Fresno State at San Jose State preview: How to watch, and ‘Dogs pass defense on high alert

Fresno State, out of bowl contention, obviously is struggling during a three-game losing streak. But not that long ago it picked apart the top passing offense in the Mountain West Conference.

It was four games back, at Hawaii. The Bulldogs’ defense thoroughly frustrated quarterback Cole McDonald, who hit a season-low 50% of his throws and was benched in the second half.

But in its past three games Fresno State has allowed opponents to complete 70.9% of their passes, averaging 7.4 yards per attempt and 288.3 yards per game, with six touchdowns, 10 explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards and only one interception.

That makes it a tough time for the Bulldogs to be facing San Jose State, which has supplanted Hawaii as the top passing team in the conference.

The Bulldogs, with no shot at a return trip to the conference championship game and no shot at a bowl game, end their season on Saturday night against the Spartans at CEFCU Stadium playing for the Valley Trophy.

San Jose State is in a similar spot – no bowl.

The Spartans’ passing offense is doing its best but failing to stay ahead of a defense that is giving up a ton of points.

Quarterback Josh Love is averaging 426.0 passing yards over the past three games and the Spartans have had two 100-yard receivers in all three of those games.

Boise State

▪ Tre Walker 9 for 193

▪ Bailey Gaither 8 for 110, 1 TD

Hawaii

▪ Tre Walker 10 for 138

▪ Isaiah Hamilton 7 for 105, 1 TD

UNLV

▪ Tre Walker 12 for 133, 1 TD

▪ Isaiah Hamilton 6 for 119

Fresno State hasn’t had a wideout rack up 100 yards in a game this season – the Bulldogs and Wyoming are the only teams in the conference without a 100-yard game from a receiver.

The details: How to watch, more

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: CEFCU Stadium (30,456)

TV: ESPN2 (Dave LaMont, Ray Bentley, Taylor McGregor) Comcast (33, 725), AT&T Uverse (606, 1606), DirecTV (209), Dish (144)

Radio: 940AM/ESPN (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

Records: Bulldogs 4-7, 2-5 in MW; San Jose State 4-7, 1-6

Series: Bulldogs lead 42-37-3

Most recent meetings:

2018 – Bulldogs 31-13

2017 – Bulldogs 27-10

2016 – San Jose State 16-14

2015 – San Jose State 49-23

2014 – Bulldogs 38-24

Vegas line: Fresno State -2.5

Weather: Daytime high in the low-50s dropping to a low of 45 and an 80% chance of rain

Tickets to future Bulldogs home games: gobulldogs.com/559-278-DOGS (3647) or any ticket resale site. Go to the Fresno State website for details about promotions and pre-game and in-game activities.

D stands for destruction

The Spartans have lost five Mountain West games in a row – there is a win at Army mixed in there – despite scoring 35 or more points four times.

San Jose State …

▪ Lost at Nevada 41-38

▪ Lost to San Diego State 27-17

▪ Lost to Boise State 52-42

▪ Lost at Hawaii 42-40

▪ Lost at UNLV 38-35

The Spartans have allowed an average of 40.0 points per game in those losses, but that is just half of the story.

When San Jose State played Nevada, the Wolf Pack was ranked last in the conference in scoring offense at just 19.8 points per game.

When it played San Diego State, the Aztecs were ranked last in the conference in scoring offense at just 21.2 points per game,

Boise State and Hawaii have high-scoring offenses and were averaging 35.3 and 36.8 points per game when playing the Spartans.

But when San Jose State played UNLV, the Rebels were ranked just 10th in the conference in scoring offense at just 21.9 points per game.

Any chance it ends in a tie?

Fresno State this season has scored 344 points, 31.3 per game.

Fresno State this season also has allowed 344 points, 31.3 per game.

Jared Rice and his records

Fresno State tight end Jared Rice passed Bear Pascoe and set a school record for receiving yards by a tight end in the Bulldogs’ loss to Nevada, catching five passes for 71 yards.

With one last game in his Bulldogs career, Rice can become the most productive tight end in program history. Here is where Rice, a senior from Modesto, stands on the receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns lists …

Receptions

Bear Pascoe (2005-08) – 112

Jared Rice (2016-present) – 109

Receiving yards

Jared Rice – 1,317

Bear Pascoe – 1,294

Receiving touchdowns

Marty Thompson (1989-’92) – 11

Bear Pascoe – 10

Jared Rice – 10

Pascoe was the sixth-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played in the NFL for seven seasons and was with the New York Giants in 2011-12 when they won Super Bowl XLVI.

It’s gonna be close …

Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers is 55 yards away from reaching the 2,000-yard mark in his career.

Whether it happens this season or next season, Rivers would become the 17th running back in school history to hit 2,000. One of those backs is Rivers’ father, Ron Rivers, who finished his career as the Bulldogs’ all-time leading rusher with 3,473 yards.

Rivers this season has rushed for 722 yards and is averaging 65.6 yards per game.

The Bulldogs have not had a 1,000-yard rusher in a season since 2014 when Marteze Waller churned out 1,368 yards for a team that finished 6-8.

One last chance

Fresno State ranks 10th in the Mountain West in kickoff returns, averaging just 18.9 yards on 33 returns.

That’s very little success on a lot of chances – the 33 returns ranks second in the conference and tied for 23rd in the nation.

That’s also not a surprise.

The Bulldogs have not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since A.J. Jefferson took one back 92 yards against Nevada in 2008.

Fresno State has returned 548 kickoffs without a touchdown. Since the Bulldogs joined the Mountain West in 2012, San Diego State has returned 13 kickoffs for touchdowns, New Mexico has 10 and Utah State has six.

San Jose State is third in the Mountain West in opponent kickoff returns, but is one of five teams in the league to allow a scoring return.

This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 3:00 PM.