Fresno State vs. Weber State
By Darrell Copeland
The Collegian
Quarterbacks
Paul Pinegar is back for his senior season, and is ready to continue leading
last year’s high-octane offense to bigger and better things. If
there should ever be a game that should need mop-up duty, this is it,
meaning Bulldog fans will likely get their first look at backup Tom Brandstater.
Running Backs
With Wendell Mathis, Bryson Sumlin and Clifton Smith, all due to get lots
of touches against Weber State, the grass might be feeling it the most,
post-game. The yardage the trio accumulates should wear out the turf into
dirt the way tennis players do on the Wimbledon grass.
Receivers
The addition of Paul Williams to the starting lineup and an increased
role for Jaron Fairman should make the Bulldogs more vertical in the passing
game, and more dangerous. Fresno State already has a stable of mid-range
receivers in Adam Jennings, Joe Fernandez and Jermaine Jamison. This game
should also be a nice tune-up for the inexperienced but talented bunch
of tight ends.
Offensive Line
All of the talk has been about the weight of the offensive line. Soon
other teams will also see the benefit of having linemen who are in great
shape, can run, but are still stronger than the other team’s defensive
line. This year’s Bulldog O-line should be paving canyons for the
running backs to run through all four quarters, all year long.
Defensive Line
Garrett McIntyre is a given at the end spot, so it’s up to the big
boys Jason Shirley and Louis Leonard to prove to the Bulldog faithful
their talent can be turned in to stardom. Tyler Clutts, Ricky Miller,
Marlon Brisco and others will get their chance to show what they can do.
Linebackers
All three starting linebackers have added plenty of bulk to go with their
speed. Dwayne Andrews has looked great during camp, as have several others.
Ahijah Lane, Kyle Goodman and Emanuel Sanchez will all see time behind
Andrews, Marcus Riley and Alan Goodwin. This position should now be considered
a strength instead of a weakness after the experience they gained last
season.
Defensive Backs
Richard Marshall, Raymond Washington and Marcus McCauley are all masters
at the art. The problem here will be depth. Elgin Simmons, Damon Jenkins
and the rest of the backs will need to show they can play in case of injury
and those times when Fresno State will see four and five wide receivers.
Special Teams
Punt and kick coverage should continue to be dominant this year. Where
the Bulldogs can improve at is in the return game, where Clifton Smith
and Adam Jennings will do their best to pitch in. Clint Stitser brings
a very strong leg to the position, but accuracy is still a question. Punter
Mike Lingua just needs to add consistency to his booming punts.
Coaching
For Pat Hill and his staff, the challenge is still finding a way to keep
Fresno State from playing down to its opponents’ level. Other than
that, coaches will be looking at who should be playing when and where.
Intangibles
For the Bulldogs, it’s all mental. After seasons past, the lesson
learned should have been no matter who you play, it all counts for either
one win or one loss. It should no longer be hard to get up for the Weber
States of the world. Every team will bring their A game to try and knock
off the Bulldogs. Will they?
Weber State
Quarterbacks
Junior Ian Pizarro threw completed 14 of 23 passes for 221 yards and two
touchdowns last week against Western State last week. Pizarro took over
the reigns the last four games of the season and finished with 1,038 yards
on 69 of 134 passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He
is also an offensive captain.
Edge: Bulldogs
Running Backs
As a group, the Wildcats ran for 341 yards on 47 carries last week, establishing
themselves as a running football team. Sophomore Adrian Conway led the
way with 208 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 10.9 yards per
carry. Backup running back Zach Hall also rushed for three touchdowns.
Edge: Bulldogs
Receivers
Weber State seems to have capable receivers after accumulating four catches
for at least 25 yards or more last week. Lynzell Jackson, a transfer from
Utah, led the way with four catches for 75 yards. The Wildcats have some
size at tight end and will utilize them downfield. The shortest completion
to a tight end was 14 yards.
Edge: Bulldogs
Offensive Line
The McQuistan twins, both seniors and 6’6” 315 pounds, will
man the left side of the line for the Wildcats. Paul plays left tackle
and is the other offensive captain while Pat plays left guard and is one
of the strongest on the team. Weber State has plenty of size up front.
Edge: Bulldogs
Defensive Line
Senior Brady Fosmark is Weber State’s version of McIntyre. Fosmark
was a 2004 I-AA Consensus First Team All-American while making 89 tackles,
18.5 of which came for a loss. The other honors candidate on the line
is Shane Barkdull. His seven sacks combined with Fosmark’s to total
15 between the two last season and each have one so far this year.
Edge: Bulldogs
Linebackers
Eric Jones, Max Moala, and Brad Stewart lead the way, with Moala being
a true freshman. Each weighs at least 230 pounds and had three tackles
apiece in a winning effort a week ago. Jones led the Wildcats in tackles
last season with 90, including 17 unassisted in one game last season.
Edge: Bulldogs
Defensive Backs
The best Weber State has to offer here is Dewey Crayton, a 5’8”
senior corner who was Honorable Mention All-Big Sky last season. Crayton
has one interception this season. Free Safety John McBride is the leader
of the secondary, serving as a captain with teammate Fosmark.
Edge: Bulldogs
Special Teams
The bare-footed kicking Joe Johnson possesses a strong and accurate leg.
Johnson connected on 17-22 last season and is 1-1 this season, having
made a 52 yard attempt. The 5’7” Bryant Eteuati, whose nickname
is “P-Nutt”, averaged 41.5 yards per kickoff return last season.
Edge: Bulldogs
Coaching
Weber State has been touting the return of Coach Ron McBride’s return
to Utah to regain interest in the program. McBride coached his Wildcats
to a 61-0 victory last week, and has the support the entire state of Utah.
Edge: Bulldogs
Intangibles
Weber State did come away victorious by a huge margin last week, albeit
against Division II Western State. As long as the Bulldogs show up, the
Wildcats should be the ones on the end of a huge blowout loss this time
around, especially in Bulldog Stadium.
Edge: Bulldogs
Basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian (a legend who compiled a 104-79 record in
seven seasons
•Volleyball coach Lindy Vivas (fired after 14 seasons at Fresno
State, where she posted a .612 winning percent age)
Litigation:
•Former associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich has a lawsuit
pending against the athletic department.
•Vivas has threatened to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against
the department
•A group of former Fresno State swimmers have filed suit against
the department for ignoring the swimmers’ complaints and putting
the student-athletes in danger.
•The parents of former Fresno State equestrian rider Shana Eriksson
have a lawsuit against the department pending that claims the department
was negligent and provided an unsafe environment.
•Johnson-Klein has threatened to file a wrongful termination lawsuit
Miscellaneous:
•Men’s soccer, men’s indoor track and field, men’s
cross country and women’s swimming and diving were all eliminated
in 2003 in an effort to slash the budget.
•Track and field coach Bob Fraley, fearing his program would also
be on the chopping block, forfeited his $95,000-a-year salary and offered
to coach for free.
Those aren’t the types of things Johnson should be putting on his
résumé. His tenure, quite frankly, was an embarrassment
to Fresno State. Sure he saw the Save Mart Center built under his tenure,
but his promises of expanding Bulldog Stadium also fell flat.
To his credit, he was able to get USC on the football schedule again,
his last hurrah as athletic director, but overall, his time as athletic
director proved to be a bust.
In his six short weeks, Oliaro has made some power moves to pull the department
out of its three-yearlong tailspin by making some key hires and winning
fans back.
Let’s look at Oliaro’s accomplishments.
Hires:
•Men’s basketball coach Steve Cleveland (This man has proven
himself to be cleaner than a surgeon’s scalpel. He’s as likely
to commit NCAA violations as Johnson-Klein is of getting another head
coaching job.)
•Interim women’s basketball coach Adrian Wiggins (All the
players say Wiggins was the real coach all along.)
Departures:
None
Litigation:
Trying to juggle the mess Johnson left behind
Miscellaneous:
Oliaro appears to be constructing the ladder necessary to pull athletics
out of the chasm Johnson dug.
Perhaps this isn’t really a fair comparison yet. Oliaro has only
been in charge for six weeks, and the coaches he’s hired have even
coached a game since they were officially named.
But if precedent holds, Oliaro may just be the link that brings Fresno
State back to the upper echelon of college athletics where it once resided.
Quarterbacks
Junior Ian Pizarro completed 14 of 23 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns
last week against Western State last week. Pizarro took over the reigns
the last four games of the season and finished with 1,038 yards on 69
of 134 passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He is also
an offensive captain.
Edge: Bulldogs
Running Backs
As a group, the Wildcats ran for 341 yards on 47 carries last week, establishing
themselves as a running football team. Sophomore Adrian Conway led the
way with 208 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 10.9 yards per
carry. Backup running back Zach Hall also rushed for three touchdowns.
Edge: Bulldogs
Receivers
Weber State seems to have capable receivers after accumulating four catches
for at least 25 yards or more last week. Lynzell Jackson, a transfer from
Utah, led the way with four catches for 75 yards. The Wildcats have some
size at tight end and will utilize them downfield. The shortest completion
to a tight end was 14 yards.
Edge: Bulldogs
Offensive Line
The McQuistan twins, both seniors and 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, will man the
left side of the line for the Wildcats. Paul plays left tackle and is
the other offensive captain while Pat plays left guard and is one of the
strongest on the team. Weber State has plenty of size up front.
Edge: Bulldogs
Defensive Line
Senior Brady Fosmark is Weber State’s version of McIntyre. Fosmark
was a 2004 I-AA Consensus first team All-American while making 89 tackles,
18.5 of which came for a loss. The other honors candidate on the line
is Shane Barkdull. His seven sacks combined with Fosmark’s total
15 the last two season and each have one so far this year.
Edge: Bulldogs
Linebackers
Eric Jones, Max Moala and Brad Stewart lead the way, with Moala being
a true freshman. Each weighs at least 230 pounds and had three tackles
apiece in a winning effort a week ago. Jones led the Wildcats in tackles
last season with 90, including 17 unassisted in one game last season.
Edge: Bulldogs
Defensive Backs
The best Weber State has to offer here is Dewey Crayton, a 5-foot-8 senior
corner who was Honorable Mention All-Big Sky last season. Crayton has
one interception this season. Free Safety John McBride is the leader of
the secondary, serving as a captain with teammate Fosmark.
Edge: Bulldogs
Special Teams
The bare-footed kicking Joe Johnson possesses a strong and accurate leg.
Johnson connected on 17-22 last season and is 1-1 this season, having
made a 52 yard attempt. The 5-foot-7 Bryant Eteuati, whose nickname is “P-Nutt,” averaged 41.5 yards per kickoff return last season.
Edge: Bulldogs
Coaching
Weber State has been touting the return of Coach Ron McBride’s return
to Utah to regain interest in the program. McBride coached his Wildcats
to a 61-0 victory last week and has the support the entire state of Utah.
Edge: Bulldogs
Intangibles
Weber State did come away victorious by a huge margin last week, albeit
against Division II Western State. As long as the Bulldogs show up, the
Wildcats should be the ones on the end of a huge blowout loss this time
around, especially in Bulldog Stadium.
Edge: Bulldogs
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