Coming off a victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack by a slim 34-32 score on Saturday night, the ‘Dogs have an even tougher task coming their way.
The now bowl-eligible Fresno State Bulldogs have to go down south for the second time this year, as they take on the undefeated San Diego State Aztecs to see who will walk away with the Big Oil Can Trophy.
The showdown will be at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California — SDSU’s seasonal residence until their stadium gets completed next season.
The No. 21 Aztecs are coming off a 20-14 win over Air Force, who at the time was 6-1, and are looking to stay in the top 25 and keep their record intact.
The Bulldogs are a team that plays at a fast pace driving the ball down the field and putting up points quite easily on most defenses.
With big throws from quarterback Jake Haener to his talented core of wide receivers, as well as the running backs Jordan Mims and Ronnie Rivers breaking off long yardage runs on the way to the endzone.
After a lower-leg injury in last week’s game, it is unclear whether Rivers would be healthy to play against San Diego State. Fresno State coaches said they are monitoring the situation, but if Rivers is able to play Saturday, he will.
The play style of the Aztecs is the opposite, however, as they want to control the game by methodically using time on their drives, chewing up the clock to slow the game down, and controlling it at the pace they want.
Bulldogs head coach Kalen DeBoer knows that all possessions for the offense will be crucial, and they will need to be productive with them in trying to put points on the board.
“You know, you give up the football and you might not get it back for another seven or eight minutes and so you got to take advantage of your possessions. The game’s going to go faster. It’s going to be shrunk down,” DeBoer said. “You know, so every time you take a snap, especially on offense, you got to make the most of it.”
Even with the great offense that Fresno State bolsters, it is going to be tough to convert on key downs such as third down as the Aztecs defense ranks second in the conference in third-down conversion percentage.
They are also unwilling to let teams score on them easily as they are seventh in scoring defense in the Mountain West, only giving up 15 points a game to opponents.
The ‘Dogs’ offense needs to get going early and put points on the board or it is going to be a tough night for them putting the ball into the end zone.
“In the end, we want to dictate you know offensively really what we want to be… we got the thing heading in the right direction as far as what it’s going to take to win a football game like this,” DeBoer said.
In a game where they could be without star running back Rivers, there is still much confidence in what Jordan Mims brings to the table after a special career night in the win against Nevada.
Mims rushed a career-high 23 times and accounted for 134 yards on the ground and a touchdown, also adding four receptions for 20 yards and an additional receiving touchdown.
The Mountain West offensive player of the week recorded his first multi-score game since 2018.
On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs defense will look to stop the running attack for the Aztecs who are led by Greg Bell, who has a total of 603 rushing yards and averages 86 yards a game on the season and five touchdowns to go along with it.
Backfield mate Chance Bell has 204 total rushing yards on the year and three touchdowns as well.
The Bulldogs defense is going to need to come up with another one of their timely forced fumbles as they are No. 3 in the FBS in forced fumbles with nine on the year.
The quarterback duo for San Diego State will also tuck the ball and run, with Jordon Brookshire totaling 107 rushing yards and four touchdowns and Lucas Johnson gaining 89 rushing yards on the season.
Which Aztec quarterback the ‘Dogs defense will see on Saturday is a toss-up as both have played throughout the season, with Johnson playing in the last game against Air Force.
Both can throw the ball efficiently as Brookshire has thrown for 521 yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson on the other hand has thrown for 306 yards and four touchdowns, each with only one interception on the season.
San Diego State special teams are going to be something to look out for as Aztec punter Matt Araiza is one of the best punters in the country and has pinned opponents back deep to start drives.
Punting 86 and 81-yard punts in the last two games and averaging 54 yards on the season.
With the Bulldogs looking to stay in the hunt in the Mountain West and ruin the Aztecs’ undefeated season, they will need to dictate the game tempo and put points on the board early and often.
They look to take on the tough challenge of going down to the LA area for the second time and beating their second-ranked opponent on the season this Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Carson.