Matt Weir / The Collegian Online

After suffering a mild concussion in Saturday’s 52-14 loss at Nevada, Fresno State tailback Ryan Mathews has been ruled out for this week’s game against Louisiana Tech.

Mathews was supposed to be evaluated by team doctors on Tuesday and coach Pat Hill believed his star running back would be good to go for Saturday’s game.

“We are pleased with the progress Ryan is making, but after discussions with our medical team, we all agree it’s in Ryan’s best interest not to play this weekend,” Hill said in a news release. “We will take every precaution to make sure he’s healthy before putting him back on the field. Based on how he’s responding at this point, we expect that he will be able to return to practice as early as next week and should be completely healthy for the Illinois game (Dec. 5).”

Mathews currently leads the nation in rushing, averaging 149 yards per game with 14 touchdowns and is a semi-finalist for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s top running back.

He is one score shy of tying former Bulldog Ron Rivers on top of Fresno State’s all-time rushing touchdowns list.

Filling in for Mathews will be seniors Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding.

Miller ranks third on the team with 276 yards rushing this season, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

After leading the team in rushing a year ago, Harding has slipped on the depth chart and only has 14 carries for the Bulldogs in 2009.