On the eve of their matchup against the Toledo Rockets, the 25th ranked Fresno State Bulldogs look to bounce back from their disappointing 3-point loss to then 13th ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The fear across the Central Valley is the possibility of a letdown after a game that was in their grasp, the same type of letdown they went through a few years ago after a loss to #1 USC. The Bulldogs had maintained their #16 ranking after the loss to the Trojans, but after a 38-35 loss to Nevada the following Saturday, that ranking was gone for the remainder of the season.
This team cannot afford to look past this Toledo ballclub, especially since the Rockets have a bruising running back by the name of DaJuane Collins, a 5'10" 211 lbs Senior from Westville, NJ., was even offered a scholarship from Penn State but after learning they wanted him as a defensive back turned down the offer because he wanted to remain at running back. He's been clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.45 where Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews has been clocked at 4.49, so Collins definitely has big play ability.
The one thing that may be against Toledo is Fresno State's defense, which held Wisconsin to just 3 points in the 2nd half last weekend as well as holding Rutgers to just 7 points in their season opening 24-7 win over the Scarlet Knights. If the Bulldogs can play that style of defense and the offense gets going early instead of waiting until the 2nd half, I think this should be an easy win going into their showdown at the Rose Bowl against UCLA next weekend.
Todd's keys to the game: Defense, defense and more defense. This Bulldog defense has been nothing short of outstanding in both of their games, but got very little help from their offense last weekend against Wisconsin.
Offensively, Fresno needs to jump on Toledo early and keep them out of the game, don't give them a chance at a comeback or give them the thought that they're still in the game. Put them away early, get the win and head back west to get ready for UCLA. Tom Brandstater and Ryan Mathews need to establish themselves early, Brandstater especially needs to be the field general and make smart decisions. The biggest question is going to be the hole left by Cole Popovich at left guard. Will sophomore Devan Cunningham be able to step in and fill that gap, or will Toledo exploit it?
Prediction: The Bulldogs should dominate...Fresno State 35 Toledo 10
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment