2* - Fresno State (-7?)
Amazing how Fresno State went from nearly upsetting USC to absolutely fall apart to finish in 3rd place in the WAC. I am not sure I have ever seen a bigger collapse by a football team than the one we witnessed in the Nevada and Louisiana Tech games after the Bulldogs took the Trojans down to the wire.
Fresno Sate is a balanced football team and have been able to score at will in most of their games this year. They have averaged 38.9 points and more than 400 yard of offense per game and their lowest scoring output was 27 points against Hawaii. Paul Pinegar threw nearly 400 passes this year and completed over 60 percent of those throws in accumulating 3,122 yards with 29 touchdowns. Joining him in the backfield is RB Wendell Mathis who rushed for 1,196 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. The defense allowed an average of 21.8 points on the season but prior to the meltdown, they allowed only 14.8 points per game.
Tulsa also possesses a steady, balanced offense and it led the Golden Hurricane to the CUSA Championship in their first season in the league. Golden Hurricane QB Paul Smith has shown extraordinary discipline for a sophomore as demonstrated by the fact that he has thrown only six interceptions in 337 attempts for 2,601 yards and 19 touchdowns. The key to stopping Tulsa is to contain TE Garrett Mills who set the NCAA mark for receptions and yards by a tight end with 83 catches this season for 1,183 yards. On defense Tulsa has had trouble stopping the run and Mathis, who is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, could wreak havoc if he gets rolling.
Fresno is a solid team that has had nearly a month to recover from their season ending collapse. Do not forget that the Bulldogs played right with both USC and Oregon and I can not believe that this Tulsa team would be capable of doing the same. This is Pinegar?s last audition for the NFL and I expect him to take full advantage of it.
Amazing how Fresno State went from nearly upsetting USC to absolutely fall apart to finish in 3rd place in the WAC. I am not sure I have ever seen a bigger collapse by a football team than the one we witnessed in the Nevada and Louisiana Tech games after the Bulldogs took the Trojans down to the wire.
Fresno Sate is a balanced football team and have been able to score at will in most of their games this year. They have averaged 38.9 points and more than 400 yard of offense per game and their lowest scoring output was 27 points against Hawaii. Paul Pinegar threw nearly 400 passes this year and completed over 60 percent of those throws in accumulating 3,122 yards with 29 touchdowns. Joining him in the backfield is RB Wendell Mathis who rushed for 1,196 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. The defense allowed an average of 21.8 points on the season but prior to the meltdown, they allowed only 14.8 points per game.
Tulsa also possesses a steady, balanced offense and it led the Golden Hurricane to the CUSA Championship in their first season in the league. Golden Hurricane QB Paul Smith has shown extraordinary discipline for a sophomore as demonstrated by the fact that he has thrown only six interceptions in 337 attempts for 2,601 yards and 19 touchdowns. The key to stopping Tulsa is to contain TE Garrett Mills who set the NCAA mark for receptions and yards by a tight end with 83 catches this season for 1,183 yards. On defense Tulsa has had trouble stopping the run and Mathis, who is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, could wreak havoc if he gets rolling.
Fresno is a solid team that has had nearly a month to recover from their season ending collapse. Do not forget that the Bulldogs played right with both USC and Oregon and I can not believe that this Tulsa team would be capable of doing the same. This is Pinegar?s last audition for the NFL and I expect him to take full advantage of it.
