Running back Robbie Rouse has managed to stay relatively healthy
this season, but plenty of Bulldogs are using this off weekend
to nurse ailing injuries and recuperate.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

After 12 straight weeks of football with two top-10 teams on the schedule in No. 10 Nebraska and No. 5 Boise State, including last week’s 45-38 loss to Western Athletic Conference rival Nevada, Fresno State can finally catch its breath before its next game at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 5.

Head coach Pat Hill is in his 15th season as the face of the Bulldog program and will need his ‘Dogs to win four of their final five games to become bowl eligible.

“We get a head start on La Tech, but we also need time off,” head coach Pat Hill said at his weekly press conference. “We’ve had 12 straight weeks of football and we need a little time off.”

This bye week has come at an opportune time for Fresno State because it gives the team the opportunity to rest injured bodies and catch up on schoolwork before a full practice schedule slated for next week.

Junior running back Robbie Rouse agreed having this extra time has allowed his teammates to get their bodies’ ready for the rest of the WAC schedule and a late-season date with San Diego State.

“We’ve played a lot of great teams and eight weeks back-to-back is no joke,” Rouse said. “So just this bye week is a good week for us to get a lot of schoolwork done, get our bodies fresh and get that extra week to prepare for Louisiana Tech.”

And the rest is much needed since the ‘Dogs are sitting on a 3-5 record and have stumbled out to their worst start in half a decade. Losing last week to Nevada may have slashed Fresno State’s chances at an outright WAC championship before moving to the Mountain West Conference next season.

But the Bulldogs must rest and not get ahead of themselves during the bye week. Passing game coordinator Jeff Grady feels the team has grown due to eight straight weeks of practice and games.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Grady has mentioned
that the unit has more cohesion under Carr, but
room to grow.
Dalton Runberg / The Collegian

“There is more cohesiveness, but it is still a work in progress,” Grady said. “The bye week will help. The guys will get some freshness back. We’ll practice and work on the little things to try to iron out some details.”

And the fine details are what have been hurting the ‘Dogs, who have lost three of their past four games against Nevada, Mississippi and Boise State.

This season, the ‘Dogs have only converted 35 percent of their third downs, while defensively allowing their opponents to successfully convert on third down 42 percent of the time, or 50 conversions on 120 attempts.

While the offense hopes correct the miscues before its next competition next Saturday at Bulldog Stadium, Grady is confident the unit will improve more than it has after this week’s breath of fresh air.

Rouse has helped this young offense get to where it is with just more than half of the season in the books. He has already gained over 1,000 yards and punched in seven touchdowns to provide some consistency to a unit that has several first-time starters.

“We need to take advantage of more of our drives,” Rouse said. “We need to execute and be more perfect on offense.”