**Editor’s Note: Each week during football season we will feature an essay from the opponent’s student newspaper on how Oregon will lose. This week’s edition is from Ricardo Cano, from Fresno State’s The Collegian.**
Under former coach Pat Hill, Fresno State at one point in time was considered to be the gutsy, courageous (and sometimes naïve) Football Bowl Subdivision underdog with a penchant for facing “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere.”
Those days are long gone, along with the predictability of a pro-style offense and a conservative 4-3 defense that led to frustration in fans and declining support for Hill. It ultimately led to his departure. Under first-year coach Tim DeRuyter, Fresno State operates under a different mantra these days: “Fast, Physical, Fanatical.”
And the Bulldogs showed all of the above during last Saturday’s 37-10 win against Weber State. Granted, it was against an FCS opponent. And granted, the ‘Dogs face much, much (much!) stiffer competition this week when they head over to Autzen Stadium to square off against BCS royalty.
But these aren’t your everyday ‘Dogs. Not anymore.
When Fresno State debuted its no-huddle spread offense last Saturday, it unveiled a unit enamored with the poise and spontaneity it desperately longed for. There were no bubble screens to wide receivers, short, lateral passes or runs up the middle from the I-formation. It was sporadic, unfiltered, quick and to-the-point offensive execution that exploited the talents of an explosive athletic bunch — abilities that weren’t really showcased in last year’s schemes.
Indeed, the marriage between the spread and quarterback Derek Carr and running back Robbie Rouse has proven to be a fitting one. It also doesn’t hurt that the Bulldogs return key cogs in their new 3-4 defense, a unit that held Weber State to 274 total offensive yards. Safety Phillip Thomas, linebacker Shawn Plummer, and defensive end Anthony Williams returned this year after missing all of last season either due to injury or suspension.
But being realistic, Fresno State’s defense will probably face its stiffest test in this week against Oregon and its slew of athletes. Containing freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota is a formidable task in itself. Judging from Oregon’s team scrimmage and its season opener, the dude has game-breaking speed.
The type of speed that makes you feel he’s playing an NCAA Football ‘13 game against some generic FCS West team on ‘freshman’ difficulty with every thinkable handicap on.
But beyond all the natural talent and raw ability he may have, Mariota is no Carr. Not yet at least. While he might be dubbed ‘Oregon’s future,’ he has yet to really solidify himself in the present as a signal-caller that is as reliable and as well polished as Carr, who threw for 3,544 yards and 26 touchdowns last season.
It’s definitely going to be an uphill battle for the ‘Dogs. If Fresno State has a chance to win, it will need to play with the same tempo, the same voracity, that Oregon’s spread-option attack is used to playing with. Should Fresno State win, it will be because its offense went toe-to-toe against the only Pac-12 offense to average 40-plus points in consecutive seasons.
Don’t think it’ll happen? Crazier things have.