Takeaways from Fresno State loss: Bulldogs closer to New Mexico than top of Mountain West
Looking at it from afar, before the season and even well into it, New Mexico was the Fresno State Bulldogs’ ace in the hole, an easy mark at the end.
If they were in the race for a Mountain West Conference championship, the Bulldogs would get a program that has struggled just about forever in the final week of the regular season, while other contenders were in against tougher opponents. The Lobos had won three games or less for three years in a row and six times in the past 10 seasons, and had not been close to the Bulldogs in the past two meetings in 2018 and ‘17.
Those results were Fresno State 38-7 and 38-0.
But as it turns out Fresno State, in a depleted state due to injuries and COVID-19 contact tracing and anything else, is closer today to the Lobos than it is to Boise State, San Jose State, Nevada or San Diego State.
The Bulldogs finished with a major flop, a 49-39 loss to the Lobos on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, and Fresno State’s wins in a 3-3 season came against 1-3 Colorado State, 1-5 Utah State and 0-6 UNLV, the bottom three teams in the league.
That is on the heels of a 4-8 season in 2019, and that certainly puts a different spin on a season that had positives, including just getting in six games during a pandemic.
The roster was worn thin, but New Mexico hit hard at areas that have been a problem all season, not just on Saturday in Las Vegas. In particular, the offensive line and interior defensive line were gouged.
New Mexico exposed both, particularly in the second half when scoring 28 consecutive points in coming back from a deficit that was 10 points (31-21) with 6:53 to go in the third quarter.
Is the Bulldogs’ program going the wrong way?
The Lobos had only six sacks all season, but they gave the Bulldogs some different looks, creating some confusion on some plays, taking advantage of miscommunication on others and just winning at the line of scrimmage most of the time in racking up eight sacks of quarterback Jake Haener.
Fresno State also struggled to run the ball, with the exception of an 84-yard touchdown by Jordan Mims that was blocked perfectly.
None of that was new. The Bulldogs went into the game ranked 11th in the Mountain West in sacks allowed per game (3.2) and rushing yards per play (3.5).
In its six games, Fresno State’s running backs gained 2 yards or less on 40.4% of their rushing plays and that includes Ronnie Rivers, who was limited Saturday to one series in the red zone and one carry due to an ankle injury suffered last week in a loss at Nevada. That one play went for minus-1 yard.
Against New Mexico, which was 11th in the conference with just 3.5 tackles for loss per game, the Bulldogs allowed 11 including the eight sacks.
They were having to play a second different starting lineup up front in as many games, but the struggles to run the football were season-long. They now will have to try to put it back together without Rivers, who somehow managed to average 5.1 yards per rush this season when it was a struggle for any other back to get anything working – going in, Mims was averaging 2.4 yards per rush, Jevon Bigleow 2.3.
“I think a lot of those guys are right here in our program.” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “There will always be some additions that you make every year and really what we need is a full year of recruiting …
“That was the hard part. We really were the same team for the most part as we were a year ago. There will be some guys that I’m sure move on, on their own, just with where they’re at in their careers and there will be some guys that hopefully we can seek out and find. But it’s hard right now with not a lot of football being played, especially out here on the West Coast.”
Questions on defensive side of ball, as well
On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs lost depth in the interior defensive line over the summer and in camp before the season started and weren’t all that deep to begin with.
They racked up some sacks, but defending the run was an issue and when the Lobos got their run game going it opened up play-action and the Bulldogs struggled to stop either approach in the second half.
New Mexico, which had six rushing touchdowns in its first six games, had six against the Bulldogs. It rushed for 299 yards at 6.2 yards per play. The thing that stood out most, though, was that it ran the ball 12 times on third down, even facing a third-and-medium or a third-and-long, and picked up a first down 10 times.
The Lobos showed absolutely no fear of the Bulldogs’ run defense, rushing for first downs on a third-and-13, a third-and-7, a third-and-8, a third-and-6 and a third-and-5. But, Fresno State was allowing 5.0 rushing yards per play and 195.0 per game and was eighth in the Mountain West in both statistical categories.
The Bulldogs were playing thin, but there were bad run fits, missed tackles.
And, as with Rivers and the run game, Fresno State also is losing its most productive defensive tackle in senior Kevin Atkins and depth there already is an issue.
Neither appears to be a quick fix for a program that has a history of fading after one or two big seasons, struggling to sustain success. The Bulldogs were 9-4 and 11-2 in 2012 and ‘13, then 6-8, 3-9 and 1-11. They were 10-4 and 12-2 in 2017 and ‘18, then 4-8 and this season 3-3, which easily could be 3-5 had games against San Jose State and San Diego State not been canceled due to coronavirus contact tracing.
“There is a lot to learn from and build on,” DeBoer said. “You’re always discouraged when you lose. It’s hard for me to find the words to say, especially here at the end, when you’re so used to winning over the years.
“I know a lot of guys are hurting, and that’s a good thing because it means it’s important. It means you can get better. The beginning of next year starts right now. There is a lot to sort out with who is returning, and we will do that in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
By the numbers
75 – New Mexico converted 12 of its 16 third-down plays, 75%. That is the highest percentage allowed by the Bulldogs since a 51-0 loss to Boise State in 2012. The Broncos were 10 of 13, 76.9%
71 – Yards lost by the Bulldogs on eight sacks of quarterback Jake Haener.
350 – Passing yards for Haener, who had 300 or more in three games in a row and four of six this season.
2 – New Mexico players ejected from the game for personal foul with targeting penalties – linebacker Brandon Shook on a roughing the passer on Haener and defensive end Joey Noble for a hit on Jevon Bigelow. Shook and Noble were first and third on the team in tackles going into the game.
6 – Rushing touchdowns for the Lobos, who coming in had six all season.
14 – Touchdown passes by Haener in just six games. Fresno State threw 17 TD passes in 12 games last season – 15 by Jorge Reyna and one each by Jalen Cropper and by Ben Wooldridge.
134 – Receiving yards for Cropper, who had 100 or more in each of the Bulldogs’ last three games. He had 202 at Utah State and 107 at Nevada, and is the first Fresno State receiver with three consecutive games of 100 or more receiving yards since Davante Adams in 2013.
7 – Explosive plays of 20 or more yards for New Mexico. The Lobos went into the game averaging 4.3.
-7 – Fresno State rushed for minus-7 yards in the second half.
1 – Rushing attempt by Ronnie Rivers, who was limited by an ankle injury suffered last week in the loss at Nevada. It went for minus-1 yard. The senior running back ends with 44 career touchdowns, tied with Anthony Daigle for the most in school history.
Around the Mountain West
Week 8
San Jose State (6-0 Mountain West, 6-0 overall) 30, Nevada (6-2, 6-2) 20
Boise State (5-0, 5-1) 17, Wyoming (2-4, 2-4) 9
Hawaii (4-4, 4-4) 38, UNLV (0-6, 0-6) 21
New Mexico (2-5, 2-5) 49, Fresno State (3-3, 3-3) 39
BYU (10-1) 28, San Diego State (4-2, 4-4) 14 (nonconference)
Utah State (1-5, 1-5) at Colorado State (1-3, 1-3), canceled
Saturday, Dec. 19
Boise State vs. San Jose State, championship game, 1:15 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas
Air Force (2-2, 3-2) at Army (8-2), noon
Utah State players opt out of game in protest
Utah State players issued a statement to Stadium on Friday, saying they were opting out of Saturday’s game at Colorado State because of alleged comments made by university President Noelle Cockett about the religious and cultural background of interim coach Frank Maile.
Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson was named Utah State’s coach Saturday.
This story was originally published December 13, 2020 at 8:38 AM.