BYU is trying to get back into the W column after a frustrating loss in Kansas City against the Missouri Tigers. BYU struggled badly running the ball against a stout Tiger defense which was only giving up 14.6 ppg heading into the game. The Cougars were able to find success in the pass game once they found some rhythm and semblance. The Cougar defense was put in a tough situation where they were left on the field after Mizzou was able to sustain drives as they continually converted on third down. The Cougars need to do a better job of controlling the game clock this week in order to close out the season undefeated at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Fresno State comes into this game riding the coat tails of a 42-14 win over Hawaii. The Bulldogs have had several struggles throughout the seasons, most notably at the QB position where they’ve rotated through four different QBs this season after injury and off-the-field issues have bit them, they return Zack Greenlee who has had the best production at the position putting up 13 TDs compared to 3 INTs (6 TDs came against Hawaii), but the next leading QB in TD passes is Chason Virgil who has thrown 3 on the season. Fresno State has really struggled this season defensively and give up 37.1 ppg which should give BYU plenty of opportunities to light up the scoreboard on Saturday afternoon.
Fresno State Bulldogs 2014 Record: 6-8
@ #15 USC 13-52 L
@ Utah 27-59 L
vs Nebraska 19-55 L
vs Southern Utah 56-16 W
@ New Mexico 35-24 W
vs San Diego St 24-13 W
@ UNLV 27-30 L OT
@ Boise St 27-37 L
vs Wyoming 17-45 L
vs San Jose St 38-24 W
@ Nevada 40-20 W
vs Hawaii 28-21 W
@ #22 Boise St 14-28 L
vs Rice 6-30 L
Fresno State Bulldogs 2015 Record: 3-7
vs Abilene Christian 34-13 W
@ #17 Ole Miss 21-73 L
vs #21 Utah 24-45 L
@ San Jose St 23-49 L
@ San Diego St 7-21 L
vs Utah St 14-56 L
vs UNLV 31-28 W
@ Air Force 14-42 L
vs Nevada 16-30 L
@Hawaii 42-14 W
Bronco Mendenhall vs. Tim DeRuyter
Tim DeRuyter
Season: 4th
Record: 29-21
Away: 10-13
vs Non-Conf: 7-10
Bronco Mendenhall:
Season: 11th
Record: 97-42
Home: 55-11
vs MWC: 47-14
vs non-P5: 78-20
BYU vs Fresno St: 4-5
Largest Margin of Victory: 29-7 (’58)
Largest Margin of Loss: 26-13 (’56)
Longest Win Streak: 2 (’94-’95)
Longest Losing Streak: 2 (’56-’57)
Last Game: 31-21 L (’98)
Fresno St depth chart
OFFENSE
QB: Zack Greenlee/Kilton Anderson
RB: Marteze Waller/Dustin Garrison
LT: Alex Fifita/David Patterson
LG: Aaron Mitchell/Jacob Hicks
C: Bo Bonnheim/Jacob Vazquez
RG: Micah St. Andrew/Bo Bonnheim
RT: Justin Northern/Zack Kinninger
TE: Chad Olsen/Kyle Riddering
WR (X): KeeSean Johnson/Josiah Blandin
WR (Z): Da’Mari Scott/Delvon Hardaway
WR (H): Jamire Jordan/Justin Allen
WR (Y): Justin Johnson/Michael Martens
DEFENSE
DE: Claudell Louis/Nick Kristofors
NG: Nathan Madsen/Tyler Puccio
DE: Todd Hunt/Kyle Hendrickson
OLB: Ejiro Ederaine/James Bailey
MLB: Kyrie Wilson/George Helmuth
WLB: Jeff Camilli/Robert Stanley
OLB: Tobenna Obeke/Brandon Hughes
CB: Tyquwan Glass/Malcolm Washington
SS: Charles Washington/Stratton Brown
FS: Alan Wright/DeShawn Potts
CB: Jamal Ellis/Malcolm Washington
Special Teams:
Punter: Garrett Swanson
Kicker: Kody Kroening
Kick Off: Garrett Swanson
LS: Dylan Detwiler
PR: De’Mari Scott
KR: De’Mari Scott & Malique Micenheimer
Holder: Garrett Swanson
Offense:
Fresno State runs a spread option offense and their QBs like to run the ball. They’ve rotated through 4 QBs so far this season and the most effective by far has been Zack Greenlee who has started 4 games for the Bulldogs this season and put up 13 TDs and 3 INTs. The Bulldogs have struggled with overall consistency this year mostly coming from a struggle to complete passes. Their OL has plenty of experience with the five big guys up front combining for 114 career starts.
As mentioned above, there have been some issues at the QB position. The Bulldogs have had to deal with injuries and off-the-field suspensions and their position has turned into a carousel with at least four passers having attempted at least 30 passes on the season. The most talented QB so far has been Zack Greenlee who’s been a scoring threat in his limited playing time this season. Kilton Anderson is another QB who’s gotten a lot of time and he is more of a dual-threat QB, he’s put up 142 rushing yds on 37 carries and adding 3 TDs as well as 570 yds passing and 2 TDs to 5 INTs, if he see’s PT it is expected that he’s most dangerous running the ball.
Marteze Waller is a very talented running back who has put up some big numbers as the Bulldogs have ridden his coat tails throughout the season. Running the read option, he’s put up 761 yds on 183 carries and 4 TDs. He’ll average right around 76 YPG which is nice for an offense to rely on.
Fresno has a receiving core that hasn’t put up a ton of big numbers, Jamire Jordan leads the group by far with 434 yds and 5 TDs and is the best deep threat for the Bulldogs. They also have used Josiah Blandin as a RZ threat as he’s put up 9.9 YPC but 5 TDs. The Bulldogs will spread the ball around and make short, easy throws and try to move the ball in small chunks of yardage.
The Bulldogs have a great core of OL who have a lot of experience. They have three seniors up front who have combined for 102 career starts at the three most important positions, LT, RT, and C. The big boys up front have only given up 20 sacks on the season among a rotating carousel of QBs which creates issues with chemistry and understanding of how they play. BYU will have a challenge matching up against experienced OL who have had long tenures at Fresno State.
2015 Team Stats:
Points Scored Per Game: 27.6
Rushing Yardage: 1341
Receiving Yardage: 1768
Passing Yardage: 1768
Total Offense: 4877
Fumbles: 14
Recovered: 7
Lost: 7
Interceptions: 13
Sacks Allowed: 20 (-136 yds)
First Downs: 170
Rushing: 73
Passing: 79
Penalty: 18
Third Down Conversion: 56/149 (38%)
Fourth Down Conversion: 8/25 (32%)
Penalties: 50 (-411 yds)
Red Zone Efficiency: 17/25 (68%)
Red Zone TDs: 14/25 (56%)
PAT Attempts: 26/28 (93%)
Individual Stats:
2015 Season
QB Zack Greenlee: 60/115 for 741 yds, 13 TDs and 3 INTs, 22 carries for 18 yds; QB Kilton Anderson: 55/117 for 570 yds, 2 TDs and 5 INTs, 37 carries for 142 yds and 3 TDs; RB Marteze Waller: 183 carries for 761 yds and 4 TDs, 16 catches for 139 yds and 2 TDs; WR Jamire Jordan: 34 catches for 434 yds and 5 TDs; WR KeeSean Johnson: 32 catches for 282 yds, 2 TDs; WR Josiah Blandin: 20 receptions for 199 yds and 5 TDs; WR Da’Mari Scott: 19 catches for 306 yds and 3 TDs;
Defense:
Fresno State will run a 3-4 defense with the strength up front and it getting weaker layer by layer. The Bulldogs have 27 sacks so far on the season because of the tenacity of their DL but they will really struggle against the pass. BYU should match up favorably with a healthy OL and a deep group of WRs.
The Bulldogs are headlined up front by Claudell Louis and Todd Hunt who’ve combined for 7 sacks and 10.5 TFL on the season.
The Bulldogs best player on defense is in the LB core, Ejiro Ederaine who has 84 tackles on the season with 14 TFL and 8 sacks. He’ll be all over the field for the Bulldogs wreaking havoc against the Cougar defense.
Fresno State is very weak in the secondary. There has been a lot of miscommunication which has caused them to struggle against the pass. Tanner should be able to pick apart the Bulldogs defense and have plenty of big plays.
2015 Team Stats:
Points Allowed Per Game: 37.1
Turnover Ratio: 22:15
Forced Fumbles: 14
Fumbles Recovered: 7
Interceptions: 8
Sacks: 27 (-166 yds)
TFL: 55 (-239 yds)
QBH: 10
PBU: 29
INTs: 8 (156 yds, 1 TD)
TDs allowed: 44
Rushing: 27
Passing: 17
First Downs Allowed: 227
Rushing: 121
Passing: 95
Penalty: 11
Third Down Conversion: 78/158 (49%)
Fourth Down Conversion: 14/22 (64%)
Red Zone Efficiency: 33/40 (82%)
Red Zone TDs: 29/40 (73%)
PAT Attempts: 48/50 (96%)
Key Defensive Players:
2015 Season
LB Ejiro Ederaine: 84 tackles, 14 TFL, 8 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 2 QBH; LB Jeff Camilli: 71 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 2 PBU; LB Kyrie Wilson: 58 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 QBH, 1 FF; CB Tyquwan Glass: 51 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 3 INT, 4 PBU; CB Shannon Edwards: 48 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 TD; DE Claudell Louis: 45 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FR; DE Todd Hunt: 42 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QBH, 1 FR; LB James Bailey: 40 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 QH, 1 FR; CB Jamal Ellis: 36 tackles, 3 TFL, 7 PBU, 1 FR;
