Fresno State Bulldogs Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players
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Fresno State Bulldogs Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Fresno State season with what you need to know and keys to the season.
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Fresno State Bulldogs Preview
Head Coach: Jeff Tedford, 4th year at Fresno State, 26-14
15th year overall, 108-71 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 10-3, Conference: 6-2
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Fresno State Top 10 Players | Fresno State Schedule
Fresno State Bulldogs Preview 2022
The guy is only 60. What’s more fun than coaching football if that’s your life’s work?
Jeff Tedford was a big time passer for Fresno State in the early 80s, became a hot offensive coordinator and quarterback coaching guru at Oregon, and then he took over Cal and turned it into a – at the time – Pac-10 power.
Forget about what might or might not have happened during the various NFL careers, David Carr, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington and Akili Smith were fantastic college quarterbacks. And then there’s that Aaron Rodgers guy who Tedford helped tutor into an all-time great.
Now he has another great quarterback to work with. More on that in a moment.
After two amazing years at Fresno State – and one bad one – he stepped down after the 2019 season. Now with former head coach Kalen DeBoer off to Washington, Tedford is back to his alma mater being gifted a full cupboard of talent on both sides of the ball to make a run at the Mountain West title.
Fresno State Bulldogs Preview 2022: Offense
The Fresno State offense worked. It was No. 1 in the Mountain West in total offense and second in scoring, the passing game was fantastic, now Tedford and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore – the Fresno State wide receivers coach over the past five years – should be able to keep it all going. It starts with …
Jake Haener started his career at Washington, came to Fresno State, was about to follow DeBoer to Washington, changed his mind, and now the quarterback who threw for close to 4,100 yards and 33 touchdowns last season is a hot name in all the 2023 pro prospects lists.
Not only does Fresno State get another year of him winging it around, but his star targets are back. Jalen Cropper caught 85 passes and scored 11 times, Josh Kelly is an excellent 52-catch No. 2 option, and coming in is Nikko Remigio, a 97-catch possession receiver from Cal.
Longtime star RB Ronnie Rivers is off trying to become an Arizona Cardinal, but Jordan Mims can rip off big runs – he was second on the team with 710 yards and six scores – working behind a good-sized offensive front that returns three starters and gets guard Jacob Isaia from Michigan State.
As long as left tackle Donate Bull and the rest of the line are keeping Haener from getting hit, they’re doing their job.
Fresno State Bulldogs Preview 2022: Defense
The offense made all the noise, but the defense wasn’t bad allowing 347 yards and 21 points per game. With seven starters back including a few all-stars, the production should be there. Really, as long as this group can hold serve while the O does its thing, all will be fine.
The pass rush was fine, but what this group did at a higher level was come up with tackles for loss. Even with all the talent returning, losing Arron Moseby and Kevin Atkins – they combined for 28.5 tackles for loss – hurts.
Senior end David Perales will be one of the most disruptive forces in the Mountain West, and 315-pound Leonard Payne is a good, experienced anchor in the middle with Atkins done. The transfer portal will help getting Joshua Pakola from Stanford for the outside.
The back seven should be a rock as long as the corners can come up with a few more big plays.
If Evan Williams isn’t the best safety in the Mountain West, he’s in the team photo. He led the team with 92 tackles, and the linebacker combination of Malachi Langley and Levelle Bailey – 117 tackles between the two – is set even with USC’s Raymond Scott coming into the mix.
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Fresno State Top 10 Players | Fresno State Schedule
Fresno State Bulldogs: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT
Fresno State Bulldogs: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats
Fresno State Bulldogs: Key To The 2022 Offense
Enough with the turnover issues.
This wasn’t a problem in the first two years of the first go-round under Jeff Tedford, abut they were a killer in the 4-8 2019 season. Fix the mistakes from the 2021 team, and look out.
It wasn’t just the massive number of giveaways – 22 in all – it was the timing. Fresno State should’ve rim-rocked Hawaii, but it lost 27-24 because it gave the ball up six times.
It gave Oregon a game, but it lost 31-24 partly because of the three picks, and the three given away to Boise State turned it into a rout.
In all, 12 of the 22 turnovers came in the three losses. The 40-37 win over UCLA was the only victory when the Bulldogs had multiple giveaways.
Fresno State Bulldogs: Key To The 2022 Defense
Hold down everyone’s running game.
Start with this – the run defense was far, far better than the 2020 version that got steamrolled over by a soft breeze. Last year’s run defense allowed just 3.6 yards per carry and held five teams to under 100 yards.
However …
When teams ran on this group, bad things happened.
Hawaii was hardly Wisconsin when it came to grinding it out, but a strange combination of Fresno State turnovers and 232 Rainbow Warrior rushing yards led to a shocking loss.
Fresno State allowed more than 180 rushing yards three times. It last all three games and was 10-0 when it allowed fewer.
Fresno State Bulldogs: Key Player To The 2022 Season
DT Evan Bennett, Jr.
Kevin Atkins was terrific. He was a big, quick all-around interior presence who made his fifth-year on the line his best. Now he’s trying to be a San Francisco 49er.
Leonard Payne is a is a big body to anchor the interior, but the Bulldogs need Bennett to rise into the starting role after making 15 tackles in the rotation. He might not be Atkins, but anything he can do behind the line would be huge help.
Fresno State Bulldogs: Key Transfer
CB Cameron Lockridge, Jr.
As is the Fresno State corner situation is okay. There’s experience and enough options to play around with the rotation. The 6-0, 183-pound Lockridge comes in from Hawaii with a veteran presence with time at the JUCO level and with 17 games with the Rainbow Warriors.
He made 73 stops with three picks and a touchdown during his time in paradise, and now he should take over one of the starting gigs.
Fresno State Key Game To The 2022 Season
at Boise State, Oct. 8
Back in the day this would’ve been the home game against San Diego State on October 29th, but now that the Mountain West has ditched divisions, every game is a big deal. That means the road trip to Boise State takes on an added importance.
It was Fresno State’s one blowout loss last year, but win this time around in the Mountain West opener and everything opens up.
It’s by far the toughest conference road game, so win, and that date with the Aztecs will probably be for a spot in the conference championship.
Fresno State Bulldogs: 2021 Fun Stats
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Fresno State 168 – Opponents 56
– Fumbles: Fresno State 18 (lost 12) – Opponents 17 (lost 13)
– Red Zone TDs: Fresno State 35-of-51 (69%) – Opponents 24-of-46 (52%)
O, D Breakdown | Season Prediction, What Will Happen Fresno State Top 10 Players | Fresno State Schedule
Fresno State Bulldogs Season Prediction, What Will Happen NEXT
Fresno State Bulldogs Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Okay, now it’s time to put it out there.
There’s a ton of pressure on Jeff Tedford to dominate with what he’s walking into.
There’s no rebuild happening here. There’s not a whole lot of tweaking to do, and the concerns are all relatively fixable.
This was a Fresno State team that came really, really close to going 11-1 in the regular season, and with all the talent returning, anything less than nine wins will be seen as a bit of a disappointment.
Set The Fresno State Bulldogs Regular Season Win Total At … 8.5
However, if QB Jake Haener regresses even a little bit, or if disaster strikes and he gets hurt, this all changes fast.
Even if everything goes as planned and all things work just fine, the road trips to USC and Boise State will still be an issue. San Diego State will be a fifth, and going to Nevada will be tricky late in the season.
That’s not counting the possible curveballs against Oregon State, Wyoming, and San Jose State.
Seven wins should be a mortal lock, eight will be fine, and after that this gets interesting. Don’t be shocked if this is a 10-2 season, but there’s just enough to set the expectations at 8.5 – leading on the high side of the line.
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Fresno State Top 10 Players | Fresno State Schedule
