Fresno State wideout corps is deep, but how much trouble are they in without Jalen Cropper?

Fresno State is deep at the wideout positions, but the Bulldogs took a significant hit in the third quarter of a 30-20 victory at No. 21 San Diego State on Saturday night when Jalen Cropper went out with a right knee injury.

His status for remaining games starting with a Saturday matchup against Boise State will be evaluated, but coach Kalen DeBoer said early indications are it might not be a season-ending injury. Cropper, who left the field on a cart, was able to return to the sidelines, but had an ice bag strapped to his knee.

“We’ll get back (Sunday) and take a look at him,” DeBoer said, after the victory put the Bulldogs into first place in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference.

“It was definitely kind of a freakish play. Things are going really good and I don’t even know exactly how it happened, if it was when he planted or if his foot slipped or what. I just know he was in some pain.”

Cropper, who was injured at the end of a 21-yard pass play in the third quarter, is third in the conference with 61 receptions and leading the Mountain West and tied for second in the nation with 10 touchdown catches.

If he were to miss any time, how much trouble would the Bulldogs’ passing game be in?

Cropper, who has lined up in the slot on 94.7% of his plays and torched advantageous matchups all season, is leading the Bulldogs by a wide margin with 86 targets. Josh Kelly is second with 59, and Keric Wheatfall is third with 42. The former Buchanan High standout also is leading the Bulldogs with 10 third-down receptions, with six of those plays going for a first down and three going for a touchdown.

Against the Aztecs, Cropper had nine targets and caught six passes for 84 yards. When he went out Fresno State was up 20-7 and quarterback Jake Haener had hit 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 263 yards with one touchdown.

Haener finished 25 of 42 (59.5%) for 306 yards with the one score, hitting only 5 of his final 11 passes for 43 yards with completions to running back Jordan Mims, freshman tight end Tre Watson and three to wideout Ty Jones.

Kelly, who had five receptions for 107 yards, was targeted three times without a catch after Cropper exited.

Erik Brooks, who has lined up in the slot more than anyone in the position group other than Cropper, according to Pro Football Focus, played in the game but was not targeted with a pass.

The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-1 in the MW) also do not get a huge break in their final three games of the season against Boise State and New Mexico and following a bye week at San Jose State on Thanksgiving Day.

The Broncos rank only seventh in the Mountain West in passing defense through games played Saturday, but the Lobos and the Spartans are in the top half of the conference ranked third and fifth.

Boise State has allowed an average of 216.5 yards per game, but opposing quarterbacks have completed just 58.7% of their passes. It also has allowed eight touchdown passes, tied with New Mexico for the fewest in the conference, and has eight interceptions.

This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 7:05 AM.