Fresno State vs. Oregon State Beavers: Things to watch and a prove-it type matchup

Fresno State has the best and deepest group of wideouts in the Mountain West Conference and when the Bulldogs take on Oregon State on Saturday, they will be in a spotlight made brighter by a matchup against a solid secondary that still has questions to answer.

The Beavers beat up Boise State in their opener, but the Broncos were a mess from the opening kickoff. Quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Taylen Green combined to average an anemic 5.1 yards per pass attempt, and to put that into some context the Bulldogs when struggling through 2015 and ‘16 and ranked last in the Mountain West Conference in yards per pass attempt averaged 6.3 and 5.3.

Here’s more: Boise State hadn’t had a game where its yards per attempt was lower since 2018 and, salt in wound, that was the conference championship loss to the Bulldogs. But how much of that was Boise State and how much of that was Oregon State will become more clear by 11 p.m. Saturday.

The Beavers’ corners, Rejzohn Wright and Alex Austin, are long, aggressive and physical players. But last week they did not see a quarterback comparable to Jake Haener or wideouts comparable to Jalen Cropper, Josh Kelly or Nikko Remigio, who in his Fresno State debut caught nine of 11 targets for 100 yards and added another dimension to a passing game that ranked second in the Mountain West last season.

“He does a lot of different things and just allows us to utilize him and then other people in different scenarios,” Haener said of the Cal transfer. “It’s hard to guard us. It’s hard to defend us. Teams like Oregon State are going to try to man up against us and see how they fare.

“After this week I think will be a really good indicator of where we are on offense and how our receivers are going to be compared and put up on a big stage. Those DBs are long. They’re 6-2, 6-3, and they’ve got long arms and are physical and they’re not scared to challenge you.”

How that matchup goes could determine how the game goes for the Bulldogs in the first of two opportunities to build a resume against Power Five conference opponents, with a trip to USC on deck.

One more thing on the matchup: In its six road games last season Oregon State allowed opposing quarterbacks to hit 69.3% of their passes and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and 295.7 yards per game with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Haener in six home games completed 70.6% of his passes and averaged 9.8 yards per play and 320.7 yards per game with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.

All but one of those games for the Beavers defense were played before Trent Bray took over as defensive coordinator heading into the 10th game of the 2021 season. In his five games calling the defense, Oregon State has allowed just 165.5 passing yards per game.

CAN BULLDOGS STOP THE RUN?

Oregon State, with strong run and play-action games, figures to score and try to control the game against a Fresno State defense that while not exactly young up front does lack experience.

The Bulldogs in an opening victory over Cal Poly allowed 3.5 yards per rush. That on its own is not a troubling number, but in their past seven matchups against FCS opponents they had allowed 1.5, 0.7, 3.2, minus-1.1, 2.9, 1.2 and 1.7 yards per rush.

The Beavers kept the sticks moving on the ground in the second half against Boise State, churning out 6.0 yards per play on 24 plays after they had built a lead. Oregon State held possession for 20:14 over the final 30 minutes, working behind a large offensive line, particularly on the right side.

Starting right guard Brandon Kipper goes 6-6 and 327 pounds and right tackle Talise Fuaga goes 6-6 and 326 pounds.

HAENER RECORD WATCH

Haener, who hit 85.7% of his passes for 377 yards with two touchdowns in the opening victory over Cal Poly, has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 20 games in a row.

That is the fourth-longest streak in Mountain West Conference history behind only former Bulldogs quarterback Derek Carr and Nevada quarterback Carson Strong each with 26 and TCU’s Andy Dalton with 21.

Can Haener tie Dalton and take another step toward that record?

Oregon State did not allow a touchdown pass in its opening victory over Boise State, but last season was in a three-way tie for ninth in the Pac-12 when allowing 22 touchdown passes.

The Beavers allowed three TD passes in losses in road losses at Washington State, at Cal and at Colorado, and the Golden Bears were seventh and the Buffaloes last in the Pac-12 in passing offense.

Colorado had only 10 touchdown passes all season.

THE GAME

OREGON STATE vs. FRESNO STATE

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Valley Children’s Stadium

TV: CBS Sports Network (Alex Del Barrio, Donte Whitner)

• Find it fast: Channels 643 and 1643 on AT&T Uverse, 418 and 732 on Comcast, 221 on DirecTV, 158 on Dish Network

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

• Find it fast: 1400 AM in Visalia/Tulare; 1340 AM in Fresno; 1280 AM in Stockton; 970 AM in Bakersfield; 92.9 FM in Modesto; 96.7 FM in Fresno.

The records: Bulldogs 1-0, Beavers 1-0

The series: Bulldogs lead 8-5

Last meeting: Bulldogs won 16-14 at home in 2003

The line: Fresno State minus-1

Tickets: 559-278-DOGS or gobulldogs.com