Know the Foe: Wyoming at Fresno State
Nov. 25—Robert Kuwada has covered Fresno State University football for the Fresno Bee since 2011. He weighs in on what UW can expect to see from this weekend's matchup in California.
The Bulldogs have already clinched a spot in the Mountain West title game against Boise State. Are they going to play their starters this weekend against the Cowboys?
I definitely think they will. Obviously, there's some risk involved in that, and it's a really odd situation to be in, but I think it's pretty much a part of their DNA to go out there and try to win every game. They still have a chance to get to 10 wins on the year, which doesn't happen every year here.
It's going to be senior night, and there's going to be a really nice crowd, which is unusual for a Thanksgiving weekend. They have a lot of reasons to go out there and put their best guys on the field.
Fresno State started 1-4 and has turned it around with six straight wins. What's it been like to watch this team transform over the last two months?
It's been fascinating. You see a lot of teams go down with injuries, especially to the personnel that they had. You can see that really going south in a lot of places, but these guys have really hung in there pretty well.
Losing at UConn, at the time UConn was a shocking loss, but they've just kept plugging away and kept playing football. Now they've got some key guys back, and I don't think it's any surprise because people picked them to win the division, and that's what they were able to do.
The Bulldogs have the No. 1 offense in the MW. How dominant have they been?
I think it's not a real strong year for offenses in the Mountain West. They have put things together here in the last four or five games, so I don't know about dominant. There are still things they can do much better. Their touchdown percentage is not what you'd expect for a team scoring 30-plus points a game. Even in this recent stretch, it's 50%, and they're still averaging 40 points a game. I think they all know there are things they could get better at. They're still putting things together, figuring out what they can and can't do, and figuring out what they do best.
Quarterback Jake Haener was one of those guys that went down earlier in the season with an injury. How has he bounced back since returning?
He's been tremendous with his play on the field. I don't think he's all the way back. I'm sure he'd tell you he's not 100% or anywhere near where he was before the injury, but he's has such a great command and feel for what they're trying to do on offense. He's just been really locked into what they're doing, and it's been fun to watch.
Running back Jordan Mims is already over 1,000 rushing yards on the season. How has he been able to find so much success in the run game?
That's another weird part about this offense. When you look at it, they've had a lot of success running the ball in what's not really a great rushing offense, if that makes sense. They don't have a really high yards-per-carry average as a team, but it's just weird in that way. Mims is a really good back, inside and out, and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He's really a great player, and it's great to see because he had one of the worst injuries back in 2018 and missed a whole year. He had a lot to go through just to get back on the field. He's made it work. It's great to see with him just with everything he's been through.
Wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper is closing in on 1,000 yards receiving. What spark has he provided the passing offense?
Over the last four games, they're finally getting locked in with him, as well. Last year, he played primarily in the slot, and then they moved him outside this year. His targets have always been up there, but I think they're finally getting him some deep balls in there, and they're taking some shots down the field and making bigger plays with him. He's another guy who has a chance to play at the next level. He's a very good receiver.
On the defensive side, who's stuck out to you the most individually for Fresno State?
Out of the guys who have played all year, defensive end David Perales has played really well, particularly lately. If you look at last week, he pretty much did a little bit of everything. He had a strip-sack, he had an interception, led the team in tackles and had two tackles for a loss. That's the kind of player he can be. I think he's leading the conference in sacks, too. He's a pretty good candidate for defensive player of the year.
What do you expect to see out there Friday?
I think it's going to be like every Fresno State and Wyoming game that I've seen — low-scoring. I don't think Fresno State will put 40 points up on the board. Just a real physical football game. If you look at the scores in the series lately, it's been like 17-0, and I think the most points anyone has scored is 27. That's the kind of game I expect.
Alex Taylor covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net or 269-364-3560. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22
