Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter said earlier in the week that BYU was a much better team athletically and physically than the Bulldogs and that proved to be the case in Saturday’s 52-10 blowout loss to the Cougars in Provo, Utah.
The ‘Dogs (3-8) hung in early on as the score was tied 3-3 heading into the second quarter, but then the Cougars exploded for 49 straight points.
“I thought coming out today we completed well,” DeRuyter said. “When the score gets away from you a little bit, it becomes tough.”
After last week’s six-touchdown, breakout performance at Hawaii, sophomore quarterback Zack Greenlee couldn’t move the ball against BYU’s stout defense. Greenlee completed just 14-of-41 passes for 125 yards and three interceptions, which all led to touchdowns for the Cougars.
“We knew it was going to be a step up in competition [from last week],” DeRuyter said “This is a much better football team playing here in Provo. They have some big, physical players on defense. They did what we thought they were going to do. They pressured [Greenlee]. They mixed things up, and they confused him a couple times with some disguises.
“Every week is going to be a challenge. We didn’t think it was going to be a walk in the park by any stretch, but we have to make progress from this.”
Freshman quarterback Tanner Mangum led the BYU offense, throwing for 336 yards and a touchdown as the Cougars’ offense put together 520 total yards on the afternoon.
The Bulldogs head into Saturday’s season finale against Colorado State (6-5) in a tie for second-to-last place in the West Division. Saturday also marks Senior Night in which 18 seniors will be playing in their final game at Bulldog Stadium.
“You have to learn to just keep fighting,” DeRuyter said. “You have to learn to make good decisions because if you don’t, you’re going to end up on the wrong end of things. It’s always tough, particularly on seniors when they’re getting down to the last couple games. We’ve challenged them.
“We blew this opportunity, but they have one more to leave this season with a decent taste in their mouth. We’re going to fight like hell come Monday to have a great gameplan and work to send these seniors out the right way.”
