Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter got in the film room Saturday morning, beginning the Bulldogs’ preparation for Friday’s nationally televised Mountain West Conference opener against Boise State at Bulldog Stadium.
Quarterback Derek Carr also got a head start at looking at film on the Broncos soon after Fresno State players were informed Friday afternoon that their game against Colorado was postponed due to massive flooding in Boulder.
Free safety Derron Smith and the Bulldogs defensive backs met up Friday evening and watched Boise State’s 42-20 win over Air Force.
That is one positive for Fresno State after not competing in a game last week: there is more time to prepare and replenish for the conference opponent that arguably poses the greatest obstacle between the Bulldogs and another Mountain West Championship.
“That Friday afternoon, as soon as they told us we weren’t going to go to Colorado, I went upstairs and started watching film,” Carr said. “I’ll have a full seven days to prepare for [Boise State]. I’m very excited about that.”
Added Smith: “We should be a lot healthier. We had a few guys who were dinged up from the Cal Poly game, offensively and defensively — especially with the way Cal Poly was cutting us. It’s going to be good to get these extra days in.”
The Bulldogs, for the first time since 1986, will start the season with three straight home games.
Friday’s matchup could be a preview of this year’s Mountain West Championship game on Dec. 7. Fresno State and Boise State were picked as the preseason favorites to win West and Mountain Divisions, respectively.
“They’ve been the standard bearer in whatever league they’ve been in the past 10 years or so,” DeRuyter said of the Broncos.
“We talked about winning a championship here. … If you want to be the champ, you have to knock the champ out.”
Players met with coaches Saturday for game plan installation and practiced in full pads on Sunday.Fresno State, unlike the usual time frame leading up to a Friday game, will not be affected by a “short” week of practices
The downside for the Bulldogs, however, is not having the experience of another game under their belt.
“On the plus side, we have some guys that are bumped and bruised, and to give them some extra time off has really helped,” DeRuyter said.
“On the negative side, you like playing. … We’ve got some things we want to see if we can improve on, specifically our vertical passdefense, third-and-short run game. We didn’t get a chance to address that this weekend. It is what it is so you make the best of it.”
Bulldogs ranked 25th in USA Today poll
Fresno State enters its matchup against Boise State nationally ranked for the first time since 2008. The Bulldogs are ranked 25th in this week’s USA Today’s Coaches Poll.
The Bulldogs benefited from Nebraska, Wisconsin and TCU losses this weekend — all of whom were dropped from the polls on Sunday.
Fresno State remained 27th in the AP Top 25 poll, receiving 27 votes. Boise State is unranked in both polls, though received nine combined votes.
“If we were having this conversation in December, I’d be very happy,” DeRuyter said. “But right now, it’s just something that’s a nice feather in your cap. It’s nice for the fans to talk about, but it’s something that our players aren’t concerned about.”
