Fresno State Bulldogs at Wyoming game guide: What to know about matchup vs. Cowboys
The Fresno State Bulldogs get back at it this week with a Mountain West Conference game Saturday at Wyoming and head off to Laramie with some added baggage.
That would come in the form of questions, which were not as apparent in the first four weeks of the college football season when the Bulldogs were climbing into the national rankings.
Fresno State offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said quarterback Jake Haener is good to go, after sitting out bye week practices with his right foot in a protective boot.
But where is that run defense?
Fresno State allowed 2.7 yards per rush and 97.8 yards per game in its first four games, which included a one-score loss at then-No. 11 Oregon and a win at then-No. 13 UCLA. The past two games, though, the Bulldogs have allowed 152 yards and two touchdowns in a win over UNLV and 232 yards and one touchdown in a loss at Hawaii.
And, what about the Bulldogs’ run game?
Fresno State had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter at Hawaii, but could not secure the win and season-long inconsistency rushing the football played a part in that. They are ranked eighth in the Mountain West averaging 3.8 yards per rush, and seventh averaging 123.8 yards per game.
Wyoming is ranked 10th in the conference in rushing defense, but rankings were rendered irrelevant when the Bulldogs played the Rebels and the Rainbow Warriors. UNLV and Hawaii both were ranked ninth when taking on the Bulldogs and Fresno State didn’t make much of a dent in those run defenses.
UNLV was allowing 4.8 yards per play and 190.3 per game, and the Bulldogs averaged just 3.6 in rushing for 83 yards. Hawaii was allowing 4.2 yards per play and 150.8 per game and Fresno State averaged 3.8 in rushing for 117.
Fresno State at Wyoming
When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Where: War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyo.
TV: FS2 (Dan Hellie, Petros Papadakis)
Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 651, 1651), Comcast (410, 779, 1209), DirecTV (618), Dish Network (149)
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 (7-5 in second season), Craig Bohl (42-45 in eighth season)
The records: Fresno State 4-2, 1-1 in MW; Wyoming, 4-1, 0-1
The series: Fresno State leads 7-5
Last meeting: Fresno State won 27-3 in 2018
The line: Fresno State -3
About Wyoming: The Cowboys were off to a 4-0 start, their best since 1996, before losing last week at Air Force 24-14 with a season-low point total. The past two games have been lacking, on that end. Before its conference opener, Wyoming went on the road and beat UConn 24-22, but that is a team that allowed 45 points to Fresno State, 38 to FCS Holy Cross, 49 to Purdue and 52 to Army. … Quarterback Sean Chambers will get his first chance to play the Bulldogs. Chambers, a Kerman High Lion, suffered season-ending injuries in 2020 (left leg), 2019 (left knee) and 2018 (right leg). The junior has completed only 54% of his passes (68 of 126), lowest among qualifying quarterbacks in the Mountain West Conference, but the Cowboys still are averaging 30.4 points per game. … Wyoming doesn’t go backward often. It is leading the Mountain West and 12th in the nation, allowing just 3.8 tackles for loss per game. Fresno State is third in the nation with 50.0 tackles for loss and fourth with 8.3 tackles for loss per game. … The game features two of the best running backs in the conference in the Bulldogs’ Ronnie Rivers and the Cowboys’ Xazavian Valladay, though neither has had a huge game this season. Valladay is third in the Mountain West at 87.2 yards per game and has two 100-yard games – 101 at Northern Illinois and 101 at UConn. He has 12 career 100-yard games and the Cowboys are 9-3 in those games. … Wyoming is leading the conference in passing defense, but that is a tad deceiving. The Cowboys have defended only 148 passes all season – Haener and the Bulldogs have attempted 145 passes in the past three games –and have played teams not adept at throwing the football. Air Force is ranked 128th of 130 in passing offense, UConn is 121st, Northern Illinois is 120th and Ball State is tied for 82nd, and Montana State is ranked 40th in the FCS. …