No. 18 Fresno State at Hawaii game guide: What to know about matchup vs. Rainbow Warriors
The Fresno State Bulldogs, up to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 and to No. 21 in the Coaches Poll, have a chance to build on a big start to their season on Saturday, taking on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu.
The Bulldogs will be playing without fans in the stadium for the first time this season due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hawaii and in a small on-campus stadium, and that could be a challenge after playing in front of big crowds at No. 11 Oregon, No. 13 UCLA and in their three games at Bulldog Stadium.
“It’s probably going to be eerie going back to the same feelings we had a year ago,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We’ve had such electric atmospheres, really, at every game so this is going to be considerably different.
“We need to have a great week of preparation because preparation, over many years of coaching, preparation breeds confidence and confidence brings on the energy that is deep. It can’t be this fake energy that all of a sudden comes to life Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. It has to be something that is built up throughout the week because you put in a lot of work and it was good solid practices and preparation you have.”
But the Bulldogs also should have more opportunity to light up their side of the scoreboard. Hawaii has allowed opposing quarterbacks to hit only 54.6% of their passes, but still is ranked only 11th in the Mountain West Conference in passing defense with an average of 273.0 yards a game. The Rainbow Warriors also have allowed 22 explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards, ranking last in the Mountain West and 126th of 130 in the nation.
Fresno State with quarterback Jake Haener and a deep set of receivers led by Mountain West offensive player of the week Jalen Cropper are leading the conference and second in the nation with 26 explosive pass plays.
No. 18 Fresno State at Hawaii
When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Where: Ching Athletics Complex, Honolulu
TV: CBS Sports Network (Noah Eagle, Aaron Murray)
Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 643, 1643), Comcast (418, 732), DirecTV (221), Dish Network (158)
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 (7-4 in second season), Todd Graham (7-7 in second season, 102-68 overall)
The records: Fresno State 4-1, 1-0 in MW; Hawaii 2-3, 0-1
The series: Fresno State leads 29-23-1
Last meeting: Hawaii won 34-19 in 2020
The line: Fresno State -10
Tickets: 559-278-DOGS or gobulldogs.com
About Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors have beaten FCS Portland State and New Mexico State and lost at No. 20 UCLA, at Oregon State and to San Jose State. They appear good enough to beat the bad teams on their schedule and not good enough to beat the better teams on their schedule, but they can win this game. Hawaii has the offensive skill to do it or at least give the Bulldogs a scare with versatile running back Calvin Turner, wideouts Nick Mardner and Jared Smart and quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. … Cordeiro is more dynamic than either of the UNLV quarterbacks who put up 30 points on the Bulldogs’ defense last week and last season hurt Fresno State with his feet as well as his arm, rushing for 116 yards and two TDs on just 13 plays and hitting 64.5% of his passes for 229 yards. … Hawaii is averaging 431.4 total yards per game, fourth-best in the conference, but has had difficulty turning those yards into points. The Rainbow Warriors are eighth in the conference in scoring offense, at 28.0 points per game. … The Rainbow Warriors rank 10th in the Mountain West in total defense and 11th in passing defense, not a good sign when taking on the top-ranked passing offense in the conference. Big plays have been a big problem for Hawaii, not just through the air. They have allowed a total of 30 explosive plays from scrimmage, the most in the Mountain West. … Gene Pryor, from Mt. Whitney High and College of the Sequoias, starts at right tackle for the Rainbow Warriors. Pryor has started 27 games in a row on an experienced offensive line that includes left tackle Ilm Manning (39 starts) and right guard Solo Vaipulu (36 starts). … Hawaii has started fast in its two home games, outscoring FCS Portland State and San Jose State by a combined 35-0 in the first quarter. Fresno State, which has started slowly, has been outscored 21-6 in the first quarter on the road at No. 11 Oregon and No. 13 UCLA. …