BYU football: Three things to know for the Fresno State Bulldogs

Fresno State is surprisingly stingy

Most years, the Bulldogs are a bit of a punching bag. Or, if they’re not, it’s the offense that usually carries them.

This season, Fresno State has a surprisingly stingy defense. The Bulldogs are 24th in the nation, allowing 189.7 passing yards per game, 32nd in points per game allowed (21.3) and 41st in rushing yards allowed per game (144.7).

One would like to think that BYU football will have momentum after scoring 40 last week, but Fresno State won’t be giving up a ton of easy yardage.

With Ula Tolutau’s future in question, it looked like the Cougars had found their starting running back in KJ Hall. Then he left the game with an injury, and his status for this week is in question. If he can’t go, it looks like BYU will be without its best runner.

That will mean its down to Squally Canada and Riley Burt to carry most of the load. It may provide the platform for a statement game – especially on Canada’s part – but the Bulldogs have already shut down potent running games. (They held San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny to just 69 yard).