Fort Collins – Colorado State worked on a silent cadence this week to prepare for the always boisterous late-night crowd at Fresno State.
“It’s a tough place to play,” CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt said. “You can get hit by something thrown on the way out in the tunnel.”
Rams defensive tackle Erik Sandie recalled playing a high school game at Bulldog Stadium when he was at nationally renowned Concord De La Salle.
“The crowd was pretty rowdy, and that was just for high school football,” he said. His family lived about 2 1/2 hours away, but he said he wasn’t recruited there after his junior year but, “I wouldn’t want to go there anyway.”
CSU hasn’t played in Fresno since 2002 and hasn’t won in the raisin capital since both were Western Athletic Conference members in 1996.
Besides the raucous atmosphere, CSU veteran staffers could always expect to find an NFL-caliber quarterback at the Bulldogs helm along the lines of Trent Dilfer, Billy Volek and David Carr.
Some things change with time. Fresno State ended beer sales during games this season and moved its student section from behind the visitors’ bench.
The Bulldogs (1-2) are breaking in a new quarterback, and sophomore Tom Brandstater is averaging only 138 yards a game so far.
No matter. The next backfield NFL candidate is running back Dwayne Wright. Originally signed by Washington State, Wright was academically eligible under NCAA rules but was not accepted by the Pac-10 school and spent a year in junior college. When former Washington State coach Mike Price had his ill-fated stop in Alabama, he tried to get Wright to come along.
The San Diego product didn’t want to go that far and instead signed with Fresno State. He’s on track to graduate in December and is expected to leave for the pros rather than petition for eligibility after two missed seasons with a knee injury.
CSU coach Sonny Lubick said he talked to the Oregon staff for a scouting report on Fresno State and was told Wright impressed even more than Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson.
Fresno State coach Pat Hill said some didn’t believe Wright would ever come back, but he gets better every week.
Despite Fresno’s slow start, the lone win over WAC rival Nevada in the opener, the Bulldogs are the biggest WAC favorite over a Mountain West team at 12 1/2 points in four nonleague pairings this weekend. That’s likely the result of CSU losing to Nevada 28-10 in its last game. Both schools had a bye last weekend.
While Hill’s “anyone, anytime, any place” nonleague scheduling philosophy has set the standard for all schools in non-BCS-automatic-qualifying leagues, CSU would like to get its offense going against anyone, anytime soon and at any venue.
Lubick said Wednesday he thought his team would have more potential for explosive plays after the spring and preseason work. It hasn’t materialized in games with quarterback Caleb Hanie just missing the deep ball to Damon Morton early in two of the contests.
“If I hit those two, it would be different,” Hanie said. “If it was an inch left or right, it would be there for them to catch it.”
Hanie said it will just take patience and getting the running game going to pull defenses off the deep coverages.
“Once the running game starts hitting, the pass protection won’t play so far off the receivers,” he said.
As for Hill’s scheduling, he suggested during the WAC conference call Fresno State has been the victim of its success, winning 10 of 21 against BCS conference teams in the past six seasons.
“When we play those games now, it’s not a rest time for the opponents,” Hill said. “They’re big games for both teams.”
At the same time, Boise State has become the WAC’s top 25 entry.
The most recent BCS team to take Fresno State lightly was USC last year and the Trojans barely escaped with a 50-42 win. It was such a letdown, the Bulldogs lost their remaining three games.
Footnotes
The game will be available for Internet streaming on WACtv.com for $7.95. The game will come off a live feed from a Fresno television production.
GAME BREAKDOWN: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Players to watch
Fresno State (1-2): Running back Dwayne Wright is coming off nearly two years of rehabilitation from a torn knee tendon. The junior ranks fifth nationally in rushing at 149.3 yards a game. Center Kyle Young is a Rimington Award candidate and could be among top OL picks in 2007 draft.
Colorado State (2-1): H-back Kory Sperry is overdue for a big game and has the only receiving TD this fall. CSU goes in with only two completely healthy wideouts: Damon Morton and Luke Roberts. DTs Blake Smith and Erik Sandie get their biggest test so far vs. a veteran Fresno State line.
Key stat
CSU hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in six quarters. There’s no improvement in sight for the running game unless some tweaks on the offensive line create some creases for the rushing unit ranked No. 107 in the NCAA.
Key for Fresno State
Run the ball behind Wright and a veteran offensive line, and use up the clock against a CSU team hard-pressed to quickly generate offense.
Key for CSU
Hit some early passes to loosen up the defense. No overnight cure is expected for the running game, but the Rams need to get Sperry more involved with the offense.
Staff writer Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
