Get to know Fresno State

[Darth Snow]

Oddly enough, historically Fresno State's strong point has been special teams, especially blocks (By far the most in the NCAA over the past decade or so). Pat Hill never shied away from putting his absolute best athletes on ST and it paid dividends. I doubt DeRuyter will change that.

As someone who has gone through a coaching change or 2, I would suggest that automatically assuming the new coach will fix all the old problems while at the least maintaining the same level of quality in the areas where the old coach was good MIGHT be a tad optimistic. Expect a reversion to the mean on special teams.

 

[ROFLCOPTER]

As someone who has gone through a coaching change or 2, I would suggest that automatically assuming the new coach will fix all the old problems while at the least maintaining the same level of quality in the areas where the old coach was good MIGHT be a tad optimistic. Expect a reversion to the mean on special teams.

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it" is very appplicable here.
I see where you're coming from on that. I'm hoping DeRuyter sees the light and has the good sense to not change that, though.

 

[Duff Man]

Oddly enough, historically Fresno State's strong point has been special teams, especially blocks (By far the most in the NCAA over the past decade or so). Pat Hill never shied away from putting his absolute best athletes on ST and it paid dividends. I doubt DeRuyter will change that.

The architect of those great special teams units, John Baxter, is now at USC though (and doing quite well there as well).

 

[Sexton Hardcastle]

(US Presswire)

96. RB Robbie Rouse, Fresno State
Particulars: 5-7/195, Sr.; San Diego Madison
Buzz: Rouse is a little guy who has put up big numbers. He ranked seventh nationally in rushing last season with 1,549 yards; he had four games with at least 150 yards. In three games against Big Six opponents last season (Cal, Nebraska and Ole Miss), he averaged 126.0 yards per game. Rouse has 3,157 yards, which is third-most among active players. He also has 25 rushing touchdowns. Rouse has been an effective receiver, and that facet of his game likely will come more into play this season with a new coaching staff.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...lfGV4cGVydHMEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdl;_ylv=3?page=all

 

[Daaah]

(US Presswire)

96. RB Robbie Rouse, Fresno State
Particulars: 5-7/195, Sr.; San Diego Madison
Buzz: Rouse is a little guy who has put up big numbers. He ranked seventh nationally in rushing last season with 1,549 yards; he had four games with at least 150 yards. In three games against Big Six opponents last season (Cal, Nebraska and Ole Miss), he averaged 126.0 yards per game. Rouse has 3,157 yards, which is third-most among active players. He also has 25 rushing touchdowns. Rouse has been an effective receiver, and that facet of his game likely will come more into play this season with a new coaching staff.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...lfGV4cGVydHMEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdl;_ylv=3?page=all

We should put a bounty on him. Can't hurt us if he's on the sideline with a broken fibula.

 

[tante]

Bad joke daah. We need to beat them straight up.

 

[Daaah]

Bad joke daah. We need to beat them straight up.

[video=youtube;El1kgCqD7Xk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El1kgCqD7Xk[/video]

 

[FLounder]

Damn 3D block numbers.

 

[CUFan]

We haven't had a decent pass rush in years. Carr is going to pick us apart. We won't be able to keep up offensively.

We are a season away from knowing if our players are truly any better than D2's. I'm excited for the season, but I don't expect much. Our only hope is if Webb or Dillon comes in and changes everything about this team.

 

[CVilleBuff]

Did some snooping around the Fresno State boards. Shouldn't be too surprising, but the majority of that fanbase is expecting to beat the Buffs. One fan goes as far as to say CU is the "worst team on the schedule aside from Colorado State" -- a little perplexing considering they play Weber State :wtf: To be fair, another suggested CU was the 2nd most difficult team on their schedule behind Oregon. Of course, that's not true, either. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Seems most believe Fresno will post around 7 wins, with some apparently enjoying the local meth too much and expecting 9 or 10 wins. I think Pat Hill had been around for so long that most of them aren't aware of the challenges involved with transitioning to a new staff. Coming off a 4 win season, they should be extremely pleased if they find a way to make it into a bowl. With their new staff, it's good to be catching them early in the season.

 

[Dark Bohner]

We haven't had a decent pass rush in years. Carr is going to pick us apart. We won't be able to keep up offensively.

We are a season away from knowing if our players are truly any better than D2's. I'm excited for the season, but I don't expect much. Our only hope is if Webb or Dillon comes in and changes everything about this team.

Carr is going to be spending a majority of his time trying to get the correct reads for a BRAND NEW spread offense. They ran the pro-style offense under Pat Hill. Think Brad Smith when Pinkel changed to the spread. It was a disaster for about a year. I think Colorado will be just fine defensively in this game.

 

[CVilleBuff]

A tidbit of encouraging news for our game against Fresno State:

They apparently suck at kicking. In their practice today, they were 3/13 on PATs and field goals, and all attempts were under 35 yards. Yes, you read correctly. 3/13. Obviously some missed field goals (or PATs) could prove crucial for the Buffs getting the road win.

Depth appears to be a major concern for them as well.

(Source: Fresno Bee)

 

[newkid]

I hope this isn't anyone's road trip for the year, unless you happen to live there, there is no upside to going to an away game in Fresno.

 

[Sexton Hardcastle]

Just watching the Fresno kNU highlights from last year. Didn't see the whole game but it looks like they held their own until the fourth quarter.

Rouse put 169 on the pinkshirts. Nice.
[video=youtube;hkiIX2Z4XGc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkiIX2Z4XGc[/video][video=youtube;czybwr0pyO4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czybwr0pyO4[/video]

 

[CVilleBuff]

Some observations from Fresno's scrimmage from Scout:

They did not look sharp or crisp and there was NO fast pace offense. In fact it looked to me like they had a hard time getting some of the plays in and people were out of position on more than a few occasions.

To say you thought Pat Hill's offense was boring and uninspiring wait until you see what we now have. It is a shame to see this kind of performance given the talent we have on offense.

There is no question that Carr locks onto Devante and you can almost call every down Carr is going to go to him. Carr made no attempt to look away from his receiver on more than one occassion. That very much worries me and no other starting receiver made any impact today. We were very one dimensioal in this regard.

The FG part of the kicking game has just been consistantly bad

Not gonna lie this year is gonna be a bit weird.

The kicking game is gonna suck.

The offense is gonna struggle at times.

The defense is gonna win us games and show be the strong point of the team.

 

[buffaholic]

Their head coach is pretty well respected, and did a nice job at Air Force.
I was drinking with some folks at the Venetian in LV when the Pat Hill news hit. They were die hard FSU fans. Their take:

The team would return most of their best players in 2012 (minus the WR who has since transferred to OU).
The team wasn't nearly as bad as the record indicated, and played much better in the 2nd half of the season. Most fans were feeling optimistic about 2012.

This team hung in vs Cal
This team hung in "at" Nebraska
This team lost a close game "at" Nevada

Then they went thru a mid-year slump, only to lose 3 of their last 4 by one score or less.

They did beat Hawaii "at" Hawaii - CU did NOT.

Their biggest problem was defense. DeRuyter knows defense. He has improved every team he's had. I would expect massive improvements on that side of the ball. For the poster who said he did a poor job at A&M, that's false. Check his bio.http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/deruyter_tim00.html. The guy can coach.

How quickly they can be efficient with the spread will be a big question. I expect a tough game at the least.

 

[SF_BUFF]

Their head coach is pretty well respected, and did a nice job at Air Force.
I was drinking with some folks at the Venetian in LV when the Pat Hill news hit. They were die hard FSU fans. Their take:

The team would return most of their best players in 2012 (minus the WR who has since transferred to OU).
The team wasn't nearly as bad as the record indicated, and played much better in the 2nd half of the season. Most fans were feeling optimistic about 2012.

This team hung in vs Cal
This team hung in "at" Nebraska
This team lost a close game "at" Nevada

Then they went thru a mid-year slump, only to lose 3 of their last 4 by one score or less.

They did beat Hawaii "at" Hawaii - CU did NOT.

Their biggest problem was defense. DeRuyter knows defense. He has improved every team he's had. I would expect massive improvements on that side of the ball. For the poster who said he did a poor job at A&M, that's false. Check his bio.http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/deruyter_tim00.html. The guy can coach.

How quickly they can be efficient with the spread will be a big question. I expect a tough game at the least.

They also got beat by SJSU in Fresno.

If we lose to Fresno, I will unhappily bring up the SJSU can beat CU comment.

Just saying.

 

[Quattro]

They also got beat by SJSU in Fresno.

If we lose to Fresno, I will unhappily bring up the SJSU can beat CU comment.

Just saying.

SJSU would not beat CU. Get the **** out of here with that ****.

 

[BuffNut99]

While Fresno the town is an armpit, the stadium seems pretty cool. Checkered endzones, field level sunken below stands so the crowd is very close to the field, they used to have yard markers every 5 yards, good tailgate reputation. Also some inexplicably large chasms behind each end zone.

FSU's home record is 148-45-2 in Bulldog Stadium. The green "V" on their helmet stands for valley, btw.

x,x,3,2,1,x,x

 

[dply]

While Fresno the town is an armpit, the stadium seems pretty cool. Checkered endzones, field level sunken below stands so the crowd is very close to the field, they used to have yard markers every 5 yards, good tailgate reputation. Also some inexplicably large chasms behind each end zone.

FSU's home record is 148-45-2 in Bulldog Stadium. The green "V" on their helmet stands for valley, btw.

x,x,x,x,1,3,2

 

[NashBuff]

Their head coach is pretty well respected, and did a nice job at Air Force.
I was drinking with some folks at the Venetian in LV when the Pat Hill news hit. They were die hard FSU fans. Their take:

The team would return most of their best players in 2012 (minus the WR who has since transferred to OU).
The team wasn't nearly as bad as the record indicated, and played much better in the 2nd half of the season. Most fans were feeling optimistic about 2012.

This team hung in vs Cal
This team hung in "at" Nebraska
This team lost a close game "at" Nevada

Then they went thru a mid-year slump, only to lose 3 of their last 4 by one score or less.

They did beat Hawaii "at" Hawaii - CU did NOT.

Their biggest problem was defense. DeRuyter knows defense. He has improved every team he's had. I would expect massive improvements on that side of the ball. For the poster who said he did a poor job at A&M, that's false. Check his bio.http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/deruyter_tim00.html. The guy can coach.

How quickly they can be efficient with the spread will be a big question. I expect a tough game at the least.

Good stuff. I'll will have to include this thread in my blog when I preview the CU-Frenso State game. It won't be an easy win for sure. If we win in Frenso State, I think it would be more safer to assume that CU's road woes are a thing in the D2D past.

 

[KingPants]

While Fresno the town is an armpit, the stadium seems pretty cool. Checkered endzones, field level sunken below stands so the crowd is very close to the field, they used to have yard markers every 5 yards, good tailgate reputation. Also some inexplicably large chasms behind each end zone.

FSU's home record is 148-45-2 in Bulldog Stadium. The green "V" on their helmet stands for valley, btw.

x,x,3,2,1,x,x

x,x,x,x,x,x,x

(x = "would probably" right?)

 

[J.R. Ewing]

KingPants, did happy hour start early?

 

[Quattro]

Good stuff. I'll will have to include this thread in my blog when I preview the CU-Frenso State game. It won't be an easy win for sure. If we win in Frenso State, I think it would be more safer to assume that CU's road woes are a thing in the D2D past.

You also need to read their scrimmage review. Looks like they looked pretty bad.

 

[13Buff]

While Fresno the town is an armpit, the stadium seems pretty cool. Checkered endzones, field level sunken below stands so the crowd is very close to the field, they used to have yard markers every 5 yards, good tailgate reputation. Also some inexplicably large chasms behind each end zone.

FSU's home record is 148-45-2 in Bulldog Stadium. The green "V" on their helmet stands for valley, btw.

x,x,3,2,1,x,x

That is actually the best collection of talent I have seen in Fresno. The joke around the team that works with me out there is that the airport is named after the Fresno women.

Fresno Yosemite International Airport (IATA:FAT, ICAO: KFAT, FAA LID:FAT), formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal,

 

[BuffNut99]

That is actually the best collection of talent I have seen in Fresno.

I definitely had to dig.

 

[J.R. Ewing]

A little bit better.

 

[KingPants]

KingPants, did happy hour start early?

I'm old and married now. I am just channeling my inner-CU student, who, when visiting Fresno, would have probably been satisfied with any of the above for a "its not my school" type of night.

 

[NashBuff]

You also need to read their scrimmage review. Looks like they looked pretty bad.

I'll see how they do against Weber State and @Oregon before I do a preview on them. A lot of things can be fixed within two games. If we beat them, they might not win until they play at Ft. Collins in front of all those empty seats.

 

[Burrito]

How does my **** fit in their ****ing eardrum?