Better Know a Foe is back! After taking a week off for the Louisiana Tech game, we hooked up with Fresno Bee beat writer Daniel Lyght to get his insights into the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Fresno State had a ridiculously tough start to the season, with tough non-con games and then Boise State. Is that paying dividends now that the WAC season is well underway and the Bulldogs are rolling?
It might be paying dividends in the sense that they now know they can play with anyone left on their schedule. They played Boise State, Cinci and Wisconsin tough, arguably the three toughest teams on their schedule, so that might have instilled confidence in the players.
Ryan Mathews — what makes him such a good RB and is there anything short of Kryptonite that can stop him?
He’s got breakaway speed, strength, vision, a lil bit of shake, the ability to quickly change directions, great balance, and a great stiff-arm. All he needs to do is stay durable.
Other than Mathews, who are the key playmakers for Fresno on offense and defense?
Well, QB Ryan Colburn has a strong arm and has proven to be a threat at points this year. Frosh RB Robbie Rouse is a really shifty back with a lot of jukes who can break some nice runs. Lonyae Miller is probably the fastest RB on the team, but his touches have been limited bc of Mathews’ breakout season and Rouse’s emergence.
Seyi Ajirotutu has proven to be the top receiving threat. He also led the team in receiving last season. He had a season-high seven catches for 124 yards last week. He’s about 6-foot-5 so he can cause some matchup issues on the perimeter and uses a nice stiff arm to pick up yards after the catch.
On defense, safety Lorne Bell’s a hitter. The star of the defense, though, has been DE Chris Carter. He has 9.5 TFL this season and draws the attention of the opposing teams in film study. He’s incredibly quick off the line and has a great speed rush.
