Wright's dominace something to behold
Andrew Riggs / The Collegian
Fresno State’s Dwayne Wright has established himself as one of the best running backs in the school’s history after rushing for 295 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 34-27 win over Louisiana Tech. |
By Jeffrey Christian
The Collegian
Fresno State running back Dwayne Wright declared after the Idaho game that he would forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft following the final two games of the season.
Wright bounced back from a devastating knee injury that sidelined him for two seasons and has worked hard to disprove those skeptical of the strength of his knee and its ability to endure the rigorous impact of weekly competition all season
Although Wright entered Friday night’s game against Louisiana Tech with more than 1,000 rushing yards on the season, there are probably some analysts and professional scouts that would still be wary of selecting a player, especially a running back, who had suffered such an injury.
Wright padded an already remarkable comeback season with a career high and record-breaking performance on a national stage during the Bulldogs 34-27 victory.
Wright rushed for 295 yards, one touchdown and set a school record for rushing yards in a single game. He shattered the old school record of 252 yards, which was set by Larry Willoughby in 1952, and for a majority of the game looked unstoppable.
He shredded the Louisiana Tech defense and was once again the workhorse and motor for a Fresno State offense that has struggled throwing the football all season.
Wright carried the ball 25 times and averaged nearly 12-yards per carry. He almost nonchalantly seemed to break runs for big gains every time he touched the ball.
More impressive than just his statistics, was the manner in which he and the offensive line utterly dominated a terrible run-stopping Louisiana Tech defense.
He was so dominant, that the opposing defense could have had an extra player on the field and Wright probably still would have rushed for over 200 yards.
The offensive line blew the line of scrimmage back and Wright busted through and cutback for huge gains as he displayed both power and speed.
The success of Wright’s powerful runs opened up the play-action passing game near the goal line and led to two first half red zone touchdown passes for quarterback Tom Brandstater.
Although the running game was the primary weapon for the Fresno State offense as it racked up 336 yards on the ground, Brandstater finished the game with 142 yards passing and three touchdown passes.
Fresno State was bailed out by two Louisiana Tech mistakes in the kicking game, one a missed field goal and the other an extra point attempt that hit the goalpost.
The missed extra point followed a 3-yard touchdown run that tied the game with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Wright and the offense were able to relax when they took the field and then they capitalized on their opportunity. The offense marched 75 yards down the field for the go ahead score.
Wright capped off the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run, which despite his incredible rushing yard total was his only touchdown of the game.
On the play, Wright cutback to the right at the line of scrimmage and then turned on the speed as he broke through the secondary and gave the Bulldogs a seven-point lead with only 53 seconds remaining.
Junior defensive back Damon Jenkins secured the victory by intercepting a pass in Fresno State territory with only 26 seconds left. The interception was the second of the game for Jenkins who also intercepted a pass in the end zone early in the first quarter.
The win was the third straight for Fresno State and the Bulldogs will conclude their season Saturday at San Jose State. A win would give the Bulldogs a 5-7 record overall and a 5-3 record in the WAC.
Finishing the season with four straight victories probably seemed unlikely to most people outside the Fresno State locker room after losing seven straight games, but the team has gone through a rejuvenation process these past three weeks and are finally playing some of the tough physical football that has been missing for a majority of the season.
Coach Pat Hill has continually said the ‘Dogs will be back. The growth of the Bulldogs younger players over the past three games suggests that Hill might be correct.
However, next season, Fresno State fans will be forced to watch the Bulldogs’ workhorse play on Sundays instead.
As Wright’s draft status continues to grow, the size of the cleats for the two true freshmen running backs to fill gets larger.
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