College Football Predictions – Fresno St Bulldogs 2020 College Football Preview
July 2020
OCTOBER 2020 – Schedule notes updated. Star LB J Rice is now with Ark St.
2019 Recap
Record – 4-8
ATS – 4-7-1
After bagging 22 (!) wins, two division titles, and a Mountain West Championship over the past two seasons, the Bulldogs struggled to a 4-8 mark and missed out on a bowl game. They played USC and Minnesota tough in the first two weeks and were 4-4 at one point before fading down the stretch and losing their final four contests.
Kalen DeBoer gets his first shot at a head coaching gig and will look to get the ship turned around in short order.
2020 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
West Division – TBD
Mountain West – TBD
Fresno St Bulldogs 2020 Outlook
OFFENSE
The offense had it’s moments a season ago (30+ on seven occasions) but finished up relatively mediocre from a statistical perspective (#5 MW scoring offense, #8 total offense). QB Jorge Reyna was good at times but made too many mistakes (15-11 TD to INT). There’s going to be a new face at QB and it’ll be someone with no starting experience. The inside track goes to Washington transfer Jake Haener. The great news surrounds the return of their excellent RB Ronnie Rivers who was often THE offense LY (899 rushing yards, 13 TD, 43 receptions). #1 WR Zane Pope returns for duty (529, 11.3, TD) but they could definitely use a few other men to step up and help the new QB. The offensive line returns four starters and might up being the strength of the offense. The right side is especially strong with Quireo Woodley and Syrus Tuitele.
We’ll call for a decrease in production due to the new QB, lack of depth at RB at TE, and the unknown quantities at WR.
DEFENSE
After back-to-back excellent performances that supported back-to-back division titles (#1, #2 MW total defense) the Bulldogs regressed significantly LY and allowed 30 PPG (#5 MW) and 420 YPG (#7) whilst tallying a meager 19 sacks (#9). The Bulldogs have a new DC and a different scheme heading into 2020, but there are some interesting pieces on hand. The LB group is one of the stronger ones in the Mountain West given the return of leading tackler Justin Rice (3 sacks, 8 PD, 2 INT, 4 FF LY) and Arron Mosby. They’ll need to be better up front vs the run and in the penetration department. DT Kevin Atkins is a decent piece to build around (5 sacks LY). The secondary might be a sore spot (#11 MW pass defense, 20-11 TD to INT LY) , particularly if they are unable to get much PENETRATION and create some havoc.
This feels like a mid-pack quality defense without much upside.
SPECIAL TEAMS
DANGER, DANGER.
They lose their excellent punter Blake Cusick and PK Cesar Silva was just 12/21 on FG attempts (4/9 from 40+). Ronnie Rivers was good on PR LY but it doesn’t seem wise to have him do that job this year AND potential carry the offense. It’s been about 109 years since they’ve returned a kickoff for a TD.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The Bulldogs got nice draw from the plandemic schedule makers and miss both Boise St and Wyoming in crossover play. Their season will likely come down to late in the year when they face San Diego St (H) and Nevada (A) in back-to-back weeks.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing too spooky is noted.
Season Win Total
TBD
MEGALOCKS says:
TBD
MEGAmazing Tidbits
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
This feels like a reset year for the Bulldogs. They weren’t as bad as their record indicated a season ago as they lost four games by eight points or less, so it’s not like they’re starting from an unbearably low point. The schedule is kind so we’ll call for them to win four or five games with an outside shot at achieving bowl eligibility.
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WEBSITE
https://gobulldogs.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://247sports.com/college/fresno-state/Board/Bark-Board-102987/
NEWS
http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/bulldogs-football/
http://www.mwcconnection.com/fresno-state-bulldogs-football
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/278/fresno-state-bulldogs
TWITTER
Hashtags – #GoDogs
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