 80-plus yards, and one of them did not end in a score.

“Blake has made a huge difference this year,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “Obviously, field position is a big part of the game and he has been very reliable being able to pin people down inside the 15 or the 10, so he has really executed well along with the rest of the punt team who have protected for him.”

The Ray Guy semifinalists are evaluated on their overall statistics and contribution to the team with an emphasis on percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line, percentage of punts not returned, number of punts, net average and gross average.

The semifinalists along with Cusick are Braden Mann (Texas A&M), Brandon Wright (Georgia State), Cody Grace (Arkansas State), Dominic Panazzolo (Texas Tech), Drue Chrisman (Ohio State), Jack Fox (Rice), James Smith (Cincinnati), Mitch Wishnowsky (Utah) and Tommy Townsend (Florida).

Five of the semifinalists are from Group of Five conferences, which have produced the winner three times since the award was started in 2000. Ryan Allen from Louisiana Tech won in 2011 and ‘12 and Tom Hornsey from Memphis won in 2013.

Cusick, a junior, is tied for ninth among the semifinalists in net average at 40.4 yards and ninth in average at 42.4 yards.

But the Bulldogs’ punter and Chrisman are the only semifinalists to have put 50 percent of their punts down inside the 20; Chrisman is second at 54.5 percent (24 of 44) and Townsend is third at 45.5 percent (20 of 44).

Cusick also is fourth in punts not returned (81.4 percent) and second in average return yards (3.1).

With a punt of 72 yards in a 21-3 victory at Nevada, he also is tied for third for the longest punt. That kick ended up as a touchback, the ball out to the 20-yard line, but Cusick in that game also had a 54-yard punt to the 5 among three kicks inside the 20.

The Ray Guy Award is selected by a panel of FBS sports information directors, national media and past winners. Three finalists will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 19, and the winner will be announced on the college football awards show on Dec. 6.

Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion this season is a semifinalist for three national awards – the Davey O’Brien Award (top college quarterback), the Maxwell Award (top all-around player) and Wuerffel Trophy (community service).

The last Bulldogs players to win a national award are quarterback Derek Carr and wideout Davante Adams, who in 2013 took home the Sammy Baugh Award as the top quarterback in the nation and the Paul Warfield Award as the top wide receiver.

Carr that season also was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Manning Award.

Time and TV

San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 Mountain West) at Fresno State (8-2, 5-1), 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bulldog Stadium, CBS Sports Network