In what could be a display of offensive firepower between Fresno State and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the ’Dogs will lean heavily on their offensive attack.

As head coach Tim DeRuyter and the Bulldogs prepare to go on the road against a tough opponent in Tulsa, the ’Dogs will focus on honing in their up-tempo offense.

“They’re big, physical, coached very well by Brent Guy, an excellent defensive coach,” DeRuyter said.

Heading to Oklahoma next weekend, Fresno State will concentrate on applying speed and aggression to the Golden Hurricane’s defensive unit. Tulsa, which plays in Conference USA, will be a difficult opponent for the ’Dogs.

“They’re one of the top offenses in the country. They do a great job of running the football while still being balanced. They’re very difficult to prepare for,” DeRuyter said.

On the road the Bulldogs have struggled. Against fourth-ranked Oregon, the ’Dogs fought tough but still fell short. Playing in Tulsa will be no different. Fresno State will need to continue to improve.

“It’s a process that will help carry over. Any time a new staff comes in you have a different system when you travel. We try to get most of our work done here before Friday when we go on the road. This trip, obviously, going a couple of time zones away is going to be a little bit early,” DeRuyter said.

In last week’s swift victory over Colorado, the Bulldogs grabbed four interceptions on defense, two of them returned for touchdowns by safety Phillip Thomas. Fresno State’s defense was solid in their second home game and will look to play strong Saturday.

“It was a great game for him, great game for our defense,” outside linebacker Shawn Plummer said. “I’m glad for him and he deserved everything that he got honor-wise over the weekend. But he’s not done yet as far as this season.”

Oklahoma brings offensive weapons in senior running back Alex Singleton and redshirt junior quarterback Cody Green. The Golden Hurricane is talented in all the skill positions and Fresno State will have a hard time containing Tulsa’s offense.

“They’ve got a former Big-12 quarterback starting for them now in Cody Green, who’s 6-foot-4, about 245 pounds. He’s a load. They got a couple of excellent backs as well as some good receivers,” DeRuyter said.

“It’s more of a team speed. They’ve got two running backs that can run really well. They’ve got a couple of receivers that can run really well. Their offensive line runs really well, too,” defensive coordinator Nick Toth added.

The Golden Hurricane also bring a physical element to the playing field as Tulsa’s defense ranks first in the nation in sacks. Defensive coordinator Brent Guy gives a leadership presence to the Golden Hurricane’s defense and Tulsa will look to test Fresno State’s offense.

“Defensively, I believe their leading the country in sacks right now. They also create a ton of minus yards per play,” DeRuyter said.

“We have to execute the plays that we have to run versus the speed of their defense,” Bulldogs offensive coordinator Dave Schramm added.

The Bulldogs offense will continue to run its up-tempo schemes to match not only the speed of Tulsa’s defense, but also keep up with its offense. In what will undoubtedly be a high-scoring game, Fresno State will try to remain strong in both its offensive and defensive schemes.

“This week we got an upgraded opponent with Tulsa coming up. Bill Blakenship (head coach) has done a great job continuing what Todd Graham had done before. I think that our guys are going to get some valuable experience from this that would hopefully carry us through the season,” DeRuyter said. “We’re looking forward to a great week of preparation.”