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SALT LAKE CITY — Following its 52-13 defeat at USC last weekend, Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter said his team is ready for the next challenging Pac-12 opponent.
“You don’t have the luxury of feeling sorry for yourself, nobody does. You’ve got to correct what you’ve got to correct,” DeRuyter said at his weekly press conference. “The nice part is when you have a great challenge like Utah, guys are going to be focused.”
The challenge will also be Utah’s first true test this season after a lopsided 56-14 victory over FCS opponent Idaho State — a game that didn’t really show the team’s abilities for the upcoming season. But that doesn’t stop DeRuyter from preparing for a physical Utah team that is looking to make it to a bowl game for the first time in three seasons.
“We’re playing an excellent Utah team that’s physical,” DeRuyter said. “Clearly you can tell they’ve been in the Pac-12 for a few years now, they’ve recruited well. They’re very physical on both sides of the ball. They’ve got an experienced quarterback and some really outstanding wide receivers.”
DeRuyter points to Utah’s defense as one of the biggest challenges Fresno State will face on Saturday.
“On defense, they’ve been known to be a very physical defense, and this year’s unit is no different,” he said. “I’m really impressed with their edge guys; they do a great job of pressuring quarterbacks.”
On defense, they've been known to be a very physical defense, and this year's unit is no different. I'm really impressed with their edge guys; they do a great job of pressuring quarterbacks.
–Tim DeRuyter
Against Idaho State, defensive ends Nate Orchard and Hunter Dimick combined for three sacks and 12 total tackles in one half of play. Fresno State, however, was able to run the ball effectively against a good defensive Trojans team, finishing the game with 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns, due much to the effort by junior Marteze Waller.
Utah did not open up its playbook against the Bengals and will likely run more of its offensive and defensive schemes against Fresno State. But from what DeRuyter has seen, he’s impressed with Utah’s skill level.
“Compared to some of the things coach (Dave) Christensen has done in the past there’s a little bit of a watered down version, which you would anticipate with a brand new system in the first game,” DeRuyter said. “But they were very, very effective in running it. They didn’t exactly get slowed down.”
DeRuyter added: “They’ve got some physical linebackers that run well and it’s tough to run it on that defense with stout guys up front.”
The Bulldogs will play two quarterbacks, Brian Burrell and Brandon Connette, in Saturday’s game as DeRuyter attempts to find a starter. Both struggled to get the offense moving against USC, mostly as a result of the four interceptions thrown between the two.
Burrell finished the game going 11-of-19 for 92 yards and one interception, while Connette finished going 7-of-17 for 68 yards and three interceptions.
The Utes and Bulldogs will kickoff at 1 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
