By Chadd Cripe
ccripe@idahostatesman.com

FRESNO, Calif. — Sophomore Garrett Pendergast will replace Michael Ames at right tackle for tonight's Fresno State game, the Broncos announced before the game. Pendergast beat out Ames, a redshirt freshman walk-on who was given a scholarship this fall.

It's the first change in the offensive line this season after the Broncos used 11 combinations in 13 games last season.

Pendergast made a spot start at right guard last year in the Poinsettia Bowl. He has had a strong fall, too, and can play tackle and center.

Also, senior Marvin Haynes will start at free safety for Fresno State. He replaces injured standout Lorne Bell.

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One word came up over and over as players and coaches discussed tonight’s WAC opener between Boise State and Fresno State.

Physical.

Here’s a sampling:

Boise State safety Jeron Johnson: “You’ve got to be ready — get your pads ready and your helmet ready. It’s going to be physical.”

Fresno State linebacker Ben Jacobs: “No doubt, it’s going to be a physical game, especially with Boise’s O-linemen. I have a great deal of respect for them. Us as a defense, we’ve just got to know they’re coming to play and we have to match their level and exceed it if we can.”

And Boise State linebacker Derrell Acrey: “They’re not disguising much. They’re downhill, ‘we’re going to run the ball at you.’ They know it. We know it. Everyone knows it. It’s just, can we stop it?”

The X-factor in tonight’s game might be the weather. It’s a scorcher in Fresno — with weather.com reporting it will be 99 degrees for warm-ups, 96 degrees at kickoff and 86 degrees in the fourth quarter.

Boise State enjoyed one of its coolest fall camps in recent memory, so the heat could be an issue. That’s where the Broncos’ depth on defense could pay dividends.

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Fresno State junior tailback Ryan Mathews missed the Boise State game last year — part of a two-year battle with injuries.

He worked harder this offseason, he said, to prepare his body for the rigors of college football.

“My freshman year, I just wasn’t ready for the game,” he said. “I didn’t take summer seriously. Last year, I took summer a little more seriously. This last summer, I just worked as hard as I could.”

So far, the work has paid off.

Mathews has topped 100 rushing yards in each of the first two games this season.

He has scored 23 touchdowns in 21 career games — and the Bulldogs have won 13 straight games in which he has scored.

The Broncos know Mathews will be a challenge.

“He keeps his feet moving,” Acrey said. “Just off of the like two games (we’ve watched), he’s broken so many tackles it’s ridiculous.”

Mathews doesn’t have the straight-line speed of some of the Bulldogs’ other backs nor is he considered a power back. But he is quick and powerful — and more than anything, he’s elusive.

“I try to get wiggly a little bit,” the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Mathews said.