The conference slate of the Fresno State football team’s schedule commences Friday, when the Bulldogs travel to New Mexico to take on the Lobos in the Mountain West opener.
The Lobos run the triple option, a scheme that consists of various moving parts and misdirection in the backfield that the Bulldogs must counter.
“We’re playing a team that is really playing efficiently offensively,” Bulldogs head coach Tim DeRuyter said. “You can tell they’re in the third year of their system, and they’ve made great strides offensively. They’re putting a lot of pressure on people with their triple option.
“It’s a different scheme you have to get used to, and it’s tough with a short week to do that but that’s our challenge this week. We’re excited for a great contest between two teams in the league. For us, the season starts this week and our job is to go 1-0 this week.”
For Bulldogs captain and free safety Derron Smith, who will be playing the Lobos for the third time in his career, defending New Mexico’s offense is complicated and can cause problems. Proper discipline and technique is needed.
“It’s extremely difficult [to defend],” Smith said. “It’s definitely one of the games that I don’t look forward to because they run an offense that is hard to prepare for.
“We in the secondary definitely need to have our eyes right, and we’ve struggled with that at times this year. As players, we need to hold each other accountable and play disciplined in our technique.”
Because of its success running the ball, UNM rarely passes the football. The Lobos’ rushing attack ranks third in the country with an average of 394.7 yards per contest. Leading the prolific run game is junior Cole Gautsche with 237 yards and two touchdowns this season on 20 carries. Just behind Gautsche is running back Jhurell Pressley with 215 yards.
Offensively, DeRuyter said the Bulldogs must get off to a hot start in order to establish some identity on the road, something they still have yet to do this season. In the previous four games, the Bulldogs have managed to put up a total of two points in the first quarters combined.
“On the road, you have to create your own momentum,” DeRuyter said. “We need to do some things defensively or on special teams to spark our offense. Hopefully, we can generate some things offensively to get into a rhythm and play faster because that’s ultimately when we play our best.”
Last season, the Bulldogs shut down the Lobos’ option attack en route to a 69-28 win.
Third-year head coach Bob Davie’s squad is coming off a last minute 38-35 victory over in-state rival New Mexico State. Just like the Bulldogs, last week’s win marked the first for the Lobos.
The Bulldogs are 1-3 on the year but they are aware that their goals of winning a third-straight championship are still in reach. Despite the beatings they encountered in the first three games of the season.
“A lot of the guys understand that conference play starts this week, so obviously we still have all our goals ahead of us,” Smith said. “It starts this week, and we’ll definitely remind each other but everybody understands the magnitude of this week.”
Friday’s conference opener is set for 5 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.