Fresno State vs. Hawaii: TV info, odds and update on injured lineman Dontae Bull
Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford confirmed on Monday that right tackle Dontae Bull is out for the season with a broken leg, which means the Bulldogs will be playing a sixth starting lineup up front in its past seven games this week when they take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
Bull has played in 41 career games with a team-high 33 career starts and is by far the Bulldogs’ highest-graded lineman, by Pro Football Focus. So, it will hurt, and against some opponents more than others.
Hawaii? It will be an interesting test for the Bulldogs, because it has had some success in the Mountain West despite its 2-7 record, 1-3 in conference play. The Rainbow Warriors have allowed 45.4 points in non-conference games that include Vanderbilt and No. 4 Michigan, but just 19.0 points in conference games.
Tedford pointed out that the Hawaii losses in conference play have come by two, four and seven points.
“You watch them on film, they do a lot of good things,” he said. “They play hard. They can be explosive on offense. They have a good running back, their quarterback is good, they have a good group of receivers.”
It helps that those games were at San Diego State, at Colorado State and last week against Wyoming, which are not exactly high-scoring teams, ranking eighth, 12th and sixth in the league.
Hawaii still is giving up a lot of yards against conference opponents, but what it is doing better than anyone is keeping opponents out of the end zone when in red zone situations.
The Rainbow Warriors have allowed Mountain West opponents to score a touchdown only five times in 14 red zone possessions, their 35.7% touchdown percentage the best in the conference.
That obviously has been a trouble spot for the Bulldogs, when quarterback Jake Haener has been on the field and when he has not. Fresno State is averaging just 2.5 yards per rush in the red zone, and Haener and backup Logan Fife combined have hit only 45.9% of their passes inside an opponent’s 20-yard line.
The Bulldogs and their offensive line without Bull might not be at a huge disadvantage in this matchup because Hawaii is not a blitz-heavy team and has not had much success when it has tried.
Vanderbilt, the worst passing team in the Southeastern Conference, hit two blitz-beating touchdown passes in the Rainbow Warriors opener, according to Pro Football Focus. Western Kentucky hit 5 of 6 passes against the Hawaii blitz, San Diego State hit 8 of 11, New Mexico State 3 of 3, Michigan 4 of 6.
The Rainbow Warriors rank 11th in the Mountain West and 129th in the nation in sacks with just 0.9 per game. They also are last in the conference and 128th in the nation in tackles for loss with just 3.8 per game.
Fresno State last week had difficulty against San Diego State and all of its twisting and movement, allowing seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. But it will not see the same from the Rainbow Warriors.
THE GAME
FRESNO STATE vs. HAWAII
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Valley Children’s Stadium
TV: FS2 (TBA)
- Find it fast: Channels 651 and 1651 on AT&T Uverse, 410, 731 and 1208 on Comcast, 618 on DirecTV, 149 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 (4-4, 3-1 in the MW), Hawaii (2-7, 1-3)
The series: Bulldogs lead 29-24-1
Last meeting: Hawaii won 27-24 in 2021
The line: Bulldogs -24.5