Fresno State Bulldogs vs. No. 11 Oregon Ducks: an NFL-type matchup, and things to watch

Fresno State takes on No. 11 Oregon on Saturday and for the Bulldogs, outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux will be a problem.

He’s 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, and projected to be a top pick in the NFL Draft. Thibodeaux played defensive end and some SAM linebacker last season, but is listed on the Ducks’ depth chart at Joker, which is an action spot in former Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter’s defense.

“We have to be ready for him to be anywhere,” Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “That’s what we’ve been prepping for – both sides, and them using him kind of like we used Mykal Walker in ‘18 when he was all over the place. He’s going to be an issue.”

Fresno State fans also will remember Ejiro Ederaine racking up 45.5 tackles for loss in that defense from 2012 to ‘15, at the time the second-most TFLs ever in the Mountain West Conference.

The Bulldogs will likely have to help tackles Dontae Bull and Alex Akingbulu and find ways to prevent Thibodeaux from wreaking havoc in the backfield, and he can get there any number of ways with his power, speed and athleticism working to the inside or the outside.

It’s worth noting, also, that the Ducks are 6-1 in games Thibodeaux has had at least 2.0 tackles for loss, the loss to No. 10 Iowa State last season in the Fiesta Bowl.

An answer to the pass rush chaos?

When DeRuyter first got to Fresno State back in 2012, the Bulldogs defense did a stunning 180 and much of that success stemmed from creating chaos for opposing quarterbacks, disguising coverages and blitzing from every angle. They had at least 2.0 sacks that season from nine different positions, 38.0 in all, and also picked off 22 passes.

The Bulldogs led the Mountain West Conference in passing defense, allowing 167.2 yards per game one season after allowing 267.8.

Opposing quarterbacks hit 51.7% of their passes and averaged just 5.7 yards per attempt – no Mountain West defense since has allowed fewer yards per pass attempt. The top three passing teams in the league, after the Bulldogs and Derek Carr, were Wyoming, Nevada and Boise State and none of them hit better than 54.2% of their passes when playing Fresno State, none of them passed for more than 215 yards and none of them had a passing efficiency rating of even 102.00.

But, does Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener have an edge in deciphering all of the looks that he will get from DeRuyter and the Ducks? Maybe. When Haener was at Washington, the Huskies ran a similar defense with a lot of the same looks, and he saw it every day in practice.

Either way, Haener will have to get the ball out of his hand quickly, the offensive line will have to play very well and a 45-0 opening rout of UConn did not credibly answer many questions for a group that struggled to protect the passer last season when allowing 4.0 sacks per game.

“They have to know what the matchup is, not just No. 5, but they have some other good guys up front as well,” Grubb said. “No. 29 (Adrian Jackson) is a good edge rusher. No. 50 (Popo Aumavae) is much improved. We’re looking for a pretty steady dose of heavy pass rush and just have to execute.”

Brother vs. Brother

Family bragging rights are at stake in two households with Bulldogs Evan Williams and Da’Marcus Johnson going up against their brothers, Bennett Williams and D.J. Johnson.

All four are expected to play prominently on Saturday – Evan Williams starts at free safety and Da’Marcus Johnson is in the rotation at defensive end, and Bennett Williams is a starter at the Star or nickel defensive back position for the Ducks and D.J Johnson is No. 2 on the depth chart at tight end.

Stopping the run …

The Ducks have managed to win five of their past six games when averaging less than 4.0 yards per rush, including games they mustered just 2.6 yards (38-35 vs. UCLA in 2020), 2.2 yards (28-27 vs. Wisconsin in 2019) and 2.0 yards (21-6 at Stanford in 2019).

But Fresno State has to start somewhere and they are much better equipped to deal with a Pac-12 level running game than they were a year ago with tackle Leonard Payne back after opting out due to COVID last season, Kevin Atkins playing at a high level and some credible depth.

Oregon has two dynamic running backs in Travis Dye and CJ Verdell, and they figure to see the football a lot against Fresno State.

Dye last season was third in the Pac-12 in averaging 9.5 yards per touch, but had considerably more plays (76) than the two ranked ahead of him – Nathaniel Peat from Stanford averaged 13.4 yards on 45 plays and Rachaad White from Arizona State 11.2 yards on 54 plays.

Can the Bulldogs slow the Ducks’ run game and force a quarterback who has completed 55.2% of his career passes try to beat them?

Fresno State did not play a Power Five team last season, but in 2019 the Bulldogs did hold USC and Minnesota to a combined 3.7 yards per carry and in 2018 Minnesota, UCLA and Arizona State to 3.6 yards per carry.

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