Triple threat. Three amigos. Trilogy. Three-headed monster.

Call the group of Fresno State running backs any nickname you like, but Lonyae Miller, Anthony Harding and Ryan Mathews made life really tough on the Idaho defense Saturday night.

Or they made life really easy for Fresno State̢۪s offense.

The Bulldog offense rushed for 318 yards against Idaho, the second straight week Fresno State has rushed for more than 300 yards.

As a group, the running backs averaged 10.7 yards per carry while the passing game averaged 5.4 per attempt.

But that shouldn̢۪t have come as a surprise to anybody.

“It’s just our personality; we’re Bulldog football,â€Â Harding said. “We’re always run first and people know that.â€Â

With the spread offense craze sweeping the nation, Fresno State has stuck to the same plan. Rain, shine or 11 defenders at the line of scrimmage, Fresno State is going to run the football.

Of course the Vandals knew that coming in. There wasn̢۪t any trickery with the scheme.

“The power [run play] is still the power,â€Â coach Pat Hill said.

It has been the same power play since before the invention of the face mask. The Idaho defense just could not keep up with the talent of the running back corps.

“We got so much versatility,â€Â Miller said. “I got the speed, Anthony is smart, he’s versatile and Ryan Mathews – he’s just a hell of an athlete.â€Â

The three tailbacks all have the ability to break off long runs at a moment̢۪s notice and that almost worked against the Bulldogs on Saturday night.

The offense scored too quickly and kept the defense on the field for almost 35 minutes of the game. The running game could not run out the clock – they just kept scoring.

“It’s the same thing that happened to us in 2001, we scored too quick in a couple games,â€Â Hill said.

But in 2001, it was a Heisman candidate and eventual No. 1 overall draft choice, quarterback David Carr, who was scoring too quickly.

Carr became a legend at Fresno State for his 500-yard passing games and his 50-touchdown senior season.

Now it is the stable of running backs that have to keep themselves from scoring.

“That is just hunger,â€Â Miller said. “Being in a committee running back offense, you really don’t get that many touches. Every opportunity you get, you gotta try to take it to the zone.â€Â

Harding rushed for 94 yards on the night and Mathews added 57 yards. Miller led the team with 181 yards rushing, including a 90-yard run in the third quarter.

Miller ran hard for all 90 of those yards and looked to be accelerating the whole way through the checkered end zone, barely stopping before crashing the band̢۪s party in the north end zone.

“Ain’t nobody in college football that can catch [Miller],â€Â Harding said with Miller sitting right next him.
“When he puts that head back, it’s a wrap.â€Â

The group thrives off its versatility and uses the change of pace to its advantage.

“When you get all three of us in the game it is pretty hard to stop us,â€Â Miller said. “You really don’t know what to expect.â€Â

Everyone should know what to expect by now. Fresno State is going to continue running the football against any opponent.

And Miller, Harding and Mathews are going to have a tough time staying out of the end zone.