If Mario Cristobal’s goal is to schedule good competition for his Oregon Ducks football team right away in Week 1, mission accomplished.
It would be easy to invite a team from the Football Championship Subdivision such as Portland State to begin the first normal season in two years, but Oregon will welcome Fresno State Sept. 4. When the two teams take the field, it will be 644 days since a full Autzen Stadium will witness a game.
The Bulldogs come into the contest already with a win under their belt as they blew out Connecticut 45-0 last week. Granted UConn didn’t play last season and the Huskies looked more than sluggish, but Fresno State was able to show their overall team speed and an accurate quarterback that will test Oregon’s young secondary.
“They’re a team that’s impressive and you can tell they return a lot of starters,” Cristobal said of Fresno State in his weekly press conference. “They’re explosive on offense and it relates to a couple of different things. At running back, they’re as good as you’ll find. They also have a very experienced quarterback that came over from Washington and can tell by the efficiency of their passing game, the timing and precision, and their ability to protect and launch it down the field when they want to.”
That quarterback from Washington is senior Jake Haener. He transferred from the Huskies to the Bulldogs after the 2018 season where he appeared in four games in Seattle. Haener sat out the 2019 season per NCAA transfer rules, but when he was able to step out on the field for Fresno State, he delivered.
In 2020, Haener was an All-Mountain West honorable mention, leading the conference in averaging 337 yards a game. He also completed nearly 65 percent of his passes. Haener threw for 14 touchdowns in the six games the Bulldogs played last season. In the 2021 season opener, Haener picked up right where he left off going 20-of-26 for 331 yards and three scores.
The Fresno State tailback Cristobal mentioned was senior Ronnie Rivers, a 5-foot-9, 195-pounder from Brentwood, Calif. Although he had a slow day against UConn (13 carries for 58 yards), Rivers has been spectacular in his career.
Rivers was a first-team all-conference tailback last season where he scored seven rushing touchdowns and nine total. Rivers’ next touchdown, his 45th, will make Rivers the all-time leading touchdown scorer in school history.
Fresno State’s deep threat was on full display last week with receiver Jalen Cropper. The 6-0, 172-pounder from Parlier, Calif. had an 86-yard touchdown against UConn where his speed was just too much for the Huskies’ secondary to handle. But that was the first time Cropper has exploded for a score in his career. Far from it.
Cropper has 55 catches in his two-plus-year career and is averaging almost 15 yards per reception. He caught 37 passes last year, good for 520 yards and five touchdowns in the six-game season.
As for their next game, inside a full Autzen Stadium, Fresno State offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb knows Oregon will provide a more difficult challenge than UConn did.
“Jake (Haener) is going to have to get that ball out on time,” he said of his quarterback avoiding sacks. “I think a big part of it is staying in rhythm and not getting ourselves in a position where Jake has to throw the ball. The O-line has to play well and know where the matchup is. We’re looking for a heavy dose of a pass rush and we just have to stay firm up there.”
A lot of offensive coordinators have said the same thing when facing the Ducks defense led by defensive Kayvon Thibodeaux and have walked away wondering what went wrong. Fresno State could be in that same position about three hours after kickoff.
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