Fresno State vs. Wyoming: TV info, odds and Bulldogs’ season-long challenge continues
Wyoming blew a chance to make it to the Mountain West Conference football championship game, throwing an interception in the end zone in the closing seconds of a 20-17 loss to Boise State last week.
Cowboys starter Andrew Peasley was held out against the Broncos due to a concussion, and backup Jayden Clemons completed three passes and was intercepted three times in 16 attempts against Boise State. Two of those picks were made at the goal line or in the end zone including the final shot when Wyoming was at the 21-yard line and in range for a field goal to tie the score.
But if Wyoming is throwing the football, chances are something went awry on first or second down with a run game that goes one way: right at a defense.
So whichever quarterback plays in Friday’s regular-season finale at Fresno State, he doesn’t figure to be the Bulldogs’ primary concern.
“They run the ball pretty much against anybody,” Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford said. “They’re very physical up front; very good offensive line, really good running back. ... They play with multiple tight ends and they’re going to run it downhill at you. There’s no question. I don’t know that you’re ever going to stop them. You’re not stopping them, you just hope to limit them.”
That could be the challenge of the game for the Bulldogs, who will be celebrating Senior Night with a spot in the conference championship and matchup against Boise State secured.
Fresno State is ranked ninth in the Mountain West in allowing 5.0 yards per rush on first downs, and if there is a common theme in games teams have run up points on the Bulldogs, that definitely is one.
Oregon State rushed the ball 21 times on first downs and averaged 7.0 yards per play in a 35-32 victory. USC had 14 first-down rushing plays and averaged 6.8 yards per play in a 45-17 victory. And, Boise State ran the ball on 23 of 29 first-down plays and averaged 7.6 yards per play in a 40-20 victory.
More than Peasley or Clemons, junior running back Titus Swen, who rushed for 212 yards in the loss to Boise State and is 36 yards away from 1,000 yards on the season, is the concern.
It’s no secret that he will get the football, or when. Swen has 183 carries, almost three times as many as any other Cowboy, and 159 have come on first (97) or second (62) down.
THE GAME
FRESNO STATE vs. WYOMING
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Valley Children’s Stadium
TV: FS1 (Guy Haberman, Will Blackmon)
Find it fast: Channels 652 and 1652 on AT&T Uverse, 35, 408, 731, 1208 on Comcast, 219 on DirecTV, 150 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 (7-4, 6-1 in the MW), Wyoming (7-4, 5-2)
The series: Bulldogs lead 8-5
Last meeting: Bulldogs won 17-0 in 2021
The streak: Bulldogs have won three in a row
The line: Bulldogs -14.5
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 5:30 AM.