The one against Utah State did not go the way of the Bulldogs. But, even with three conference losses, Fresno State can still make their long-term goals.
Head Coach Jeff Tedford said that their loss to Utah State wasn't discouraging but disappointing. Fresno State will look to bounce back this weekend at San Diego State and defend the Oil Can Trophy.
"There's enough motivation to play, that's just one more thing. You take pride in wanting to keep that," Tedford said in a press conference on Monday.
Fresno State has the Old Oil Can Trophy in their possession after defeating their rival last season 23-14. San Diego State is in first place of the West Division with a 4-2 conference record. Fresno State is still in the hunt of the West Division title if they win out their final three games.
"There's still a lot of football left at this time of the year, and you're in a place where you can execute, you're fortunate enough to be successful.. there's a lot riding on each week," Tedford said.
Quarterback Jorge Reyna played one of his best games of the season against the Aggies, completing 16 of his 20 passes. Their ground game has also improved with senior linebacker Ronnie Rivers leading the conference in rushing touchdowns with 13.
"I thought Jorge did a really nice job with manufacturing things with his legs and making some big key throws. I thought Ronnie rain really hard we're going to need the same thing this week," Tedford said.
San Diego State is coming off a rare loss to Nevada. The Aztecs defense leads the conference and only allows 14.5 points per game.
"Number one in scoring defense, number one in rushing defense, number on in total defense. No one just takes the ball and moves it up the field against them, so you have to be patient," Tedford said.
The Aztecs are 2-2 on their home field on Friday. Kick-off is at 6:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN2.