3 worst moments in Fresno State history

3. No. 21 Fresno State's 32-29 overtime loss to Hawaii in 2008.
No excuse for No. 21 'Dogs losing to a scantily talented Hawaii team in Bulldog Stadium, knocking themselves out of a top-25 ranking, ending all BCS bowl hopes, making the climb to the WAC title an uphill battle and making the program the butt of more playing-down-to-the-competition jokes for at least another year.

2.No. 16 Fresno State's 50-42 loss at No. 1 USC in 2005.
It was a game against the "mighty" (disrespectful) Trojans that many college football aficionados were calling the greatest team of all-time -- and it quite possibly was. Still, the 'Dogs went blow-to-blow in a night game at the LA Coliseum in front of 25,000-30,000 visiting Red Wavers who made the trip. After leading much of the game, turnovers did the 'Dogs in as they threw a fourth interception going for a potential game-tying touchdown at the end of regulation.

1. No. 8 Fresno State's 35-30 loss to Boise State in 2001.
The Bulldogs had reached their highest-ever ranking behind QB David Carr and company and Pat Hill's vision had become reality as the 'Dogs were on a downhill slope to becoming the first non-BCS-conference team to ever reach a BCS bowl. Then a team nobody had ever heard of, Boise State, came into Bulldog Stadium and caught the 'Dogs sleepwalking for the come-from-behind upset. And they've had the 'Dogs number ever since.

Biggest event in Fresno history?

Short answer? Yes.

So driving home from work today I hear The Bee's Mike Oz as a guest on the Kelly Carr Show talking about this very subject. Mike Oz, who's The Bee's featured music/entertainment writer, has been blogging about the question of what's the biggest event in Fresno history? Being that he's more into music than sports, he talked about big concerts. He says Rolling Stones is the biggest in Fresno. And being that he's a good, knowledgeable guy, I'll take his word for it.

But there's just no way a concert is as big as a Fresno State football game. Especially one in which Fresno State is ranked No. 21 and Wisconsin is No. 10. Just consider this:

• This game is on national TV... what local concert has ever been on national TV?
• It's the first time two top 25 teams have met in Bulldog Stadium, and the first time a team from the Big 10 Conference has visited Fresno.
• This game will have 42,000 to 44,000 in attendance... the Rolling Stones paled in comparison.
• Plus, it's impossible for the Rolling Stones concert to be the biggest event in Fresno history. It was held in the Save Mart Center, which is an on-campus basketball arena at Fresno State. Hence, if it weren't for sports being the big show in town, there would be no Save Mart Center and no Rolling Stones, Madonna, Britney Spears, Elton John, etc.
• It's actually impossible for ANY concert held at the Save Mart Center to be the biggest event in Fresno history. If that were the case, the opening itself of the Save Mart Center would be the biggest event. While huge for a basketball arena (16,000 give/take), Save Mart Center is still much smaller than Bulldog Stadium (41,031).

Now, consider this (and don't get all huffy and puffy music lovers. As a self-admitted Fresno State sports nut, how can anyone compare a concert to a sporting event? You've all heard the songs that are played before the concert -- probably hundreds or thousands of times. You know pretty much exactly what's going to happen when you sit down to watch the Rolling Stones (for example). Heck, you're probably even singing along.

Sports is a whole different ballgame (yep, that's a pun). The buildup is magnified by the fact none of us really know what's going to happen at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday when the 'Dogs and Badgers take the field. We know who's on the team, but we have no certainty who will win. It's a competition. An unknown. And it's our home team. As Fresnans, we're ALL represented by this university and this football program. Pat Hill said it best by referring to the sports program as the "porchlight" to the entire Fresno community and the Valley. It generates the most headlines for Fresno (yes, even more than the weird sausage crime), and it gets more people nationwide talking about Fresno and familiar with Fresno than anything else you can every think of. Heck, it even indirectly makes your Fresno State degree more valuable and respected by making Fresno State a household name.

This game that goes down on Saturday night in Fresno will never be duplicated anywhere else. A concert though, is nearly replicated at every stop of a band's tour. Usually the same songs, same agenda, same stage, same special effects.

That said, this doesn't have to be a line in the sand between Fresno State alums and Fresno music lovers. We should all embrace this as an opportunity to give the nation a little taste of what Fresno has to offer. Take it as an opportunity to be proud of where you're from and where you live and get out there and show your support. Heck, maybe we could even get the Rolling Stones to perform the national anthem before this week's big game!?

Vote for Fresno State Dream Team: Tailbacks

We've been teasing it for a while now, and, as we're between seasons here, we're going to open up the voting. Each Bulldog Bounce blogger has turned in his own votes for each position already, but we want to hear what you -- the readers -- think.

Then, at the end of all the voting we'll compare our results to yours. We'll go position-by-position with the idea of starting healthy debate about why so-and-so is better than such-and-such?

YOU decide the criteria! What's more important? College stats or pro? Four-year starters or JC transfers? Single-season greatness or consistency?

Next up is tailback, and the nominees are:
--Aaron Craver
--Anthony Daigle
--Jaime Kimbrough
--Wendell Mathis
--Dale Messer
--Dean Philpott
--Michael Pittman
--Ron Rivers
--Kelly Skipper
--Dwayne Wright

The Bulldog Bounce selects Ron Rivers and Michael Pittman as Fresno State's all-time greatest RBs. Rivers was a unanimous first-team selection, with Pittman receiving three first-team votes and one second-team. Dwayne Wright was third in the voting with one first-team vote and three second-team. Dale Messer got two second-team votes, and Dean Philpott and Jaime Kimbrough each received one.

Have fun, voice your opinion and let the voting begin! The nominees will remain posted in the right-hand column for you to choose from, but please add comments to this blog entry as well.