CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Fresno State

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2009, game by game: won vs. UC Davis 51–0; lost at Wisconsin 31–34; lost vs. No. 10 Boise State 34–51; lost at No. 14 Cincinnati 20–28; won at Hawai’i 42–17; won vs. San José State 41–21; won at New Mexico State 34–3; won vs. Utah State 31–27; won at Idaho 31–21; lost at Nevada 14–52; won vs. Louisiana Tech 30–28; won at Illinois 53–52; lost vs. Wyoming 28–35+51−38Won 51–0 vs. UC Davis+51UC DavisLost 31–34 at Wisconsin-3WisconsinLost 34–51 vs. No. 10 Boise State-17No. 10 Boise StateLost 20–28 at No. 14 Cincinnati-8No. 14 CincinnatiWon 42–17 at Hawai’i+25Hawai’iWon 41–21 vs. San José State+20San José StateWon 34–3 at New Mexico State+31New Mexico StateWon 31–27 vs. Utah State+4Utah StateWon 31–21 at Idaho+10IdahoLost 14–52 at Nevada-38NevadaWon 30–28 vs. Louisiana Tech+2Louisiana TechWon 53–52 at Illinois+1IllinoisLost 28–35 vs. Wyoming-7Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsUC DavisW 51–⁠084%
Sep 12atWisconsinL 31–⁠3437%
Sep 18vs10Boise StateL 34–⁠5133%
Sep 26at14CincinnatiL 20–⁠2820%
Oct 10atHawai’iW 42–⁠1742%
Oct 17vsSan José StateW 41–⁠2175%
Oct 24atNew Mexico StateW 34–⁠375%
Oct 31vsUtah StateW 31–⁠2780%
Nov 7atIdahoW 31–⁠2162%
Nov 14atNevadaL 14–⁠5243%
Nov 21vsLouisiana TechW 30–⁠2871%
Dec 5atIllinoisW 53–⁠5259%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsWyomingNew Mexico BowlL 28–⁠3571%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wyoming 35–⁠28 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
440–⁠369
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1531 +17 this season
SP+ rating
4.1 No. 52 of 120; offense No. 28, defense No. 91, special teams No. 1
SRS
0.8 No. 59 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 87
Defensive coordinator
Randy Stewart
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 120
  • Defense90th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted34th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0943%1.0124th of 120
Defense0.0840%1.0790th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.06 def		42% off
39% def		—34th off
83rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 312% allowed
Defense-0.1own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRyan Colburn QB2,459 yds
Passing touchdownsRyan Colburn QB19 TD
Rushing yardsRyan Mathews RB1,808 yds
Rushing touchdownsRyan Mathews RB19 TD
Receiving yardsSeyi Ajirotutu WR677 yds
Receiving touchdownsSeyi Ajirotutu WR7 TD
InterceptionsPhillip Thomas 2 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Derek Carr PRO★★★★No. 325
Lars Bramer OT★★★No. 1111
J.B. Dock CB★★★No. 1272
Ibe Nduka ILB★★★No. 1530
Pat Su’a ILB★★★No. 1530

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.895
Running backs13.00.810
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line13.00.846
Defensive line42.00.750
Linebackers52.40.776
Defensive backs22.50.808
Whole class152.50.787

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 1Ryan Mathews RBSan Diego Chargers

Roster 102

The 2009 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠014–⁠04
Nevada7–⁠18–⁠5
Fresno State6–⁠28–⁠5
Idaho4–⁠48–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
Utah State3–⁠54–⁠8
Louisiana Tech3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠10
San José State1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.