Fresno State Football: Week 9 Preview

Fresno State Bulldogs (5-2, 4-0 WAC) vs. Boise State Broncos (6-1, 3-0 WAC)

Game Day: Tonight, 6 p.m., at Bulldog Stadium
Television: ESPN2 (Comcast Channel 33)
Radio: KMJ-AM 580 and KGST-AM 1600 (ESPN Deportes)
Pre-game Show: ESPN Game Day Live (KFIG-AM 1430) at 3 p.m.

Bulldogs̢۪ Three Keys to Victory:
1) Keep the pressure on Tharp. Boise̢۪s quarterback has been having his way with opposing pass defenses. Jon Monga and Tyler Clutts will need to get in his face and collapse the pocket.
2) Trick or Treat? Chris Peterson has started to gain a reputation of pulling out school-yard football plays. The Bulldogs defense needs to stay to their assignments and not let the trick plays develop.
3) In the words of my predecessor, former sports editor Jeff Christian, “don’t believe the hype.â€Â Having a nationally televised game is nice, but doesn’t mean anything. What matters is playing a solid game on the field. Outside factors need to be ignored.

Running with the Broncos…
Last Week: Beat Louisiana Tech 45-31
2006 Record: 13-0, 8-0 WAC (1st)
Head Coach: Chris Peterson (Second Season)
Offense: Multiple
Defense: Multiple
Key Players: RB Jeremy Avery, WR Jeremy Childs, LB Kyle Gingg
Series Record: Boise State leads 5-4
Last Meeting: 2006 – Boise State won 45-21 in Boise

Position Match-ups
When Fresno State Runs: Fresno State
No one has been able to find the answer to stopping Miller and Mathews.

When Boise State Runs: Fresno State
Loss of Johnson hurts the Broncos. Avery will have lots of pressure.

When Fresno State Passes: Boise State
Brandstater has yet to really stretch out the passing game. Marty Tadman is a force to be reckoned with.

When Boise State Passes: Boise State
Tharp had five touchdown passes last week. He can tear apart opposing secondaries.

When Fresno State Kicks: Fresno State
Zimmerman is the WAC̢۪s top punter and Stitser has been nailing his kicks recently.

When Boise State Kicks: Fresno State
Jefferson and Smith give the Bulldogs great field position on kick returns.

Breakdown: Bulldogs
The stage has been set for Fresno State: a four-game winning streak, national exposure and a match-up with the five-time conference champions. The only thing left to do for the Bulldogs is show everyone that they are for real.

Tonight’s game is a turning point in the season for the Bulldogs. This game determines if the ‘Dogs are serious contenders for a conference title.

It seems that everything is clicking into place for Fresno. But the road to the championship goes through its arch-rival, the Boise State Broncos. As Pat Hill says, to be the best you have to beat the best. Friday̢۪s contest should be quite a show.

Offense:
̢ۢ The ground game continues to be the cornerstone of the Bulldogs̢۪ offense. Ryan Mathews moved into fourth in the conference in rushing last weekend with his 144-yard, two touchdown performance. Mathews is the top freshman running back in the nation with nine scores. His counterpart, Lonyae Miller, suffered a knee injury last weekend, but will play tonight.
̢ۢ Tom Brandstater continues to keep the offense moving, but has been overthrowing his receivers as of late. He will be up against the WAC̢۪s No. 1-ranked defense tonight. Brandstater will need to get Bear Pascoe involved early and establish the passing game.
̢ۢ Offensive guard Cole Popovich is back on the line tonight for the first time in five games after sitting out with a knee injury. This gives the Bulldogs a huge boost with his veteran presence and ability to open holes in the running game.

Defense:
̢ۢ The absence of Boise State̢۪s Ian Johnson is a huge gain for the Bulldogs, but this does not make their task easier. The Broncos have the second-best scoring offense in the conference.
̢ۢ Putting pressure on Taylor Tharp is imperative. Lately, Fresno State has been letting opposing quarterbacks break free on runs out of the pocket. This needs to be stopped.
̢ۢ As many saw in last season̢۪s Fiesta Bowl, Boise State is known for pulling out trick plays quite often. The Bulldogs will need to be on the lookout for this and stay at home on defense.

Special Teams:
̢ۢ Punter Kyle Zimmerman is the best punter in the conference with a 42.6-yard average.
̢ۢ A.J. Jefferson is the nation̢۪s top kick returner. He and Clifton Smith could provide some fireworks on special teams.

Breakdown: Broncos
Last season̢۪s Cinderella team finally lost its glass slipper with a week two loss to Washington. However, the Boise State Broncos have rebounded nicely with five consecutive wins. Coming off of a Fiesta Bowl victory a season ago, the Broncos are looking to keep the ball rolling.

Chris Peterson̢۪s squad is the five-time defending conference champions and shows no signs of slowing down. The Broncos have won 42 of their last 43 conference games. That one loss came against the Bulldogs in 2005 at Fresno.

Offense:
̢ۢ Star running back Ian Johnson is out for tonight̢۪s game with a bruised kidney. Stepping in for him is redshirt freshman Jeremy Avery. Last weekend, Avery rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown against Louisiana Tech. He also gained 79 yards receiving with a score. Avery has four touchdowns on the year with 383 yards, while averaging 54 yards per game.
̢ۢ Anchoring the Bronco offense is fifth-year senior quarterback Taylor Tharp. Too bad he was a backup for three years. Tharp has 1,857 yards passing and 18 touchdowns. He is averaging 265.3 yards per game and is No. 1 in the conference with a 157.3 passer rating.
̢ۢ Tharp̢۪s favorite target is sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Childs. He has 679 yards receiving and eight touchdown catches.

Defense:
̢ۢ The Broncos̢۪ defensive unit is tops in the conference, only allowing 322.6 total yards per game. Anchoring the defense is junior linebacker Kyle Gingg. He leads the Broncos with 52 total tackles this season.
̢ۢ Senior safety Marty Tadman is a force to be reckoned with. He might be used for man-to-man coverage on Pascoe. Tadman has 14 career interceptions.