'Dogs ace quiz before test
Bulldogs will now look for revenge against PAC-10 foe Oregon
Juan Villa / The Collegian
Fresno State’s Paul Williams made two catches for 22 yards in the Bulldogs’ victory over Nevada Friday. Williams will play a key role in Fresno State’s game against Oregon Saturday. |
By Jeff Christian
The Collegian
The Fresno State Bulldogs dodged a bullet on Nevada’s first offensive play and a mixture of new and familiar faces kept the Wolf Pack’s pistol offense holstered just long enough to hold on for a 28-19 victory.
The nine-point win will not only give the Bulldogs a leg up in the Western Athletic Conference standings and momentum, but it also helps to erase the memory of last year’s season ending collapse which started in Reno.
Running back Dwayne Wright had been sidelined for two seasons after the game against Kansas State early in the 2004 season when he tore his patellar tendon in his left knee. Wright silenced all doubters as he ran like a freight train through the Wolf Pack defense, breaking and carrying tacklers and dazzling the more than 39,000 fans in attendance with 159 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
“I’m expected to play like this. This is me, this is how I play. It’s been two years and people might have forgotten but I’ve been playing like this since Pop Warner,” Wright said.
Despite making his first collegiate start, sophomore quarterback Tom Brandstater was poised and collected as he managed the Bulldogs offense.
Andrew Riggs / The Collegian
Fresno State players gang-tackle Nevada running back Robert Hubbard in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 28-19 victory against the Wolf Pack last Friday. |
Brandstater’s nerves were surely erased early as he connected with senior wide receiver Joe Fernandez for a six-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
Although his 124 passing yards aren’t the kind of passing statistics that will make headlines and strike fear in an opponent’s secondary, Brandstater effectively managed an offense that gained 336 total yards and scored four touchdowns.
“The stats I could care less about as long as there is a win behind them,” Brandstater said.
With Wright’s legs and Brandstater’s accurate short yardage throws, the offense controlled the time of possession and marched its way up and down the field for most of the first half.
Brandstater was able to find Fernandez on a couple critical third down conversions in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.
“Joe has a special ability to get open. He might not be the biggest or fastest guy but when the ball is thrown he is going to come down with it. He is going to run a better route than any other receiver,” Brandstater said.
The Bulldog defensive secondary smothered Nevada’s wide receivers all night, holding standout wide receiver Caleb Spencer to under 50 yards receiving. The Bulldogs even got an unexpected contribution from true freshman A.J. Jefferson who replaced defensive back Damon Jenkins in the second half.
The Bulldogs will now turn their focus to avenging another loss from last season as they host nationally ranked Oregon.
“It’s game seven next week. We’re very focused on one game at a time. It’s going to be a heck of a game. That stadium should be rocking — it’s another nationally televised game,” Hill said.
Controlling the speed and athleticism of Oregon’s spread offense will be the key to success for the Bulldogs. Despite their outstanding defensive play against Nevada, the Bulldogs need another stellar performance from their secondary and they need to strengthen up a run defense that will already be spread out due to Oregon’s offensive formations.
“It’s a little pay back game, we got the Ducks, we were up there last year and had the taste of victory in our mouths and they took it from us,” Dwayne Andrews said. “So we’ve got them in our house and we’re going to do some damage.”
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