Game Preview: Fresno State vs Rice

By Eddie Hughes

Bulldogs

Quarterbacks

Sophomore Paul Pinegar sparked the Fresno State offense two weeks ago against Hawaii, but it wasn’t enough for a Bulldogs victory. Pinegar threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions—a promising sign for the offense. The Bulldogs should be able to finally throw for more than 300 yards against the Rice defense.

Running Backs

The running game hasn’t suffered a bit since sophomore Dwayne Wright took over for Rodney Davis. Wright has 500 yards this season and averages 5.8 yards per carry. Now the Bulldogs go into the easier half of the schedule. Sophomore Bryson Sumlin is the second-leading rusher with 273 yards.

Receivers

Bernard Berrian is one of the nation’s most talented receivers, but the stats don’t show it. He averages just 40.7 yards a game. Berrian is the only wide receiver with a touchdown catch this season—he has three of them. Marque Davis had two catches for three yards against Hawaii. If Berrian and Davis break out, it could turn the Bulldogs’ offense into a force.

Offensive Line

Hawaii had five sacks against the Bulldogs—just when it appeared the young line was starting to play like veterans. Tackle Chris Denman made his first start against Hawaii in place of injured Matt Stevenson. At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Denman is the team’s smallest lineman.

Defensive Line

Stopping Rice starts here. The Bulldogs will rely on the front seven to slow the Rice option attack. Ends Brian Morris, Garrett McIntyre and Claude Sanders have to be ready for the option coming outside of the tackles.

Linebackers

Bryce McGill’s 46 tackles lead the team. He’s likely to get a few more of those Saturday against the one-dimensional Rice offense. Todd Garcia had 14 tackles against the Owls last season. Expect him to see plenty of time Saturday.

Defensive Backs

Safeties James Sanders and Dee Meza are likely to play a larger role against Rice than cornerbacks Raymond Washington and Awan Diles, considering it’s not often that Rice passes. Sanders led the team with 11 tackles against Hawaii and is second on the team with 42 this season.

Special Teams

Brett Visintainer is 7 of 11 on field goals this season and has not missed an extra-point attempt. Redshirt freshman punter Mike Lingua averages 38.7 yards per punt.

Coaching

Coming off of two straight losses, coach Pat Hill has a shot to pick up his 50th win since taking the job in 1997. Under Hill, the Bulldogs are 34-15 in the WAC and 33-5 at home.

Intangibles

The Bulldogs are 4-0 all-time against Rice and have scored 47 and 52 points, respectively, in two previous home match-ups with the Owls.

Owls

Quarterbacks

Junior Greg Henderson took over for incumbent starter Kyle Herm when Herm broke two ribs in the season opener against Houston. Henderson has completed just 47 percent of his passes for 367 yards, but has rushed for 440 yards and five touchdowns. He is sixth in the WAC in rushing yards.

Edge: Bulldogs

Running Backs

Rice doesn’t come at teams with just one back, but sophomore Thomas Lott has shown potential this year. Against Duke, he became the first Owl halfback to rush for more than 100 yards in a game since 2001. Lott averages 6.6 yards per carry on the season. Fullback Robbie Beck has rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns on the year.

Edge: Bulldogs

Receivers

Sophomore Marcus Battle (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) is the only Owl with more than five catches this season. Battle has 15 receptions for 256 yards and a touchdown. Rice’s primary personnel grouping includes just one receiver and three running backs.

Edge: Bulldogs

Offensive Line

The Owls have a relatively experienced line, compared to Fresno State’s. Ben Stephens (6-2, 300) is one of the top centers in the conference. Stephens and tackle Chris DeMunbrun are the unit’s two seniors. The other three starters are juniors.

Edge: Even

Defensive Line

The Bulldogs have some blocking to do. Rice end John Syptak leads the team with four sacks, tackle Jeremy Calahan has three and end Jimmy Shaw has one. The Owls’ best shot at winning is pressuring Paul Pinegar into making mistakes.

Edge: Even

Linebackers

Senior Jeff Vanover leads the Owls with 52 tackles this season. Vanover is the type of impact player that the Bulldogs have to watch out for, but he’ll need the rest of the Rice defense to step up with him if the Owls are going to pull off the upset.

Edge: Bulldogs

Defensive Backs

Freshman Chad Price is the only Owl with an interception this season. Cornerbacks Patrick Dendy and Dustin Haynes have what could be a deadly match-up against Bernard Berrian and Marque Davis.

Edge: Bulldogs

Special Teams

Freshman punter Jared Scruggs averages 45.8 yards per punt, the sixth highest average in the nation. Sophomore Brennan Landry is 2 of 2 on field goals this season, while senior Brandon Skeen is 1 of 4.

Edge: Even

Coaching

Coach Ken Hatfield is 160-120-4 overall but just 47-58-1 at Rice. Hatfield is 0-4 against the Bulldogs. He’s in his 10th season at Rice.

Edge: Bulldogs

Intangibles

Under Hatfield, Rice is 18-40-1 in road games. The Bulldogs don’t lose often at home as it is. The two teams are meeting just a week after it was announced that Rice was leaving the WAC for Conference-USA.

Edge: Bulldogs