[nickeydyme]

I like Fresno St -9 to get the win over Rutgers Thurs night for the following reasons.

Can't discount gametime/location, this game will be played on a Thurs night at 730p Pac which will be like 1030p to the Rutgers players, i doubt they will be used to west coast time unless they make the trip 4-5 days in advance. Also, Rutgers hasn't played a regular season game in California or really past Texas in over 10 years. Fresno is predicted as a potential BCS buster and this will be a nationally televised game that will be sold out with wild FSU alums, students, and fans.

Coaching breakdown clearly favors DeRuyter. He is a defensive genius. In 3 years at Air Force the Defensive rank went from 80th, 50th, to 12th. At A&M the D rank year before he got there was 45th, his two seasons there took them to 11th and then 22nd. At Fresno Pat Hill's ly D rank was 110th, in his first year that shot up to 21st. And the D is returning 8 starters so they should be top 20 D again. Flood inherited a very good team ly that i think almost any coach would have had success with that D they had BUT only 4 starters return on the D and 6 starters on Offensive. More importantly all their leaders are gone. So now we will see if Flood is any good of coach.

Rutgers Offense was brutal ly and that's with the departed RB Jamison who was a beast. 100th ranked rush O and 83rd rank pass O. Nova is an average QB who will make mistakes, he does have a 6'6" stud at WR but Fresno's secondary is the strength of their D. How will Rutgers score in this game with no true gamebreaker?

Fresno on the other hand does lose stud RB Rouse and he wont be easily replaced but Carr has his two top WR's back and they should be just as explosive if not more in year two. They ranked 60th in rush O ly and 8th! in pass O ly. They also bring back their all-conference LT to protect the future NFL QB.

Fresno went undefeated ly at home with their closest game being 52-40 against SDSU...Fresno avg home score ly with almost this same squad was 48-17!

Fresno has special teams kicking issues but i doubt that will be a factor in this game.

Fresno is legit this year and will contend with Boise for the MWC Championship. They seem unstoppable on O especially at home, opening night nationally televised game against a Rutgers team that is due for a let down with all those star players and leaders gone. That pathetic offense has no chance to keep up and all the playmakers from their outstanding D are gone, how will they stop Fresno's weapons?!?!

Fresno 34 Rutgers 13

Any insight is appreciated!

[Killer_Demo]

Fresno By 2 TD's at least...Gotta see how Fresno is doing with their running game. Will be a huge factor for this team.

[BigdaddyQH]

I do not see any problems for Fresno State here.

[Huckleberry Pig]

how many O-line return for Fresno? other than the stud LT

[Urbanwildlife]

I believe all of them return. The only weakness Fresno State has is in the kicking game. They very well could get a BCS game as they are that strong and good. As good as they were last year on offense, there defense might be even stronger than the offense this year. This team is going to be very very dangerous.

[gojetsgomoxies]

rutgers lost alot of starters from an outstanding defense/UNDER team.

fresno is such a sexy pick this year. though lost rouse TB, who did a fantastic job, and thomas S who i think was on some first team all-american lists last year.

still fresno should score alot and not sure rutgers will score much. so i'd say fresno all the way, and they want to be in the BCS so they need statement wins.

[gojetsgomoxies]

i notice someone mentions LT. seems like fresno may have got exposed in the bowl game vs. smu last year. or was smu's DE Hunt just a freak? i would say he is a freak..... anyway, something for other team's DC's to breakdown all off-season.

[WorkHorse]

Got to agree with Killer about the running game. I believe the leading returning rusher had less than 200 yards last season. If the offensive line can protect Carr and he can get some help with a rushing attack...then should be good, potent offense.

My take is the defense is the foundation of this year's team. Love the fact a couple of last year's starters are now on the second team. They were pretty solid last year and have a chance to be as good or better this season. Pass defense needs to get a little better.

For some reason, I think Killer has a pretty good read on the Bulldogs.

[nickeydyme]

@workhorse--Fresno Pass D was #4 in nation ly, only lose 1 of those guys to the NFL, their pass D is their strength. Their starting RB is going to be the BYU transfer and this is a pass first offense anyway, so as long as Carr is on, the running game will open up for whomever is back there, the o-line have 67 starts between them, so they are experienced too.

[Killer_Demo]

or was smu's DE Hunt just a freak? i would say he is a freak.....

Is Hunt still playing for SMU or did he graduate?

[nickeydyme]

he was drafted in 2nd round

[Urbanwildlife]

The answer to your question is no. He was a 2nd round draft choice this year by the Bengals.

[Killer_Demo]

For some reason, I think Killer has a pretty good read on the Bulldogs.

Fresno State is my Alma-Mater workhorse. 2009 Graduate. This is my #1 team to focus on besides the Stanford Cardinals who have fattened my wallet over the past few seasons. Fresno ST MUST find a good replacement RB to keep that high-octane offense moving... Defense should be even better than last year. All I'm focused on is power-run game. In a way Stanford and Fresno present the same question coming into this season. Can both these defense powerhouses stay defensive grinders? and can both these teams replace their senior 5 star RBs? (Taylor for Stanford, Rouse for Fresno ST)

[gojetsgomoxies]

The answer to your question is no. He was a 2nd round draft choice this year by the Bengals.

but in fairness, he'd barely played any football. from germany.....

[gojetsgomoxies]

Is Hunt still playing for SMU or did he graduate?

it's funny. i was over at my uncle's house who has dvr but barely tapes anything. he loves hawaii in general so he taped the smu-fresno bowl last year and hadn't erased it so i watched alot of the game. first time i'd ever watched a game months later on tape. good exercise. hunt looked absolutely dominant at DE for SMU. probably the most dominant DE performance i've ever seen but did it against a freshman (true freshman?) RT (i think it was RT)

[Killer_Demo]

it's funny. i was over at my uncle's house who has dvr but barely tapes anything. he loves hawaii in general so he taped the smu-fresno bowl last year and hadn't erased it so i watched alot of the game. first time i'd ever watched a game months later on tape. good exercise. hunt looked absolutely dominant at DE for SMU. probably the most dominant DE performance i've ever seen but did it against a freshman (true freshman?) RT (i think it was RT)

Ya that was a ugly bowl game for Fresno. Hunt Was on-point that game

[WorkHorse]

Nick, I stand corrected on Fresno's secondary (now this forum is going in the right direction). I have a ton of stats, pages, etc. on my desk and looked at the wrong team. Actually, the Dogs were #2 giving up only 167 ypg. I appreciate the correction and dually noted. Correction: Defense against the run needs some improvement.

Damn, I love it guys....we're all pulling together for good information. Thanks!

[gojetsgomoxies]

2012 unanimous all american at safety (SS or FS?) has graduated...

• Phillip Thomas, Fresno State -- UNANIMOUS -- (AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, ESPN, SI)......only one guy obviously but it is fresno state too.

[suicidekings]

Fresno is predicted as a potential BCS buster and this will be a nationally televised game that will be sold out with wild FSU alums, students, and fans.

There are a lot of reasons to like Fresno in 2013, but this is overstating their value, IMO. Rutgers consistently recruits fairly well, and while they have a lot to prove, they aren't going to be complete pushovers on defense. I could see this game being lower scoring and the -9 being an issue for a team with high expectations if the Knights can play mistake-free football.

However it's also not a game that I'll likely bet.

[gojetsgomoxies]

another thing to mention somewhat along the lines of what suicidekings said is that Fresno was classic "under the radar" potential BCS buster last year. now they are very popular BCS buster pick.......

i think Marshall is this year's Fresno State. probably a couple of other teams will come to mind too. EDIT: northern illinois? although didn't they make the BCS once in recent years.... Rice? SDSU?

Fresno could be incredibly good this year but i don't think they'll be sneaking up on anyone anymore. and even if rutgers look a ton of guys on defense, the effective schemes and great culture will still be there.

i still like fresno but last year was the year that very insightful people had fresno. this year they are a very popular pick.

[chunk]

Always a lot of guess work that 1st week. I do have Rutgers taking a step back and Fresno improving, but is 9 too many? I personally have the game @7,however, I tend to be conservative with early adjustments to teams. Fresno seems to me to be one of those "popular plays" that usually give me pause, but it is definitely a game of interest.

[BigdaddyQH]

Watch the line movment. My guess is that most, if not all of you have not actually played the game as of yet. The line actually opened at 8.5 in Vegas and has gone up slightly. Week 1 games can be a bit tricky, but I certainly could not fade FSU at this point.

[nickeydyme]

good article talking about how Flood has completely revamped his o-line from ly...might work out for them long-term but game 1 on road that inexperience and lack of cohesiveness should be another plus in favor of Fresno...

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/in...medium=twitter

[Killer_Demo]

I expect alot from my alma mater Fresno ST this year. We were a generally unknown program until last year with the 3-way conference title. Go Dogs.

[BigdaddyQH]

The question is can Fresno get past Boise State TWICE? There is a playoff this season in the MWC and these two teams are in different Divisions. Fresno State also must play their toughest Divisional rivalry, San Diego State, in San Diego. Do not expect too much out of this team. Certainly do not take much out of the Rutgets game. Fresno State is playing a middle of the pack AAC team in what amounts to a 10:00 pm start for them.

[nickeydyme]

This thread is for game 1 thoughts, I personally dont care how their season may go

[Killer_Demo]

This thread is for game 1 thoughts, I personally dont care how their season may go

Well I do...BTW what D1 school did u graduate from? oh thats right nowhere

[nickeydyme]

For my Bachelor's or Master's?

[Urbanwildlife]

nickleydyme is correct. He was trying to gain input on this particular game and is being kind enough to ask to keep the comments on this particular game. If you care to elaborate on anything more, respect the original poster of the thread and start your own. It is not to difficult and it is respectful.

[Killer_Demo]

nickleydyme is correct. He was trying to gain input on this particular game and is being kind enough to ask to keep the comments on this particular game. If you care to elaborate on anything more, respect the original poster of the thread and start your own. It is not to difficult and it is respectful.

Log some wins then come holler at me.

[nickeydyme]

thanks urbanwildlife! i'm not tryin to have enemies in here, i bring a lot to the forum and wanna work with everyone. lets be respectful is key word! gl fellas

[EzekielMowatt]

Sharp line. Haven't seen total yet, play has to be Fresno -10 and over 50. Rutgers offensive line is talented this year,prob best in that conf. Coleman will get lot of attn but new Fresno defensive schemes could take few games and I suspect RU can run the ball then hit Coleman for big play. RU Dline is actually strength on D,but secondary doesn't have enough experience , first game vs a real QB they will give up chunks.i do think RU defense is good this year despite the grad losses. Personally not touching it,maybe the over.

[Urbanwildlife]

Log some wins then come holler at me.

This is going to be my last comment that is out of the context of what the thread is about. My record speaks for itself as you can see here is a very small sampling from last year, as I logged a few wins, so I guess I have a right to express myself to you, since you provided me with this opportunity Killer_Demo. You might want to watch what you say to others in the future, as you might find yourself eating your own bullshit. You have posted some good information in the past Killer_Demo so leave the insults and bullshit behind and continue to post your excellent information. Good luck to you this year as well.

[nvrlose37]

Don't start discounting the RU D so soon. I too really like Fresno as they were money basically all year last year, except for that horrible bowl game. Not sure about -9 in the first game back though.

[nickeydyme]

Actually this game may be a no play now for me...fresno starting cb out for year so now 2/4 back still strong unit tho...also rumors out of rutgers camp is potential high nfl draft pick wr Coleman wont play in this game, if he's out im not sure rutgers scores more than 14