Fresno State has been one of the hottest football teams in the Mountain West this season, mostly because of its dominant rushing attack. But the ground game wasn’t working against Hawaii two weeks ago, so the Bulldogs turned to the defense to secure a win in their conference opener.
Fresno State (4-1, 1-0 MWC) forced four turnovers in a 23-21 win over Hawaii, including a 59-yard pick-six by linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird, which put the Bulldogs ahead for good with 5:20 to play. That was one of three interceptions thrown by Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado in the loss. He responded with 457 yards and three touchdowns against Air Force last week.
The Bulldogs will be looking for another dominant defensive performance when they host Mountain West foe Nevada on Saturday. Fresno State and Nevada both had byes last week.
Fresno State head coach Matt Entz gave credit to his defensive line on Monday for making Alejado uncomfortable.
“The thing that was critical is we were able to get that quarterback off of his spot,” Entz told reporters during his weekly press conference. “I thought we impacted him from just the pocket collapsing at different times. The ball had to come out quick, maybe off rhythm or off of his back foot.”
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Thunderbird, a transfer from Arizona State, was splitting time at middle linebacker early this season, but Entz said he has entrenched himself as a starter. Thunderbird posted a season-high eight tackles against Hawaii and is tied for No. 2 on the team with 22 tackles despite an ejection for targeting in the Bulldogs’ win over Oregon State.
“He’s continued to be steady, and he’s continued to dive in,” Entz said. “It’s good to see him playing at a high level.”
Fresno State’s defense may have its hands full Saturday against Nevada’s dual-threat quarterback Chubba Purdy, who leads the Wolf Pack with 276 yards and two touchdowns on the ground this season.
Nevada (1-3) has lost its last two games, including a 31-16 setback against Western Kentucky on Sept. 20. The Wolf Pack’s only win is a 20-17 victory over FCS Sacramento State.
Nevada vs. Fresno State Betting Odds
Fresno State is a 13.5-point college football betting odds favorite as of the time of this writing. The Over/Under is 44.5 points. The moneyline is at -550 for Fresno State and +400 for Nevada.
Fresno State leads the all-time series 33-22-1 and has won four straight against Nevada. The programs have played every year since 1998 and have been conference rivals in the WAC and Mountain West, but this could be the last time they’ll meet as members of the same conference. Fresno State will join the Pac-12 next season.
Nevada vs. Fresno State On TV
The Mountain West game between Fresno State and Nevada at Valley Children’s Stadium in Fresno, California, will be televised on CBSSN.
Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
Nevada vs. Fresno State Prediction
I predict Fresno State wins 35-14.
Purdy is one of the top rushing quarterbacks in the Mountain West, but I think he and the Wolf Pack are one dimensional this season. The rushing game can pop here and there, but there hasn’t been much happening through the air. Purdy has thrown for just 494 yards and one touchdown compared to six interceptions, and Nevada ranks last in the Mountain West with 150 passing yards a game. If Nevada can’t run the ball, this one could get ugly in a hurry.
Fresno State is going to be hungry to get its running game back on track and build on quarterback EJ Warner’s first game without an interception this season. Warner will likely need some help from his offensive line, though, as the Bulldogs face two of the better pass rushers in the conference: Nevada’s Dylan LaBarbera (seven tackles for loss and three sacks) and Jonathan Maldonado (1.5 sacks).
