Fresno State at No. 11 Oregon game guide: What to know about Bulldogs’ matchup vs. Ducks
The Fresno State Bulldogs, coming off their first shutout in four seasons and one of the best defensive performances in school history in a 45-0 victory over UConn, take a significant step up this week.
The Bulldogs will travel to No. 11 Oregon, which has a defense led by projected Top 5 NFL Draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux and coordinated by former Bulldogs coach Tim DeRuyter.
Fresno State has fared much better against Power Five conference opponents the past three seasons, winning at UCLA and beating Arizona State in the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl. But the Bulldogs still are only 3-16 against Power Five teams over the past 10 seasons and have not beaten a ranked opponent since taking out No. 19 Boise State 19-16 in overtime in the 2018 Mountain West Conference championship game.
The Bulldogs have not beaten a ranked opponent from a Power Five conference since 2004.
Oregon, coming off back-to-back Pac-12 championships, did not play a Week 0 game. The Ducks have won 12 consecutive games at Autzen Stadium, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation.
Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Oregon Ducks
When: Saturday, 11 a.m.
Where: Autzen Stadium; Eugene, Ore.
TV: Pac-12 Network (Roxy Bernstein, Lincoln Kennedy)
- Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 759, 1759), Comcast (434, 823), Dish Network (409)
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)
- Find it fast: Fresno (AM1340), Bakersfield (AM970), Visalia (AM1130), Modesto (FM92.9), Stockton (AM1280), Bulldogs app, iHeartMedia app
The coaches: Kalen DeBoer (4-3 in second season at Fresno State), Mario Cristobal (25-10 in fourth season at Oregon, 52-57 overall)
The records: Fresno State 1-0, Oregon 0-0
The series: Oregon leads 7-2
The line: Oregon -20.5
The last meeting: Oregon won 42-25 in 2012
About Oregon: The Ducks have two productive running backs in CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, who have the second-most career yards from scrimmage of any returning running back duo in the FBS with 5,366. First on that list is the Bulldogs’ Ronnie Rivers and Jordan Mims with 5,595. … After a fall camp competition, senior Anthony Brown will start at quarterback and he is an interesting matchup for the Bulldogs defense. Brown hit 65.2% of his passes in a backup role at Oregon last season, but in a college career that started at Boston College he hit a low percentage of his passes (59.1% in 2019 and 55.4% in 2018) while making a high number of big plays. Brown had 16 pass plays of 25 or more yards in 137 attempts in 2019. By comparison, Bulldogs QB Jake Haener had 20 passes of 25 or more yards in 232 attempts last season. … Nick Toth, who was on DeRuyter’s staff at Fresno State, is a defensive analyst at Oregon. … DeRuyter spent the past four seasons at Cal and in the past three the Golden Bears ranked second, fifth and first in the Pac-12 in passing defense. … The Ducks have won their past 16 home openers, averaging 57.0 points in those games. The Mountain West has fared poorly in those matchups – Nevada lost 77-6 at Oregon in 2019 and 69-20 in 2011 and New Mexico lost 72-0 in 2010. … The Ducks have two central San Joaquin Valley products on their roster. Freshman Keanu Williams from Clovis High is listed third on the depth chart at defensive tackle and Steve Stephens IV from Edison is listed as a starter at safety. … Thibodeaux, from Los Angeles, is 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds and was a first-team all-conference selection. He was the MVP of the Pac-12 championship game, making 5.0 total tackles including 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks and one pass breakup in a victory over USC.
If you’re going: Oregon will have Autzen Stadium open to full capacity, but all fans will have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Face coverings also are required throughout the stadium.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 2:06 PM.