The Fresno State football team got back on the winning track and in quite a fashion, dominating Hawaii for a 42-17 on the road Saturday that ended the Bulldogs' three-game slide.
It was a big win for Fresno State (2-3 overall, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference), which was powered by an impressive running game and took advantage of Hawaii's mistakes to force four turnovers to lead by as much as 38 points with 3:58 left in the third quarter. But it also might have been a concerning one for one Fresno State player in particular.
Coach Pat Hill inserted the majority of his reserves midway through the third quarter and all of the fourth. Even backup quarterback Derek Carr received playing time.
But left on the sideline the entire time was special packages quarterback Ebahn Feathers.
Used earlier in the season as a change-of-tempo quarterback, Feathers either isn't getting better with his limited number of plays he's asked to execute and the coaching staff doesn't feel comfortable using him more often. Or, the Bulldogs coaching staff might have found other ways to change tempo in a more effective manner and its running back Ryan Mathews.
By far the Bulldogs' most talented player, Mathews returned atop the nation leaderboard with an average of 148.2 rushing yards per game after carrying the ball 24 times for 149 yards and a touchdown against Hawaii. The junior now has 111 carries for 741 rushing yards in five games.
But it was one play in particular Saturday that Mathews had that could've signaled a reduced role for Feathers from here out.
With just less than seven minutes in the first quarter, starting quarterback Ryan Colburn went to the sideline and Mathews took the direct snap out of shotgun in the trendy wildcat formation, typically reserved for Feathers and his package.
Instead, it was Mathews who faked a sweep handoff to receiver Devon Wylie and ran up the middle and to the left for a 19-yard touchdown run.
It was the second time this season Mathews was used in the wildcat formation (other time was against Boise State when Mathews threw an incomplete pass that was almost intercepted).
Mathews, if you might remember, played quarterback in high school at West High-Bakersfield, where he'd take the direct snap out of shotgun and run crazy. He led the nation in rushing with an average just under 300 yards (3,396 yards and 44 touchdowns).
So he's obviously used to taking direct snaps and knowing how to find the holes from that role.
That's good news for the Bulldogs, because the more Mathews is used, the more likely Fresno State gets production.
But that's not so good for Feathers if the trend continues.
Should Feathers be concerned his role will be limited even more? Is there enough snaps in a game to include Feathers in the mix?
Feathers should transfer. He is a great athlete who is not going to be utilized. The other problem is when feathers goes in everyone bunches up, i think when mathews goes in they dont bunch up because they know he is explosive, or dont expect it as much as when they see feathers.