UTEP plays Fresno State in New Mexico Bowl. Here are 5 things to know about the Bulldogs
The quick take on Fresno State is that UTEP ended up with one of the toughest draws it could get for its first bowl game in seven years, the PUBG MOBILE New Mexico Bowl.
The second-place team in the Mountain West's West Division finished with a 9-3 record.
Here are some things to know about the Bulldogs.
Fresno State a team in flux
The good news for Fresno State is that it was good enough this season to provide second-year coach Kalen DeBoer a ticket to the Power-5, and he took it by leaving for Washington last Monday.
He's some members of his staff with him, including offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Quarterback Jake Haener entered the transfer portal and then pulled out when Jeff Tedford was hired.
Haener is certainly a loss, as he threw for 3,810 and 32 touchdowns this year. The reins now go to freshman Jaylen Henderson, who was 5-of-8 passing but did win the backup job at midseason. All four quarterbacks remaining on Fresno's roster are freshmen.
For the moment the team has retained top receiver Jalen Cropper, who is rumored to be deciding between following the exodus to Washington, declaring for the NFL draft or playing in the New Mexico Bowl.
Running backs coach Lee Marks is the interim head coach.
More: UTEP Miners to play Fresno State Bulldogs in New Mexico Bowl
Fresno was good against good NCAA football teams
All that kept Fresno from playing for a conference championship was an upset loss to Hawaii, because the Bulldogs played their best football against the best teams. They finished 2-1 against ranked teams.
Fresno's second game of the year was a 31-24 loss to then-No. 11 Oregon. The Bulldogs had a fourth-quarter lead before eventually losing on Oregon's go-ahead touchdown with 2:57 remaining.
Two games later they upset then-No. 13 UCLA 40-37 and later beat eventual Mountain West West Division champion San Diego State, which was ranked No. 21 at the time.
More: Things learned at UTEP football's bowl practice
Bulldogs defense closed on a roll
Like UTEP, Fresno State got lit up by Boise State in a 40-14 loss in Week 10, but rebounded to hold New Mexico to seven points and San Jose to nine to finish the regular season. They also shut out Wyoming in October.
Playing in a conference known for shootouts, Fresno finished 33rd nationally in total defense, two spots behind UTEP.
The Bulldogs are led by linemen David Perales and Kevin Atkins and safety Evan Williams.
Fresno has two good tailbacks
The Bulldogs were a pass-oriented team, but if that changes because of the change in quarterbacks, they are capable in the ground game with their one-back offense.
Senior Ronnie Rivers averaged 4.9 yards a carry on the way to 788 yards, while change-of-pace back senior Jordan Mims averaged 5.6 yards and rushed for 545 yards. Those two accounted for all but 25 carries by Bulldog running backs.
This program has been good for a while
Fresno has been playing football since 1921 and has generally been good at it, with an all-time record of 617-429-27.
Starting with the WAC title season of 1999, this will mark the Bulldogs' 17th bowl appearance in the last 23 years. They were 12-2 Mountain West champions in 2018 when they beat Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl, though this New Mexico Bowl appearance does break a two-year bowl drought.
Fresno was 3-3 in last year's COVID mess.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP football, Fresno State in New Mexico Bowl; who are the Bulldogs?
