"It is nice to be in the discussion," said DeRuyter. "All it is, is an investment into something that hopefully down the line could lead into a really big payoff with a potential BCS berth."
The Bulldog offense garnered most of the headlines after Saturday's 38-14 win. Derek Carr broke the Fresno State career passing touchdown record, and Davante Adams tied the program record for most touchdown catches in a game with four.
"It's just a thing I feel you have to take advantage of if guys are going to go out there and play man-to-man n you, or even Cover 2-Man," said Adams. "You've just got to take advantage of it."
But the Bulldog defense showed it also made strides this season, shutting out an opponent in the second half of a game for the first time in 2013.
"Our guys are playing faster," said DeRuyter. "They're making more plays. Our tackles for loss, our sacks are going up. We're much more efficient against the run."
And now the task remains the same as it always has: Go 1-0 this week on the road at San Diego State. The Aztecs have won three games in a row, and Fresno State is getting ready for a tough test.
"Our guys realize that this is going to be a very talented team, a very well-coached team, and we're going to have to play our best game to date to be able to go win on the road," said DeRuyter.
"It's obviously good to know tendencies and things that they do so that you can game plan," said Adams. "But I think it's all about playing Bulldog football, and going out there and just executing."
Kickoff on Saturday night is set for 7:30 Pacific at Qualcomm Stadium.
