Week 2 - #8/8 Sac State at Fresno State
The Hornets (0-1) hop on a bus to face another in-state CSU foe in Fresno State (0-1). The Bulldogs were picked to finish 3rd in the Mountain West and are coming off of a tough 10-30 opening game loss at defending FBS National Champion and 9th ranked Michigan. Fresno State had an impressive showing in the Big House as they were able to match Michigan’s physicality and kept it close until late. A 4th quarter Bulldog touchdown made it a 6 point game, unfortunately the wheels came off and Michigan was able to pull away late.
Offensively, the Bulldogs had a pretty balanced play selection and didn’t abandon the run until they fell behind by 2 possessions late in the game. The Bulldog offensive line is big and physical and it was obvious that this offense wants to pound the ball with running back Malik Sherrod (14 car, 24 yds, 2 rec, 10 yds). At quarterback, Mikey Keene (22/36, 235 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT) displayed great poise in one of the most difficult places to play last week. He was able to lead the Bulldog offense and keep them in the game late. Keene’s main targets last week were wide receivers Jalen Moss (6 rec, 97 yds) and Mac Dalena (6 rec, 67 yds).
Defensively, the Bulldogs did very well to get stops and keep the game from getting out of hand early. The FSU defensive line is big and got a sack at Michigan a week ago. The Bulldog 4-2-5 was effective in preventing the big play. Cornerback Cam Lockridge (6 tak, 1 TFL, 1 INT) had an interception last week and safety Camryn Bracha (10 tak, 1 TFL) led the team in tackles.
On special teams the Bulldogs gave up a couple of big returns on both punt and kick coverage. Kicker Dylan Lynch (1/1 FG, 1/1 PAT) connected on a 41 yard field goal and punter Clay Lawrence (42.1 ypp) had a long of 49 yards and dropped 3 of 7 punts inside the 20 yard line.
Position Advantage
Stingers Up!
The Hornets (0-1) hop on a bus to face another in-state CSU foe in Fresno State (0-1). The Bulldogs were picked to finish 3rd in the Mountain West and are coming off of a tough 10-30 opening game loss at defending FBS National Champion and 9th ranked Michigan. Fresno State had an impressive showing in the Big House as they were able to match Michigan’s physicality and kept it close until late. A 4th quarter Bulldog touchdown made it a 6 point game, unfortunately the wheels came off and Michigan was able to pull away late.
Offensively, the Bulldogs had a pretty balanced play selection and didn’t abandon the run until they fell behind by 2 possessions late in the game. The Bulldog offensive line is big and physical and it was obvious that this offense wants to pound the ball with running back Malik Sherrod (14 car, 24 yds, 2 rec, 10 yds). At quarterback, Mikey Keene (22/36, 235 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT) displayed great poise in one of the most difficult places to play last week. He was able to lead the Bulldog offense and keep them in the game late. Keene’s main targets last week were wide receivers Jalen Moss (6 rec, 97 yds) and Mac Dalena (6 rec, 67 yds).
Defensively, the Bulldogs did very well to get stops and keep the game from getting out of hand early. The FSU defensive line is big and got a sack at Michigan a week ago. The Bulldog 4-2-5 was effective in preventing the big play. Cornerback Cam Lockridge (6 tak, 1 TFL, 1 INT) had an interception last week and safety Camryn Bracha (10 tak, 1 TFL) led the team in tackles.
On special teams the Bulldogs gave up a couple of big returns on both punt and kick coverage. Kicker Dylan Lynch (1/1 FG, 1/1 PAT) connected on a 41 yard field goal and punter Clay Lawrence (42.1 ypp) had a long of 49 yards and dropped 3 of 7 punts inside the 20 yard line.
Position Advantage
- Quarterback: Bulldogs. Mikey Keene can stretch the field a lot better than Kaiden Bennett.
- Running Backs: Bulldogs. Slight edge to Malik Sherrod over Elijah Tau-Tolliver.
- Wide Receivers: Bulldogs. Bigger threats on the FSU side between Jalen Moss and Chedon James as opposed to Jared Gipson and Anderson Grover.
- Tight Ends: Push. Both offenses use a lot of tight end combinations in the running game. Hard to say if Coleman Kunts has an edge over Kamron Beachem or vice versa.
- Offensive Line: Bulldogs. As impressive of a performance the Hornet offensive line had at San Jose, the composure the Bulldog offensive line had at the Big House is more notable.
- Defensive Line: Bulldogs. Both defensive lines performed well last week, FSU had a more impressive showing given their opponent. I don’t expect the Hornet defensive line to hold up too well this week.
- Linebackers: Bulldogs. FSU’s Malachi Langley and Tuasivi Nomura showed out and had solid performances last week. The Hornets top linebacker Will Leota missed most of the game last week due to targeting while Nakian Jackson performed well.
- Defensive Backs: Bulldogs.The FSU secondary held Michigan to 121 yards on 27 attempts while the Hornet secondary got torched.
- Punters: Bulldogs. Clay Lawrance had an impressive showing last week, Cal McGough had some good boots but none inside the 20.
- Kickers: Push. Both Dylan Lynch and Zach Schreiner are solid through the mid-range field goals.
- Kick Returners: Hornets. The Bulldogs didn’t get much of a chance at returns last week as they were all touchbacks. Hornets get this by default with Joshua Nicholson having a return of 22 yards last week.
Stingers Up!
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