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Fresno State comes to the Glass Bowl to take on Toledo’s high powered offense. The Bulldogs are 1-1 this season after losing to Nebraska in the opener but getting a win last week over Sacramento State.
Even in a 31-3 win Fresno QB Chason Virgil struggled against an FCS defense. He passed for 274 yards with two touchdowns, but he also had an interception and only completed 50 percent of his passes.
One player to watch out for the Bulldogs is Dontel James, while he struggled against Nebraska he was able to break out against Sacarmento State. James rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Hornets. The Bulldogs could be the toughest opponent Toledo has faced yet.
Toledo’s defense will need to shut down James to stop the Bulldogs. Once James is stopped the pressure will be Virgil who has had a rough year so far. Virgil has only completed 52.7 percent of his passes this year with three touchdowns and two Interceptions on 407 yards passing. The Rockets defense will need to be disciplined and get into the backfield to stop both Virgil and James.
Logan Woodside and his receivers should be able to take advantage of the Fresno pass defense that has yet to be challenge by an opposing quarterback. Woodside has been torched both defenses he has faced, passing of 700 yards with seven touchdowns and only one interception. This could be a big game for Cody Thompson, Corey Jones and Jon’Ve Johnson. Jones and Johnson both have over 100 receiving yards with a touchdowns each while Thompson has over 200 yards with two touchdowns.
This could be a game where Kareem Hunt has a big day, the Bulldogs allowed Nebraska to rush for 292 yards as a team on 51 carries. Hunt has 144 yards this season but has not had a breakout game yet this year. He rushed for 78 yard against Arkansas State and 66 against Maine but this could be the game where the senior has his first 100 yard day of this season.
The Rockets should handle Fresno State at home before moving into the heart of schedule. The game kicks off at 3pm EST in Toledo at the Glass Bowl and can be seen on ESPN3.