Fresno State spring football: Patterson progresses

Fresno State last season gave up 27 sacks, an improvement over the previous year but still a lot for an offense designed to play at a high tempo, for the quarterback to get the ball out expediently and into the hands of its playmakers.

Line play was only a small part of that. One sack came in a loss at San Diego State on what was supposed to be a quick hit to a slot receiver, the line cutting the Aztecs’ front in a well-orchestrated sequence that might net 5 or 10 yards and maybe more.

Every defender that they wanted on the ground ended up there. But when they all looked up the quarterback for some reason still had the football in his hands and eventually, down he went – and that was not the…