Fresno State will look to stay in the hunt for a possible Mountain West Conference Championship Game appearance when they host the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday night.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 PT and will be on the TV on Fox Sports 1. You can also catch the contest on the Bulldog Sports Network and the Bulldog Sports App.
This is just the 16th matchup between the two schools on the gridiron. The Bulldogs lead the series 9-6 and are 6-1 at home against the Cowboys.
Carson Conklin will be getting his third start for Fresno State on Saturday. The transfer from Sacramento State is 1-1 as a starter and was more of a game manager in the win over Boise State two weeks ago.
Conklin was 10-for-21 for 35 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Many are hoping the bye week allowed the offense to work out the bugs in the passing game. They will need to not have any as Wyoming only allows 185 yards passing on average.
That same defense for the Cowboys allows 163 yards on the ground on average. However, away from home the Pokes have given up 202 yards per game. Considering the propensity to lean on the run, expect Speedy Luke and Bryson Donelson to get a ton of carries.
On defense the Bulldogs will have to contend with what could be a three-headed monster in the Wyoming backfield.
Samuel Harris leads the team in rushing with 450 yards, Sam Scott and Terron Kellman have also received bulk numbers in carries this season. The problem? Only once has Harris gone for over 100 yards in a game and Scott also has done so just once. Kellman has led the team in carries the last two games, while Scott hasn’t seen more than five carries in four straight games.
In the passing game, the Cowboys have struggled. Against San Diego State last week, the Pokes had just 96 yards passing and quarterback Kaden Anderson has only gone for more than 200 yards passing three times this season.
Expect the Bulldogs defense to t-up against the run and try to force Anderson to beat them over the top.
Final thoughts and prediction:
As of this writing, Fresno State is a slim favorite at -3.5. The total is a really low 40.5, meaning we are looking at a low scoring, defensive battle. I would concur with that observation. Conklin did get the benefit of more practice time this bye week, however, nothing prepares a quarterback quite like the gameday experience. Meaning that he could still be working on things come gametime. In this case, both teams will likely pursue leaning on the running game and that means a lot of long drives in the time of possession department.
That said, I still like Fresno State in this one given their pass defense. Give me Fresno State plus the points, Bulldogs 24-14.