2011-2012 Football Previews – WAC Conference – Fresno St. Bulldogs
After finishing an otherwise successful 2010 season with a terrible 40-17 loss to Northern Illinois in the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl, the Fresno State Bulldogs enter a fresh year without the worry of Boise State, but will still have an uphill battle to a WAC title.
2011 Western Athletic Conference | Fresno State Bulldogs Football Preview
Coach: Pat Hill
2010-11 Record: 8-5 (5-3)
Fresno State Bulldogs Gambling Odds from Bodog.com to win BCS: 50-1
Fresno St. Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –>
The Bulldogs have a great thing going for them that fellow WAC top dog Nevada doesn’t: continuity.
The team will return the majority of their starters from 2010, and have a coach that has been there, done that, and is ready to compete in the newly shrunken WAC.
The team will have a tough schedule in 2011, especially in the front half, but has all the pieces in place to get through it sporting a winning record.
Ahead is a preview of the team’s offense and defense, as well as my prediction on where they will wind up in conference action in the upcoming season.
Offense:
The Bulldogs will see their offensive trio from a year ago return, with senior quarterback Ryan Colburn leading the way.
Colburn had a tremendous year in 2010, picking apart defenses and throwing for over 2,800 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was perhaps the only bright spot for the team in their dismal effort in their bowl game loss, and is expected to improve in his senior year.
Colburn is the leader in terms of offense without question, but he likely wouldn’t be as successful without the help of the running game, and junior running back Robbie Rouse.
Rouse is on a collision course with the NFL, and will no doubt be ready to step up and make his 2010 season, a season in which he ran for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns in a very pass-happy offense, a mere memory as he attempts to pad those numbers for the scouts.
The Bulldogs haven’t had a truly dominant offense since David Carr won the Johnny Unitas’ Golden Arm Award back in 2001, and it would be a sigh of relief for Fresno State fans if this duo could reignite that spark.
This could be a great year for them to achieve that, with weak defenses littered throughout their conference.
Defense:
The defense for Fresno State will be young in 2011, but incredibly talented. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Phillip Thomas, the junior cornerback who nabbed three picks and 64 tackles in his sophomore season, leads the pack and will only get better as his collegiate career progresses.
Logan Harrell, the big and athletic defensive tackle out of Santa Margarita, California, leads a very strong and athletic defensive line that will be a force to be reckoned with.
Harrell had a great year in 2010, burning past offensive lineman in route to 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for losses. In total, he garnered 46 tackles over the 13 starts.
The defense is very efficient, and is prone to staying off the field by forcing teams to punt the ball often while holding teams to just a 39 percent third down conversion rate (68-of-172) in 2010. However, one thing they do need to improve upon is the turnover category, where they only managed 13 takeaways in 13 regular season games.
The team, in all, is in great position to make a run for a conference title, but their success will rest on the offense, as this defense can hold their own.
Matt’s Prediction: 2nd WAC– There is a lot of promise up and down the Fresno State roster, but they lack a knock-out player on both sides of the ball. They should end up in a better place than they did at the end of the 2010 season, but that isn’t saying so much, since the WAC is so much weaker this time around.
2011 Fresno State Bulldogs Schedule
9/3/11 12:00 PM ET @CAL
9/10/11 12:00 PM ET @NEB
9/17/11 10:00 PM ET UND
9/24/11 5:00 PM ET @IDAHO
10/1/11 9:15 PM ET MISS
10/7/11 9:00 PM ET BOIST
10/15/11 10:00 PM ET UTAST
10/22/11 12:00 PM ET @NEV
11/5/11 8:00 PM ET LTECH
11/12/11 12:00 PM ET @NMXST
11/20/11 12:00 AM ET @HAW
11/26/11 8:00 PM ET SJST
12/3/11 8:00 PM ET @SDST
One reply on “2011 Fresno St. Bulldogs Gambling Odds | Predictions”
How many wins do you see in store for the Bulldogs in 2011 folks?