Injuries have once again hit the Bulldogs hard as they will have to find a way to win without Devon Wylie, Cornell Banks, and Cole Popovich. Jason Crawley has yet to step on the field as well meaning that the Bulldogs are down two receivers heading into their game with Toledo. Fortunately for Fresno State Toledo does not have the same suffocating defense that Wisconsin does. Toledo to this point in the season has given up an average of 358 yards per game. The Rockets lost their opener at Arizona 41-16 but came back strong in week two as they defeated Eastern Michigan 41-17. Toledo is more susceptible to the pass as they have given up an average of 215 yards passing and 143 yards rushing per game. Fresno State will have to take their chances downfield if they want to leave the Glass Bowl with a victory. The Bulldogs will try to establish the run but eventually Toledo will stop the run. Tom Brandstater is going to have to find his rhythm in this game and stop rushing his throws if the Dogs are going to have a chance to win the game.

The Bulldogs best bet in this game is to come out and mix their play calling up right from the start. Toledo isn’t going to be overpowered by the Bulldogs offensive line and will have a full crowd behind them the entire game. The Bulldogs will have to find a way to come out and quiet the crowd right from the start. The running game is a great way to pound out long drives eating time off of the clock. However, the Bulldogs will have to look to their passing game early in order to keep the Toledo offense off of the field. The formula to winning college football games is controlling the clock and minimizing mistakes. The Dogs were able to hold the ball longer than Wisconsin but timely mistakes kept them from walking away with a victory. Fresno State will have to limit their mistakes on offense and look to their playmakers (Ryan Mathews, Lonyae Miller, Seyi Ajirotutu, Bear Pascoe, and Tom Brandstater) to step up in this game. After a tough loss it is the veteran’s job to get the rest of the team ready for a game such as this one (the coaches are responsible for this as well). Expect that to happen and the Bulldogs to come out ready to play football Saturday night.

Toledo

Toledo is undefeated at home against top twenty-five teams in their history at 4-0. They will be looking to build upon that record against Fresno State Saturday. Toledo will be the underdog in this game as the Bulldogs enter the Glass Bowl ranked #25 in the nation. Toledo enters the game averaging nearly three hundred yards per game on offense. The passing and running games have averaged nearly the same amount of yards per game. Fresno State has shown their defense is one that will shut the opposing team down both on the ground and through the air. Against Wisconsin the defensive line of Fresno State could not get pressure on the QB but the secondary was able to shut down the passing game regardless. Toledo will have to protect their QB in the same way that Wisconsin did if the Rockets want to walk away with a victory over the Bulldogs. At the same time Toledo will have to find a weakness in the Bulldogs defense that has not been exposed yet. To this date Fresno State’s defense has shown problems getting pressure on the QB. Aside that problem there has been very little wrong with Fresno State's defense. They have tackled well, covered well, and stopped the run both on the inside and outside.

Aaron Opelt has started the season well with a 130.7 QB rating. He has 4 touchdowns to one interception and looks to be doing very little to hinder the Rockets offense. If Opelt is given time to throw the ball Toledo may be able to break through the Bulldog defense. At the same time Dajuane Collins has averaged nearly eight yards a carry and has two touchdowns on the season. Toledo has the ability to move the ball on both the ground and through the air. Whether they will or not depends on how determined the Fresno State defense is. If the Bulldogs can pressure Toledo’s QB and force him to throw before he is ready they will come away with timely mistakes that allow the offense a chance to put more points on the board. If Toledo controls the clock look for this to be a low scoring hard fought affair between two teams that have not met since 2005.

There is a very good chance that this game will be close. Toledo is playing their first home game of the season which will give them a boost. They are also trying to atone for the 44-14 loss they took at the hands of the Bulldogs in 2005. Fresno State is the better team on paper and in the rankings but in college football that means very little. The Bulldogs will have to come out and execute early if they hope to leave Toledo with a win. Toledo and their fans will be fired up to face a top twenty five team on Saturday night. On the other side of the ball Fresno State will be looking to get past their close loss to Wisconsin. Bulldog fans would like to believe that Fresno State has long forgotten about what happened between the end of 2005 and beginning of 2006. If the Bulldogs can mirror what they did in 2007 expect a win at the end of the day. However, if Fresno State continues to rely on the run up the middle and shows little creativity in their offense they very well may head to UCLA 1-2.

BB.C Prediction

Fresno State will look to the run far more than most fans would hope. This game will mirror that of La. Tech in 2006 with the Bulldogs winning ugly.