GAME NOTES: One of five teams in the Top-25 with one loss already, the 25th- ranked Fresno State Bulldogs try to bounce back from their lone setback last weekend as they pay a visit to the Toledo Rockets on Saturday.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Fresno State head coach Pat Hill went ahead with opening the 2008 campaign by traveling all the way across the country to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway and returned to California with a convincing 24-7 victory. Following a week off, the Bulldogs were back at it again, this time against 10th-ranked Wisconsin at home and in a defensive battle FSU came up just short in a 13-10 setback, yet still maintained a place in the national rankings. Following a date with UCLA next week, the Bulldogs finally get their Western Athletic Conference schedule underway with a meeting against Hawaii at home.

As for the Rockets, a program that represents the Mid-American Conference, they too have started off the season with a 1-1 mark. After being crushed by Arizona in its opener on September 6th in Tucson, 41-16, Toledo rebounded by taking care of conference foe Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti last Saturday afternoon by a score of 41-17.

This is the first of three straight home games for the Rockets, a team that fell to FSU in the only other meeting between the programs, 44-14, back in 2005.

In what was billed as a defensive tussle, Fresno State managed to produce 343 yards of total offense versus Wisconsin last weekend, and yet the Bulldogs still made it into the end zone just once on a 47-yard pass play from Tom Brandstater to Devon Wylie in the third quarter. Brandstater finished 15-of-27 for 225 yards, was intercepted once and sacked three times. Part of the problem was that, when the offense stalled, it was left to kicker Kevin Goessling to pick of the pieces and he ended up missing three of his four field goal attempts. Trying to take the blame off his kicker, coach Hill came to his defense after the game. "Kevin is a heck of a player and I think when it's all said and done, he'll be the best kicker we've ever had. He's going to be a great player for us. This game does not fall on him or any player. It was a team loss. There were so many missed opportunities on offense, defense and special teams."

Last season Brandstater was a marginal quarterback at best, getting the job done with as few mistakes as possible was pretty much his M.O. but this year the Bulldogs will need more production from him, which means he'll have to take some chances down the field. However, if the offensive line continues to let him get knocked to the ground (2.5 sacks per game) he may not have the opportunity to be the savior for this group.

Aside from giving up 112 yards rushing to UW runner P.J. Hill, the Fresno State defense did almost everything right versus the Badgers. Wisconsin's offense was stymied time and time again, allowed just 304 yards and converted a mere 3-of-13 on third down. However, aside from a blocked field goal attempt by Ben Jacobs at the end of the first half, the Bulldogs failed to make any impact plays that caused a turnover or a swing in momentum. A.J. Jefferson finished with a team-best 11 tackles, of which eight were solo. "They (the Badgers) won the turnover battle and that was tough," coach Hill noted after the game. "That's something we stress and take great pride in. That was a huge part of the game."

Getting into the backfield and breaking up plays before they have a chance to get started is key for any defense and so far the Bulldogs have shown that getting a strong push might be a problem. Through two games Fresno State defenders have just a single sack and are averaging 5.5 tackles for loss which is fifth in the WAC and tied for 69th in the nation this week. Last year the Bulldogs didn't get their first interception of the season until the seventh game and ended up with just four overall. This time around the squad already has two in as many games, thanks to the efforts of Marvin Haynes.

Against EMU, the Rockets opened the flood gates by racing up and down the field for 233 yards on 36 rushing attempts, en route to the convincing win on the road. DaJuane Collins accounted for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the running backs, while Morgan Williams headed into the end zone once as well. "DaJuane Collins ran the ball very hard," said head coach Tom Amstutz after the game. "He had a lot of broken tackles, got extra yards on his own. He's a strong runner and had a very solid game." Although he completed just 8- of-18 passing for 114 yards, Aaron Opelt came alive with three TD passes, two of which went to Stephen Williams.

Although it has been just two games for Toledo, the team has already shown a couple of blemishes, averaging just 142 ypg through the air to rank last among the 13 MAC programs. In terms of overall offense, the Rockets are 100th in the country and last in the conference with only 295.5 ypg. Of the four touchdowns thrown by Opelt thus far, three have gone to Williams, the other going to Robin Bailey on one of his four receptions.

In a heavy rain, the Toledo defense took advantage of the Eastern Michigan passing game, picking off a pair of passes and limiting the home team to just 131 yards through the air. Archie Donald came up with both interceptions for the Rockets, while Derrick Summers had a pair of TFLs and returned a fumble recovery 54 yards. "I love playing in the rain," noted Donald after the game. "I'm a linebacker so I love it. I've always been like that." With the offense posting three consecutive turnovers in the first quarter it was important for the defense to step up and save the day. "I thought the defense ran hard," said the head coach. "We have better team speed this year. Eastern has a difficult scheme when they run the different option plays. It's an offense that puts the defense one-on-one a lot."

Averaging seven TFLs per game in the early going, Toledo is currently third in the MAC and 22nd in the country in that department, which is something Brandstater will have to be on the lookout for this weekend if he wants to bring the win home for the Bulldogs.

After such a rough game against Wisconsin one would assume the Bulldogs might have a letdown, but knowing how coach Hill operates, the chances of that happening are slim-to-none.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Fresno State 31, Toledo 10