The Fresno State football team’s struggles continue as it nears the final month of the season.
Coming into the bye week with a 2-6 overall record and 1-4 in the Mountain West, the team has dropped away from what many thought would be a promising year. Coming into this season, the Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the West Division. However, with four games remaining, they stand second-to-last in the division.
The team has not finished below .500 since the 2011 season and has only lost a combined five conference games the past three seasons.
Offense looking to establish rhythm with fourth quarterback at the helm
One key factor that has contributed to the team’s struggles this season is the lack of consistency at the quarterback position. Entering 2015, the team had no idea who the starter was going to be with a four-man competition going on in fall camp.
Early in the season, it started off as a two-man duel between freshman Chason Virgil and sophomore Zack Greenlee, but two season-ending injuries at the position have left the ‘Dogs with their fourth option — redshirt freshman Kilton Anderson.
The quarterback position on a team with a history of good signal callers has been a key disappointment. Since Derek Carr’s departure, Fresno State has used six different quarterbacks with none of those choices being a clear No. 1. The ‘Dogs rank second-to-last this season in quarterback rating at 104.2, only above Hawaii.
Now with what seems to be a more consistent option in Anderson, the ‘Dogs hope they can improve at that position, not only for the remainder of this season but for years to come.
Defense allowing 40.8 points per game this season
Another unit on the team that has struggled to find its identity for the last few seasons is the defense. After allowing 458 yards on the ground alone this past weekend to Air Force, the ‘Dogs now rank 104th in the nation among all FBS Division I schools in total yards allowed. That total includes the 239.1 yards per game they have allowed to opposing rushing attacks, which ranks 118th in the nation among the 128 qualifying teams.
Even back in the 2013 season when the ‘Dogs were striving for a BCS bowl, the defense ranked 96th in the nation in yards allowed per game. The defense is a key improvement that the coaching staff will have to work on in the final four games of this season if they want to contend for a bowl game.
With matchups against three Mountain West teams with .500 records or below, the slate is open for the ‘Dogs to finish strong this season. Matchups include a matchup with 4-4 Nevada following the bye week, a visit to last-place Hawaii in two weeks followed by another road game at BYU and a season-ending game against Colorado State.
The defense again will be a key factor next Thursday as the Wolf Pack runs an option offense similar to that of Air Force which just torched Fresno State for 586 yards of total offense last weekend.
