Fresno State at No. 13 UCLA game guide: What to know about Bulldogs’ matchup vs. Bruins
The Fresno State Bulldogs get another shot at adding more credibility to a 2-1 start on Saturday, taking on No. 13 UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The Bulldogs played No. 11 Oregon close two weeks ago and had a lead on the Ducks in the fourth quarter, but their wins have come over a UConn team that does not have much going for it and last week against FCS Cal Poly.
UCConn is 0-3, losing to FCS Holy Cross and two games against FBS opponents by a combined 94-0. The Huskies were outgained by Fresno State and Purdue by an 1,100 yards to 321 yards margin.
Fresno State has won three games in a row in its series against the Bruins, winning 17-9 in the Silicon Valley Classic in 2003 and 36-31 in 2008 and 38-14 in 2018 at the Rose Bowl.
Fresno State at No. 13 UCLA
When: Saturday, 7:45 p.m.
Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena
TV: Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth)
- 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 (5-4 in second season), Chip Kelly (12-21 in fourth season, 58-28 overall)
The records: Fresno State 2-1, UCLA 2-0
The series: UCLA leads 6-3
The line: UCLA -11.5
The last meeting: Fresno State won 38-14 in 2018
About UCLA: The Bruins did not play last week. They have opened the season with a 44-10 victory over Hawaii and a 38-27 victory over No. 16 LSU. … UCLA has a potent run game led by backs Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown. Charbonnet is averaging 13.1 yards on 17 rushing plays, churning out 223 yards and four touchdowns. Brown is averaging 5.8 yards on 30 plays and has scored twice. It is worth noting that the Rainbow Warriors were ranked 11th in rushing defense in the Mountain West Conference last season and the Tigers were ranked ninth in the SEC. … Fresno State is allowing just 2.4 yards per rush this season and success against the Bruins’ run game will be critical. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a senior now, but hasn’t gained all that much consistency since the Bulldogs’ victory at the Rose Bowl in 2018. Thompson-Robinson has hit less than 60% of his passes in almost half (13 of 27) of his career games and this season is at 52.8% (19 of 36), though he is averaging a healthy 10.8 yards per attempt and has thrown four touchdowns to one interception. In that 2018 game as a freshman he was just 10 of 24 (41.7%) for 151 yards with one TD and two interceptions. … Kazmeir Allen, the Tulare Union High product, is tied for the team lead with four receptions and has been on the end of two of those explosive pass plays. Allen had a 36-yard reception against LSU and caught a 44-yard touchdown pass against Hawaii. … The UCLA pass defense is ranked 115th in the nation, allowing 286.5 yards per game. Part of that is volume. The Bruins’ opponents are averaging 49.5 pass attempts per game and only two FBS teams have defended more – Memphis with 50.0 and Louisiana Tech with 53.0. One potential positive for Fresno State – UCLA has defended 99 pass plays, but has not had much success rushing the passer, recording only 4.0 sacks.