Homecoming games are traditionally scheduled against an opponent that the home team feels they have a chance to defeat. With the 0-6 Mustangs going to Bulldog Stadium Saturday night, it seems Fresno could not have picked a better time or opponent for its homecoming.
This weekend’s contest will feature two teams with a few scary similarities on offense. However, the sharp contrast is the direction in which each is heading.
In the Bulldogs’ season opener, senior All-American wide receiver Bernard Berrian sprained his knee on a muffed punt. Berrian will redshirt this season and come back in 2003 at full strength.
SMU lost its big-play receiver, senior Chris Cunningham, before the season ever started. Cunningham will also redshirt and return next season.
Fresno State junior running back Rodney Davis is second in the WAC in rushing yards, trailing only SMU junior running back Keylon Kincade. Kincade has been strong all season despite having to shoulder much of the offensive burden. An early injury to senior fullback Kris Briggs and nagging back pains to sophomore ShanDerrick Charles have placed a lot of responsibility on Kincade’s shoulders.
“What we’ve done with the running game has been phenomenal,” head coach Phil Bennett said. “It’s a credit to our coaches and our players.”
Davis is as much a focus of the Mustang defense as Kincade is of the Bulldog defense.
“[Davis] is a hard runner,” Bennett said. “He made some big plays against Colorado State.”
Paul Pinegar will start at quarterback for Fresno State. Pinegar is a redshirt freshman that has started the last five games. On the other side of the field, SMU will start redshirt freshman quarterback Tate Wallis, who for the first time this season, did not take all of the snaps in a loss to San Jose State. Pinegar has had some rough spots in the season. He started in place of junior Jeff Grady in the second game of the season after Grady suffered an injury in the season opener.
The glaring difference that distinguishes an 0-6 team on the run from a 3-3 team on the rise is how they have handled the adversities they have faced.
SMU’s passing game has struggled the entire season. No one has fully replaced Cunningham’s production, and Wallis continues to have difficulty translating good practices into good game performances.
Pinegar, however, has come along nicely in his grasp of head coach Pat Hill’s offensive system. Pinegar is expected to be the next star in a program that has produced NFL quarterbacks David Carr (Houston Texans) and Trent Dilfer (Seattle Seahawks).
SMU head coach Phil Bennett still likes some of the things that he sees from Wallis and will start him again against Fresno State.
“If you look at the game, Tate did some really good things for us,” Bennett said. “He doesn’t have the confidence that he needs to throw the ball.”
Bennett believes the Mustangs’ problems in the passing game go far beyond the quarterback position. He has noticed that Wallis makes good reads and finds ways to attack the opposing defense on the ground, which has aided the Mustangs’ potent ground game.
Fresno State is on its first winning streak of the season. After starting 1-3, the Bulldogs have won their last two, including last Saturday’s 32-30 win over No. 25 Colorado State. Fresno nearly surrendered a big lead, but held on in the end.
“[Fresno State] is a team that, statistically, isn’t going to blow you away,” Bennett said, “But they do the things necessary to win.”
SMU has worked to get past the loss to San Jose State.
“You dwell on the losses too long and wins too short,” Bennett said. “I always try to stay positive. We’ve practiced hard this week, and we talked about what we’re about to get into.”
Fresno might get a look offensively that the Mustangs have not tried, but may try Saturday.
“We’re looking at possibly giving Tate some breaks through the game,” Bennett said, “and just seeing what [Richard] Bartel can do.”
