Cincinnati Bearcats @ Fresno State Football Preview

The Fresno State Bulldogs under Coach Pat Hill are known for their willingness to play anyone, anywhere, anytime. In 2009 they traveled to Wisconsin, Cincinnati, and Illinois. The 2010 season brings a home rematch with Cincinnati. This, however, will be a different Bearcats team than the one the Bulldogs met in 2009. Gone is head coach Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, in is Butch Jones (who also replaced Kelly at Central Michigan). Gone is quarterback Tony Pike, but in steps Zach Collaros, a backup who played in nine games last year.

Brian Kelly and Tony Pike might be gone, but, don’t shed too large of a tear for Cincinnati. Zach Collaros completed 75% of his passes and ended 2009 with a 5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in relief of Pike. It also helps that Collaros will have an extremely talented cast of skill position players around him in receivers Armon Binns and Vidal Hazelton, tight end Ben Guidugli, and running back Isiah Pead. The Bearcats were 11th nationally in total offense in 2009 and should be every bit as effective in 2010. Butch Jones will bring with him a slightly more physical offense that runs the ball more often, which is good for Pead. Cincinnati also benefits from Ryan Matthews’ departure from Fresno State for the NFL.

Pat Hill’s Bulldogs aren’t afraid of BCS competition. Last year’s team lost by just a field goal at Wisconsin; lost by just eight to these same Bearcats in Ohio; and beat Illinois on the road to finish the season 7-5. A full 15 starters from that squad return this year, led by senior quarterback Ryan Colburn. Last year’s unit was explosive, exceeding 500 yards of offense twice (one of those times being against Boise State). The Bulldogs also return seven starters on defense, including five of their top six tacklers. That experience will help in matching up with Cincinnati’s explosive offense.

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Jones, the new sheriff in Cincy, has stepped into Brian Kelly’s coaching shoes before and performed well. When Kelly left Central Michigan for Cincinnati, Jones replaced him and led the Chippewas to two MAC championships. This time will be no different. Yes, Fresno State put up some impressive numbers in 2009, but, most of those numbers were put up by the now-departed and aforementioned Ryan Matthews. Cincinnati won’t be forced to put eight or nine men in the box to corral Matthews, so the test for Fresno State is to hit big plays in the passing game and score enough points to make Collaros keep up in a shootout. If Fresno, playing at home, can make the Bearcats come from behind, Collaros could flinch, and the Bulldogs could pull off the mild upset.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer