Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Cal Poly Mustangs: ‘Dogs missing run game, and things to watch
Fresno State in its first two games is averaging just 3.4 yards per rushing play and a matchup against No. 11 Oregon obviously plays into that. But the Bulldogs also struggled on the ground in their opener against UConn with nearly one-third of their plays going for 2 yards or less, and the Huskies just lost last week to FCS Holy Cross, 38-28.
Have the Bulldogs lost their run game? The game Saturday against Cal Poly should provide a few answers, but the evidence is stacking up against them.
Fresno State averaged a modest 4.1 yards per rush against the Huskies and over their past 11 games dating back to the 2019 season that was only the third time it has averaged more than 4.0 per play.
That’s scary, considering the Bulldogs last season played the teams ranked eighth, ninth, 11th and 12 in the Mountain West Conference in rushing defense … and that they were 10th.
Fresno State average per rush over its past 11 games …
5.0 yards or more – 1
4.0 to 4.9 – 2
3.0 to 3.9 – 2
2.0 to 2.9 – 5
1.0 to 1.9 – 1
In the Mustangs’ season-opening 28-17 victory at San Diego, the Toreros rushed the ball 42 times for 175 yards, averaging 4.2 per play.
A pass rush mismatch to exploit?
Cal Poly quarterback Spencer Brasch hit six explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards in throwing for 318 yards in his debut. He was sacked just twice in 38 pass attempts, but that could be a spot the Bulldogs will be able to exploit.
The Mustangs start a redshirt freshman at left tackle in 6-foot-5, 260-pound Austin Anderson and a redshirt sophomore at right tackle in 6-4 and 290 Charles Lincoln.
Anderson and Lincoln each has played in four college games – Anderson has two starts and Lincoln has four, though none have come against FBS opponents.
Fresno State is much more experienced with four seniors on the depth chart at defensive end – Arron Mosby, David Perales, Kwami Jones and Isaiah Johnson – and is averaging 4.0 sacks per game since coordinator William Inge and the defensive staff installed a 4-2-5 scheme.
Cal Poly in its three games last spring allowed a total of 22.0 sacks including 9.0 in a loss to UC Davis … and the Aggies had only 15.0 total sacks in a five-game season, averaging just 1.5 in its other games.
The FBS threat in Cal Poly
Fresno State has had an easy time against FCS opponents going back decades now, but the Bulldogs could be facing a much tougher test from Cal Poly on Saturday night at Bulldog Stadium than it has in past games.
The Mustangs under coach Beau Baldwin are built differently than some of the teams they have played, with 11 FBS transfers on the roster and seven on the depth chart including former Fresno State players in wideout Chris Coleman, defensive end Emeka Ndoh and tight end Micah Pasion.
Brasch is an FBS transfer from Cal, and in the opening win at San Diego he hit 23 of 38 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns.
Sacramento State, another Big Sky Conference team, is the most recent FCS team to play at Fresno State. The Bulldogs struggled that season, 2019, but still beat the Hornets 34-20.
That Sacramento State team had only four FBS transfers on the roster and quarterback Kevin Thomson and backup cornerback Robert Lewis were the only ones on the Hornets’ depth chart that week.
Thomson had started his college career at UNLV, and Lewis at Boise State.
Idaho lost at Fresno State 79-13 to open the 2018 season with just one FBS transfer on the roster, a punter. The Bulldogs blasted Incarnate Word 66-0 in 2017 and that team did not have any FBS transfers.
Debut of the future?
Bulldogs quarterback Jake Haener is off to a fast start, hitting 72.5% of his passes with four touchdown and no interceptions in 69 attempts and is averaging 314.5 yards per game.
But if the Bulldogs get out to a lead on Cal Poly, coach Kalen DeBoer and coordinator Ryan Grubb could give a few reps to freshman quarterback Jaylen Henderson, who is one of the top recruits in a class that appears to be the best Fresno State has had in years with cornerback Cale Sanders, tight end Tre Watson, Husky Emari Pait and linebackers Zeke Branham and Charlotin Charles already seeing the field in the first two games.
The 6-foot-3 freshman moved ahead of Logan Fife and will be the backup quarterback this week – Fife played against UConn after Haener went out in the third quarter with what he called a full-body cramp, completing 7 of 13 passes for 51 yards with one touchdown and one red zone interception.
Henderson initially was going to sit out a COVID-shortened season a year ago at Chaminade Prep in West Hills, but ended up playing five games and hit on 67.5% of his passes with 15 touchdowns to just one interception and averaged 279.8 yards per game.
Fresno State vs. Cal Poly
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Bulldog Stadium
TV: CW59 (Ralph Wood, Cameron Worrell, Kevin Miller)
Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 59, 1059), Comcast (705, 1059), DirecTV (59), Dish Network (59)
Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Marcus McMaryion)
Find it fast: Fresno (AM1340), Bakersfield (AM970), Visalia (AM1130), Modesto (FM92.9), Stockton (AM1280), Bulldogs App, iHeartMedia app
The coaches: Kalen DeBoer (4-4 in second season), Beau Baldwin (1-3 in second season, 96-38 overall)
The records: Fresno State 1-1, Cal Poly 1-0
The series: Fresno State leads 32-10-2
Last meeting: Fresno State won 41-25 in 2013
Tickets: 559-278-DOGS or gobulldogs.com