It is time to go bowling! And for what could be the final time, the Fresno State Bulldogs football team will represent the Mountain West Conference.
The Fresno State Bulldogs will take on the Miami of Ohio
RedHawks on Saturday afternoon for the 10th annual Arizona Bowl in Tucson.
The Bulldogs come into this game with an 8-4 record for first year head coach Matt Entz. They got here by relying on their running game, and a tenacious defense that will clamp down on their opponents running game.
Miami of Ohio is 7-6 on the season, having lost in the MAC Championship Game to Western Michigan. They got here by winning seven of their final nine regular-season games. This is also the second consecutive Arizona Bowl trip for the RedHawks, winning last season against Colorado State by a final of 43-17.
What to watch for:
For Fresno State, this will be the last game for a lot of seniors that saw this program trade hands this past offseason to a more defensive minded coach. With Entz calling the shots the Bulldogs forced 24 turnovers this season, including 19 interceptions. The one place that the RedHawks struggle on offense this season is throwing the ball, and it won’t get any easier in this contest and not just because of the Fresno State defense.
Wide receiver Kam Perry is choosing to sit out after putting his name into the transfer portal following the MAC Championship Game. Perry averaged 22 yards per catch this season, totaling 52 receptions for 1,143 yards and six touchdowns. All tops on the RedHawks offense.
What does that mean? Well, for an already struggling passing attack, 196 yards per game this year, they will have to rely on Cole Weaver to be the main pass catcher in this one.
Who will be throwing the ball to Weaver and his other compadres? Well, that could very well depend. Dequan Finn, who started eight of the first nine games this season, left the program in mid-November. That left Miami of Ohio scrambling to find his replacement. Henry Hesson took over, after having played in two games early in the season, but promptly threw three interceptions in a loss to Toledo. Thomas Gotkowski came in and was effective in wins over Buffalo and Ball State to get them into the aforementioned conference title game.
In that title game Gotkowski struggled, and saw Hesson replace him, only for Hesson to struggle. That means, we really don’t know who will start, or if we will see both quarterbacks at some point.
The RedHawks do lean on the running game, much like Fresno State, and might lean more into it with issues at quarterback. Miami of Ohio averages 153 yards on the ground per game but have struggled producing that amount over the last five games, going over that mark just twice and seeing under 100 yards twice as well.
That leans towards Fresno State, whose defense over the last four games of the regular season put on a clinic in three of those games. Including that one, a loss to Utah State, the Bulldogs only allowed 252 yards per game, 117 of which came via the pass. Much like San Jose State, this is a Miami of Ohio team that is struggling to pass, has no dual threat quarterback, and leans on the run, the Bulldogs just have to play their style of ball defensively to come away with a win in this one.
On offense, the Bulldogs will ride one last time with EJ Warner at the helm. Warner began the season as the starter, was benched, then won the job back over the last two contests. Warner has been turnover prone this season, another reason why the running game takes center stage in Fresno.
Warner will be a game manager in this one, and one can expect him to hand the ball off a lot to Speedy Luke and Bryson Donelson. Both saw over 100 carries on the season with Luke leading the way with 685 yards to Donelson’s 585 yards.
Fresno State does like to go with the hot hand at running back though. We could see upwards of five different running backs from Fresno State, much like against San Jose State. In that contest, it was Elijah Gilliam that led the team in rushing with 92 yards on nine carries. Johnathan Arceneaux and Brandon Ramirez should also see carries depending on how the game is going.
Miami of Ohio is 1-6 this season when being outgained on the ground by their opponent. They are an undefeated 6-0 when outgaining their opponents on the ground. So, whoever runs for more yards should win, right?
Thoughts and Prediction:
It’s been a solid final season in the Mountain West for Fresno State and head coach Matt Entz. They really only struggled when they made a quarterback change and when facing a dual threat on the other side. They will be doing neither in this contest.
With Perry missing for Miami, and quarterbacks who are struggling, there isn’t a reason why Fresno State will lose this game outside of the RedHawks throwing the kitchen sink at the Bulldogs defense. This game has a lot of feel like the San Jose State game did where the Bulldogs just ran it down their throat. Expect much of the same here, and for Fresno State to win 27-10.
