Graphic by Brandon Ocegueda / The Collegian
Fresno State will travel to Nevada this Saturday for the battle of the last two undefeated teams in the Western Athletic Conference. The Wolf Pack (3-3, 1-0 WAC) and the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-0 WAC) will meet for the 42nd time in what has become much more than a regular-conference meeting for both teams.
The Bulldogs are fighting for sole possession of first place in the WAC, as well as recruiting authority in the Central Valley. Since Chris Ault returned for his second term as head coach of Nevada, the Wolf Pack have taken their share of high school football players from the talent pool in Fresno’s backyard.
Among those are three of Nevada’s four running backs in sophomore Stefphon Jefferson, senior Lampford Mark and freshman Kendall Brock. These three have helped Nevada average 248.8 yards per game on the ground and have combined for six of the Wolf Pack’s 13 rushing touchdowns so far this season.
“Nevada does a good job recruiting the Valley and they get good players out of the Valley,” head coach Pat Hill said after his Monday press conference. “All three of those running backs are very good players. We looked at them all right out of high school and thought they were really good.”
Things have not panned out well for Fresno State recently, possibly why it has translated to its performance on the field against the Wolf Pack since the ‘Dogs have lost the last three games.
The all-time series has gone in Fresno State’s favor 24-16-1 and this will be the final game between the schools as WAC members. The WAC rivals will be making the jump to the Mountain West Conference next season.
Although both teams are undefeated in conference play heading into this weekend’s game, Hill is keeping the same mantra that was used against Utah State.
“We’re taking on the same slogan we had last week,” Hill said. “We’ve just got to be 1-0 this week. We’re not worried about anything else. Just going to Nevada and winning a game against a team the last two weeks that has been pretty darn good on offense.”
The Wolf Pack have improved their play in back-to-back home wins against UNLV and New Mexico after losing to Boise State 30-10 three weeks ago.
Nevada will look to catch the ‘Dogs off guard with a couple formations with multiple running backs leading the way.
Those running backs include the Central Valley’s trio that will be on the opposing sideline on Saturday when Fresno State crosses the California-Nevada border.
“It depends on who has the needs,” Hill said. “We’ve had times where we don’t recruit a couple kids because we don’t have a need at that position. There’s been some times we didn’t recruit a kid because we’ve had someone higher on our board. It all works that way.”
A good reason Fresno State hasn’t felt too many negative effects of missing out on multiple Valley talents is because it landed a San Diego recruit named Robbie Rouse, who is leading the Bulldogs’ ground game. The 5-foot-7, 185-pound junior has rushed for 812 yards for five touchdowns on the season. With Rouse being recruited to be a Bulldog, Hill talked about not being able to bring every player to Fresno State.
“You can’t take them all,” Hill said. “They were great players in high school. I knew every one of them. I met every one of them personally and they’re great kids. I wish them the best of luck.”
Despite facing a handful of Central Valley talent on Saturday in Mackay Stadium, Hill and company are focused much more on taking sole control of the WAC.
“Winning against a team like Nevada, who recruits here is an important win,” Hill said.