A few things about Fresno State:
1. Their passing game will test Nebraska early. They have an athletic QB who throws well in Chasson Virgil. He really flashed at times as a True Freshman, but had some injury issues. He's a second year player out of Mesquite, TX and has been playing in a Spread Offense for about 8 years.
2. Fresno's Only strength is their Wideouts and Tight End. The receivers are experienced and they will line up in quads most of the game. This is their only shot to do much of anything. Derrion Grimm would've been excited to watch them. Look for them spread the field and try to get these dudes out in Space. Chad Olsen, their Tight End, is a classic West Coast type TE. He's smaller, in the 6'3 240 range, but runs well. I imagine they will try to attack the safeties with him early since Gerry is out.
3. While the passing game should be good for Fresno State, their offensive line could be problematic. Both of their tackles have never played a down at Offensive tackle at this level of football. THeir LT was playing JUCO last year. Their LG is the only full time returning starter returning. Their Center started 5 games at RG last season. They actually have less returning combined starts than Nebraska on the OL. Fresno's tackles might be the worst collection Nebraska sees all season. If the Huskers can;'t get pressure vs. those guys, it will be a LONG season of non pass rush.
4. Running Back Dontel James played at Fresno in 2014, then played JUCO ball last year, and is now back at Fresno. He rushed for 483 yards and 5 TD's on 100 carries last year at Riverside JC. They will use some ZOne read and misdirection with a lot of draw plays for James, but for the most part, their running game isn;t overly complex.
5. Defensively, Fresno will play a 3-4. Their NG, is a classic 3-4 Nose at roughly 6'0 330 lbs. However, he was playing JUCO ball last year and will be making his first D1 start at Nebraska. I would say this is good news for Nebraska. Farmer, Hahn, and Utter could likely use some inexperienced competition along the INterior. They have a 6'4 290 lb DE named Madsen who is a pretty good player. I believe he would easily play for Nebraska if he was in Lincoln. They like to muck up the line of scrimmage and create havoc for manufactured pressure from the Linebackers. This type of defense, if not executed well leads to a lot of spillage and big plays. They have a pretty good Inside LB in Camili, but their Outside backers are inexperienced. They generate most of their pressure with their outside backers.
6. The only experienced part of their defense is in the secondary. Not that size is overly important for DB's, but these guys are really small. THeir corners are in the 5'9 to 5'10 180 lb range. THeir safeties are all in the 190 lb range. They will struggle in run support, and will also give up a lot of size to guys like Cethan Carter, Moore, and even Stanley Morgan or a dude like Bryan Reimers who will see some snaps with Reilly on the bench.
Players to watch for Fresno State:
QB- Chasson Virgil - will remind of Brion Carnes
WR- Aaron Peck - big target (6'3 225) missed all of last season with an injury - kid is a good player.
WR- Jamire Jordan - vertical threat with great speed. - most talented offensive player
TE- Chad Olsen - good pass catcher, they will mostly line him up in the slot.
DE- Nathan Madsen - 3-4 DE, not really a pass rusher, but very physical high motor dude.
ILB - Jeff Camili- captain of the defense. Big kid at 272 pounds. He will blitz A LOT.
CB- Jamal Ellis - best athlete on defense, also primary return man
Fresno State has been lousy against the run the last few seasons. They have lacked a true BIG nose guard until this season. But he has never played a down. It will be interesting to see how he handles that responsibility on Saturday. Their defense as a whole will not really stop Nebraska.
Their best chance vs the Huskers will revolve around their offensive line's ability to hold up. If They can give their QB some time, their skill talent will test the Huskers. In some ways, this is actually a nice test before Oregon. The Bulldogs won't run the ball like the Ducks, but their passing skelly will be similar.
Special teams wise, I expect Nebraska to really overwhelm the Bulldogs. They just don't have the depth now that they used to have 5 to 7 years ago.
Nebraska - 54
Fresno State - 19
1. Their passing game will test Nebraska early. They have an athletic QB who throws well in Chasson Virgil. He really flashed at times as a True Freshman, but had some injury issues. He's a second year player out of Mesquite, TX and has been playing in a Spread Offense for about 8 years.
2. Fresno's Only strength is their Wideouts and Tight End. The receivers are experienced and they will line up in quads most of the game. This is their only shot to do much of anything. Derrion Grimm would've been excited to watch them. Look for them spread the field and try to get these dudes out in Space. Chad Olsen, their Tight End, is a classic West Coast type TE. He's smaller, in the 6'3 240 range, but runs well. I imagine they will try to attack the safeties with him early since Gerry is out.
3. While the passing game should be good for Fresno State, their offensive line could be problematic. Both of their tackles have never played a down at Offensive tackle at this level of football. THeir LT was playing JUCO last year. Their LG is the only full time returning starter returning. Their Center started 5 games at RG last season. They actually have less returning combined starts than Nebraska on the OL. Fresno's tackles might be the worst collection Nebraska sees all season. If the Huskers can;'t get pressure vs. those guys, it will be a LONG season of non pass rush.
4. Running Back Dontel James played at Fresno in 2014, then played JUCO ball last year, and is now back at Fresno. He rushed for 483 yards and 5 TD's on 100 carries last year at Riverside JC. They will use some ZOne read and misdirection with a lot of draw plays for James, but for the most part, their running game isn;t overly complex.
5. Defensively, Fresno will play a 3-4. Their NG, is a classic 3-4 Nose at roughly 6'0 330 lbs. However, he was playing JUCO ball last year and will be making his first D1 start at Nebraska. I would say this is good news for Nebraska. Farmer, Hahn, and Utter could likely use some inexperienced competition along the INterior. They have a 6'4 290 lb DE named Madsen who is a pretty good player. I believe he would easily play for Nebraska if he was in Lincoln. They like to muck up the line of scrimmage and create havoc for manufactured pressure from the Linebackers. This type of defense, if not executed well leads to a lot of spillage and big plays. They have a pretty good Inside LB in Camili, but their Outside backers are inexperienced. They generate most of their pressure with their outside backers.
6. The only experienced part of their defense is in the secondary. Not that size is overly important for DB's, but these guys are really small. THeir corners are in the 5'9 to 5'10 180 lb range. THeir safeties are all in the 190 lb range. They will struggle in run support, and will also give up a lot of size to guys like Cethan Carter, Moore, and even Stanley Morgan or a dude like Bryan Reimers who will see some snaps with Reilly on the bench.
Players to watch for Fresno State:
QB- Chasson Virgil - will remind of Brion Carnes
WR- Aaron Peck - big target (6'3 225) missed all of last season with an injury - kid is a good player.
WR- Jamire Jordan - vertical threat with great speed. - most talented offensive player
TE- Chad Olsen - good pass catcher, they will mostly line him up in the slot.
DE- Nathan Madsen - 3-4 DE, not really a pass rusher, but very physical high motor dude.
ILB - Jeff Camili- captain of the defense. Big kid at 272 pounds. He will blitz A LOT.
CB- Jamal Ellis - best athlete on defense, also primary return man
Fresno State has been lousy against the run the last few seasons. They have lacked a true BIG nose guard until this season. But he has never played a down. It will be interesting to see how he handles that responsibility on Saturday. Their defense as a whole will not really stop Nebraska.
Their best chance vs the Huskers will revolve around their offensive line's ability to hold up. If They can give their QB some time, their skill talent will test the Huskers. In some ways, this is actually a nice test before Oregon. The Bulldogs won't run the ball like the Ducks, but their passing skelly will be similar.
Special teams wise, I expect Nebraska to really overwhelm the Bulldogs. They just don't have the depth now that they used to have 5 to 7 years ago.
Nebraska - 54
Fresno State - 19
