Pat Hill did a ton for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He put this small school on the map by challenging the big boys and winning a lot of games. Hill was fired after an ugly 4-9 season in 2011. Now, it will be up to Tim DeRuyter to get the school going back in the right direction.
Mountain West 2012-2013 College Football Previews: Fresno State Bulldogs
Head Coach: Tim DeRuyter
2011 Record: 4-9
Fresno State Gambling Odds from JustBet to win BCS Championship: (Part of Field) +1,800
Fresno State Gambling Odds from 5Dimes to win Mountain West: +850
Fresno State shifts over from the WAC to the Mountain West, which means they?ll have Boise State and Nevada to deal with in the conference. DeRuyter is expected to install a spread offense, so the team must adjust to some new schemes. Fresno State doesn?t have a loaded team right now, but this is a squad with far more talent than most new coaches inherit.
Team Strengths:
The huge area of strength for Fresno State is the entire backfield. Robbie Rouse is a workhorse in the backfield who leads by example. Rouse is only 5?7 and 185 pounds, but he needs only 317 yards to become the school?s all-time leading rusher. He is a great receiver out of the backfield, and he carried the ball 329 times last season. Derek Carr gives the team a very good quarterback as well. Carr set a school sophomore record with 3,544 yards passing last year. ReRuyter loves how quickly Carr is picking up the spread offense. No team in this league can match talent with Fresno State in the backfield.
Fresno State is fortunate to have two extremely good defensive tackles. Anthony Williams and Tyeler Davison are big guys who clog up the middle of the defense. Fresno State will be switching to a 3-4 defense this year, and these two will be great anchors at the front of the defense.
Team Weaknesses:
The wide receiver spot took a huge hit when Jalen Saunders transferred in the offseason. Fresno State is going to be setting up with four wide receivers most of the time this year, but most of those receivers are unproven. There are plenty of guys with athleticism, but will any of them be reliable pass catchers for Carr?
The team will need four starting linebackers in the new system, which means there will be lots of question marks. Senior Travis Brown is a very good backer, but the rest of the unit is a concern. The coaches are convinced many of the younger players here will be good, but there is definitely a learning curve at the linebacker spot. Fresno State was bad at this spot in 2011, and I expect the same in 2012.
2012-2013 Fresno State Bulldogs Football Prediction: 8-5
The trip to Oregon in September will be brutal, but the rest of the schedule doesn?t look as tough as normal. Fresno State is a team that has far more talent than their 4-9 record showed last year. DeRuyter is stepping into a very good situation because this team is very likely to turn it around right away.
Carr and Rouse should lead this team to quite a few wins, and I?m guessing the defense will be a bit better than last year. Look for seven or eight wins from Fresno State in 2012.
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