The Fresno State Bulldogs enter a new era under first-year head coach Tim DeRuyter as they move to the Mountain West from the WAC. DeRuyter was the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M for the past two years. He replaces former head coach Pat Hill who will certainly be missed after having so much success in 15 seasons with the team. Be sure to head to Football Free Picks this season to follow the odds and get expert picks on the Bulldogs.
DeRuyter inherits a Fresno State team that lost a school record-tying nine games in 2011. However, the Bulldogs will be one of the most experienced teams in the MWC with 14 starters and 35 lettermen returning.
Offense
Fresno State had a balanced and explosive offense last season as they averaged 28.5 points and 412 total yards/game. This unit should only improve from last year's numbers as they have seven starters returning on offense. Dave Schramm takes over as offensive coordinator, after spending the last seven years at Utah. His goal is to average 90 plays/game in the new spread offense, which would be 22 more than they averaged in 2011.
The Bulldogs return one of the top signal-callers in the conference in junior quarterback Derek Carr. He had tremendous success last season, connecting on 62.6 percent of his passes for 3,544 yards, 26 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Those numbers maybe be even better this season as the offense moves to a no-huddle spread scheme.
They will also have arguably the best running back in the conference in senior Robbie Rouse. He was a first-team All-WAC selection last year, rushing for 1,549 yards and 4.7/carry with 13 touchdowns. Talented senior Milton Knox and redshirt freshman Dillon Root will be fighting for carries, but there won't be many to go around with Rouse handling the bulk of the load once again.
The biggest losses on offense are at receiver, where the Bulldogs lose their top two in Jalen Saunders and Devon Wylie. They do have some experience coming back in sophomore Josh Harper, junior Isaiah Burse and senior Rashad Evans.
The Bulldogs return eight of the top ten offensive linemen off of last season's depth chart, including three starters. Unfortunately they will have to replace both first-team All-WAC tackle Bryce Harris and second-team All-WAC guard Leslie Cooper. Even with those losses, Fresno's line should be a source of strength for this offense.
Defense
Fresno's defense was one of the worst in the program's history last season. They gave up an embarrassing 35.2 points per game along with 436 total yards per game. They do have seven starters returning on this side of the ball, but that's not neccessarily a good thing with those numbers.
The defensive line loses two starters in first-team All-WAC DT Logan Harrell and NT Chase McEntee. After dealing with his suspension, senior NT Anthony Williams returns and he will be joined by junior DE Nikko Motta and senior DE Matt Akers. They are now bigger and should benefit greatly from the switch to a 3-4 scheme.
The linebacker position will be the strength of the defense in 2012. That's because this unit returns five of the top six from a year ago, including first-team All-WAC OLB Travis Brown. Also back is junior ILB Jeremiah Toma, junior ILB Patrick Su'a and senior OLB Tristan Okpalaugo.
The secondary also looks to be in a position of strength as they have five starters returning. The best of the bunch maybe senior SS Phillip Thomas, who earned second-team All-WAC honors in 2010 before sitting out all of last year because of injury. Three other returning starters are junior CB LJ Jones, junior FS Derron Smith, senior FS Christine Wilson, senior FS Christin Wilson, and senior SS Terrance Dennis.
Mountain West Prediction - 3rd Place
The new spread scheme will allow Fresno State to improve their offense, and their defense should be better than the atrocity that it was last year. There was some bad luck in 2011 with injuries and suspensions. The only reason this team isn't higher on the list is because they must travel to face both Boise State and Nevada. But, it is still possible for the them to win their first outright conference title since 1989.
DeRuyter inherits a Fresno State team that lost a school record-tying nine games in 2011. However, the Bulldogs will be one of the most experienced teams in the MWC with 14 starters and 35 lettermen returning.
Offense
Fresno State had a balanced and explosive offense last season as they averaged 28.5 points and 412 total yards/game. This unit should only improve from last year's numbers as they have seven starters returning on offense. Dave Schramm takes over as offensive coordinator, after spending the last seven years at Utah. His goal is to average 90 plays/game in the new spread offense, which would be 22 more than they averaged in 2011.
The Bulldogs return one of the top signal-callers in the conference in junior quarterback Derek Carr. He had tremendous success last season, connecting on 62.6 percent of his passes for 3,544 yards, 26 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Those numbers maybe be even better this season as the offense moves to a no-huddle spread scheme.
They will also have arguably the best running back in the conference in senior Robbie Rouse. He was a first-team All-WAC selection last year, rushing for 1,549 yards and 4.7/carry with 13 touchdowns. Talented senior Milton Knox and redshirt freshman Dillon Root will be fighting for carries, but there won't be many to go around with Rouse handling the bulk of the load once again.
The biggest losses on offense are at receiver, where the Bulldogs lose their top two in Jalen Saunders and Devon Wylie. They do have some experience coming back in sophomore Josh Harper, junior Isaiah Burse and senior Rashad Evans.
The Bulldogs return eight of the top ten offensive linemen off of last season's depth chart, including three starters. Unfortunately they will have to replace both first-team All-WAC tackle Bryce Harris and second-team All-WAC guard Leslie Cooper. Even with those losses, Fresno's line should be a source of strength for this offense.
Defense
Fresno's defense was one of the worst in the program's history last season. They gave up an embarrassing 35.2 points per game along with 436 total yards per game. They do have seven starters returning on this side of the ball, but that's not neccessarily a good thing with those numbers.
The defensive line loses two starters in first-team All-WAC DT Logan Harrell and NT Chase McEntee. After dealing with his suspension, senior NT Anthony Williams returns and he will be joined by junior DE Nikko Motta and senior DE Matt Akers. They are now bigger and should benefit greatly from the switch to a 3-4 scheme.
The linebacker position will be the strength of the defense in 2012. That's because this unit returns five of the top six from a year ago, including first-team All-WAC OLB Travis Brown. Also back is junior ILB Jeremiah Toma, junior ILB Patrick Su'a and senior OLB Tristan Okpalaugo.
The secondary also looks to be in a position of strength as they have five starters returning. The best of the bunch maybe senior SS Phillip Thomas, who earned second-team All-WAC honors in 2010 before sitting out all of last year because of injury. Three other returning starters are junior CB LJ Jones, junior FS Derron Smith, senior FS Christine Wilson, senior FS Christin Wilson, and senior SS Terrance Dennis.
Mountain West Prediction - 3rd Place
The new spread scheme will allow Fresno State to improve their offense, and their defense should be better than the atrocity that it was last year. There was some bad luck in 2011 with injuries and suspensions. The only reason this team isn't higher on the list is because they must travel to face both Boise State and Nevada. But, it is still possible for the them to win their first outright conference title since 1989.
About the Author:
Jack Jones is an expert sports handicapper who writes and provides his picks and analysis for Betfirms.com. You can visit there now and check out a more detailed preview on the Bulldogs' upcoming season.
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