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Know Your Opponent: UCLA Football vs. Fresno State 2018

By Mike Regalado

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 08: Marcus McMaryion #6 of the Fresno State Bulldogs hands the ball to teammate Josh Hokit #33 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second quarter of the game on September 8, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 08: Marcus McMaryion #6 of the Fresno State Bulldogs hands the ball to teammate Josh Hokit #33 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second quarter of the game on September 8, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 08: Marcus McMaryion #6 of the Fresno State Bulldogs hands the ball to teammate Josh Hokit #33 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second quarter of the game on September 8, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 08: Marcus McMaryion #6 of the Fresno State Bulldogs hands the ball to teammate Josh Hokit #33 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second quarter of the game on September 8, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

After a performance that was not utterly horrible against Oklahoma, the UCLA football team now look to build off a few things against Fresno State.

The UCLA football team is certainly covering a lot of ground in their non-conference schedule. Not only did they take on (and lose) to Cincinnati, but they traveled to and battled (and lost) to Oklahoma.

RELATED: 10 Bold Predictions for UCLA Football in 2018

Despite a 28-point defeat at the hands of the Sooners, there were a lot of positive takeaways the team can build off of. They will need it as they battle the ferocious Fresno State Bulldogs this Saturday.

Fresno State Offense

Last year, the Bulldogs added a key component to their program, head coach Jeff Tedford. Before the former Cal coach stepped foot onto Fresno State, the Bulldogs won just one game in 2016.

In 2017, they won 10. That is all Tedford. Though the coach fizzled out with the Golden Bears, his magic has not worn off, in fact, it seems like it has been resurrected. The Bulldogs made massive improvements last season and that is carrying over into 2018.

"DID YOU KNOW? The green  “V” symbolizes Fresno State’s pride in representing the San Joaquin Valley and the color green was selected to honor the importance of the agriculture industry to the region. Information comes via GoBulldogs.com."

In their first game of the season, Fresno State put on a clinic in a 79-13 win over… Idaho. Though it may be fool’s gold as a top high school team can beat Idaho by that margin, the Bulldogs certainly proved that they have playmakers on both sides of the field. Starting QB Marcus McMaryion threw for 207 yards, but had no touchdowns. He left that to the running backs who got into the end zone seven times.

Jordan Mims led the charge with three of his own scores while Romello Harris led all rushers in yards with 47 (averaging 11.8 yards per carry). The Bulldogs shared the ball a lot, something that they tried to replicate against Minnesota this past weekend, but found it a lot harder to collect yards and points. Against Idaho, Fresno State averaged over five yards per carry. That dropped to 3.6 against the Golden Gophers.

The Bulldogs had to rely more on McMaryion against Minnesota as they threw the ball more, especially in the second half. Fresno was blanked in the first half, but consecutive scoring drives got them back in this game. Unfortunately, McMaryion threw an interception late in the game and Minnesota stole what would have been a score bringing Fresno State to within one point. Quite the different outcome from the Idaho game.