Talk about pouring two more tablespoons of a slap in the face into the Fresno State-San Jose State rivalry -- former Fresno State offensive coordinators Jim McElwain and Doug Nussmeier BOTH reportedly turned down offers to be the next head coach at San Jose State.
***Note: Just to briefly float my own boat, let me point out our Week 1 predictions were right on the money (please excuse the bragging, but we might not be able to say that the rest of the year)
Fresno State (1-0) @ Wisconsin (1-0)
Saturday, 9 a.m., ESPN
Last week: Fresno State 51, UC Davis 0
Fans, players and coaches have grown accustomed to this being a close, tense, bruising battle. The Badgers lead the series 2-1. Last year Wisconsin knocked off the then-No. 21 'Dogs 13-10 in Fresno, and pulled out a 23-21 win in 2002 at Camp Randall. The Bulldogs have the biggest win in the series, 32-20 at Camp Randall in 2001 behind David Carr and Bernard Berrian. What's yet to be determined is how a reported flu outbreak will affect the Badgers' lineup.
Prediction: Fresno State
Idaho (1-0) @ Washington (0-1)
Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FSN-NW
Last week: Idaho 21, New Mexico State 6
Congrats to the Vandals for being 1-0 in the WAC, but it's just sad it took two-plus years for Robb Akey to get his first conference win as Idaho's coach -- and it came against a really bad team. The same result would be beyond shocking this week. Despite the Huskies being one of the Pac-10's weakest teams a year ago, they showed fight and a renewed spirit in a loss to LSU last week.
Prediction: Washington
Louisiana Tech (0-1) @ Navy (0-1)
Saturday, 12:30 p.m., CBS CS
Last week: Auburn 37, Louisiana Tech 13
The male Techsters showed well at Auburn for a half, but then crumbled as expected. La Tech has been the trendy sleeper pick in the WAC for many this year, and truly does have good athletes, but hasn't been a real threat since '01. On the road, it's hard to picture the Techsters outlasting a Navy team that nearly tied Ohio State on the road with a two-point conversion attempt with time running out.
Prediction: Navy
Hawaii (1-0) vs. Washington State (0-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m., FSN-NW
Last week: Hawaii 25, Central Arkansas 20
The game will be played at Qwest Field in Seattle -- basically a home game for the Cougars. That, trio-ed with Hawaii's historic struggles on the mainland and near-loss to lowly Central Arkansas make a Washington State win look quite possible. But the Cougars are the laughing stock of the Pac-10. It'll all come down to whether Hawaii can outsling Wazzu and provide some cushion for a young, retooled defense.
Prediction: Hawaii
Prairie View A&M @ New Mexico State (0-1)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Last week: Idaho 21, New Mexico State 6
A game too ugly for any TV station to love, the Aggies can't afford to embarrass their conference and lose this one. New coach Dwayne Walker should at least be able to make enough of a difference to stop that from happening. Might it be the Aggies' only win of the year?
Prediction: New Mexico State
Miami (Ohio) @ No. 12 Boise State (1-0)
Saturday, 5 p.m.
Last week: Boise State 18, Oregon 6
Most of the Broncos avoided a punch to the chin in last week's big win over Oregon, and get rewarded with a tune-up game heading into next week's WAC opener at rival Fresno State. It's a really down year for Miami (Ohio) with the days of Big Ben long gone.
Prediction: Boise State
No. 17 Utah (1-0) @ San Jose State (0-1)
Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Last week: USC 56, San Jose State 3
Is it possible to say the Spartans are still plagued with bad offense and good defense after they gave up 56 points at USC last week? Well, the Spartans were up 3-0 after the first quarter. And despite the fact Utah State gave Utah a run for it last week, the Utes will be too much for San Jose State's offense to handle.
Prediction: Utah
Byes
Nevada (0-1): Wolf Pack lost 35-0 at Notre Dame, proving once again it can never win a big non-conference game. Thanks for making the WAC look bad on national TV Nevada. Your turn to start "play up"...
Utah State (0-1): Aggies did all they could to put WAC coaches on alert that they could be the up-and-coming team. Still, losing to Utah by a couple scores is not enough to make a difference on the ol' record.
August is just around the corner and that means one thing (besides 100+ degree temperatures in Fresno)....... COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!
I am very excited to see what is in store for the 2009 edition of the gridiron 'Dogs (by the way what is the deal with Washington and Georgia spelling dogs ... dawgs???). It is my hope that the fans of Fresno will continue to come out and support the football program. I know, as a lifelong Bulldog fan, that year in and year out they never seem to reach their full potential but that doesn't mean that Bulldog Stadium has to be half empty on Saturdays.
I believe that it is very important that our fans come out to support the university and the players who represent our community. It would be a tremendous show of support for Fresno State, the city of Fresno and our whole valley if we had Bulldog Stadium packed out every Saturday.
Now I understand that we are in tough economic times and not everyone can afford to take their families out to a college football game but those of us who can should be out supporting our team. Those who have season tickets and know they wont be going to certain games should try and give their tickets to people who will use them.
I hope I am not coming off sounding self-righteous but I have a love for our community and for Fresno State and I just want to see Bulldog Stadium filled with red (not that crazy black-out crap they tried in '07 against Boise State) Aaaahhhhh college football is almost here.....its a great time of year!!
That's been quite the theme around Pete Beiden Field lately with the '09 Fresno State baseball team. Heck, it's been the theme all year with the men's basketball team too. The difference, though, is the baseball team is winning -- and winning big -- albeit against weak competition like Buffalo (22-4), Portland (7-0) and Cal State-Bakersfield (16-1).
Let's break down the young 'uns on the Diamond 'Dogs:
Live it up Red Wave, because tomorrow is the last day for us to wallow in the glory of Fresno State's 2008 College World Series championship. As of 6:05 p.m. a new season is under way, and the Diamond 'Dogs go from reigning national champs to defending national champs.
So let's all take an extra minute to reflect on that accomplishment...
In other Fresno State news, after another stick-your-hand-in-my-chest-and-tug-on-my-heart loss on the hardwood, my only question is whether this year's men's basketball team is the most talented and best last-place WAC team ever? From what I can remember, all signs point to yes.
If anyone has any idea how to do a non-rain dance, please, I beg of you, do it on Friday, Feb. 20.
You see, that's the day the Fresno State baseball team takes the field for the 2009 opener as reigning College World Series champions. The game's sold out, the infamous voice of Sugar Bear hopefully rested, the bright red shoes of Inman Perkins laced and those of us who spend dozens of hours at Beiden Field every year are just hoping we get the chance to experience this day with good weather.
Last season started cold with gloomy clouds in a Friday night loss to UC-Davis. It was miserable baseball weather, and we just don't deserve that two years in a row. So let's hope the weather prognostications are wrong, and that this coming Friday is a day forever remembered in Fresno.
This whole changing offensive coordinators every year habit -- it's a bad one. When Fresno State hires its next O.C., the one who will replace now-departed Doug Nussmeier, it might be wise to get a true 'Dog to come back home and stay a while. But who are the candidates?
Trent Dilfer? Sure would be a huge get on the recruiting and QB tutelage end, but the former Fresno State QB is probably a longshot with his new TV gig and the rave reviews he's been getting. Plus, when he spoke at an Easter service in Fresno last year, he talked about the likelihood he'll spend a few years on TV before considering a coaching job.
Mike Martz? How exciting would that be to get a guy just a handful of years removed for the Super Bowl with the Rams? Is an assistant's job at Fresno State too much of a drop in stature (and pay) for the former 'Dog to consider it?
Kelly Skipper? The 'Dog from the '80s might jump at the chance to join younger brother Tim on the Fresno State coaching staff. But is he the best candidate?
Jeff Grady? Long assumed to be in the grooming stages for eventually landing this job, Grady has just two years coaching experience and only started a few games for Fresno State in his career as QB. But not all great coaches were great players. Grady is definitely a loyal guy with solid character. Would other coaches on staff resent it if he got the promotion?
As one final note, good riddance to Nussmeier. Speaking from a fan's point of view, I'm offended that he came in here, didn't do anything extraordinary, and then took a giant demotion in title and stature to be QB coach at Washington, a program with all of zero wins last season. Maybe it's time to talk to Jim McElwain about signing back on as the Fresno State "coach-in-waiting" since that seems to be the popular trend...?
Amid rumors Fresno State special teams coach John Baxter (the mastermind behind the Academic Gameplan that has helped Fresno State's football program become one of the nation's most sound academically) is a finalist for the Cal Poly job, Baxter told the SLO Tribune he's not interested.
True? Hopefully, for honesty's sake, but it's a bit of an uneasy feeling for Red Wavers who heard Pat Hill deny that Washington had contacted him about its vacancy after the Boise State game, only to be interviewing in Seattle the next day.
So now that Pat Hill has announced his intention to remain at Fresno State, as we all know I've been hoping like crazy for, let's hope he puts some of that stubborness behind him.
While it's definitely a great quality of his to be so no-nonsense and preach physical, punch-'em-in-the-mouth football, he also must step back and see that his biggest shortcoming as a coach is sometimes refusing to adjust proactively.
Don't be afraid to be unpredictable Pat. It doesn't mean we're not tougher or more physical than the other guys. It just means we're multi-dimensional. And, yeah, some of those fans who whine and complain all the time and think they know enough to tell you how to coach are irritating, but forget all that. Pay them no attention. You're the 'Dogs coach, we've all bought in to your vision. Let's make it happen. Just let us know how to help you along the way.
He won't be going to Washington, despite all the recent reports out of Seattle media that he might be the Huskies top choice. And now this report from The Fresno Bee saying that Hill flew to Seattle, presumably to interview with Washington folks about the job.
Now here's the thing -- the University of Washington is located in Seattle. It rains a lot there, people never hit the streets without a mocha choco latte in their hands, they roam around the city looking for wi-fi hot spots, they listen to eclectic music and drive around in hybrids. It's a cleaner, less annoying version of San Francisco. And it's definitely not Fresno.
Pat Hill is Fresno. He spent part of his early years sleeping in his car because that's what he could afford. Hard work got him to where he is now. He hardly knows what a computer is, and doesn't like polite chats at the coffee house. He's a no-nonsense, meet me in the parking lot when it gets dark and we'll settle this type of guy. If Pat Hill coached the SuperSonics, they would have bolted for Oklahoma years ago.
Once an assistant at Fresno State, Pat Hill returned to his roots to take over as Jim Sweeney's successor in 1995. He came in talking about building the program from the ground up, with high school players. Bringing in kids who would excel academically and making that a priority. Scheduling big-time teams and eventually beating them consistently so that Fresno State too would be a big-time program. Hill did it all.
"Why not us?" Hill proclaimed to anyone and everyone in the nation who would listen. "Shutup & Hit Somebody," he shouted in 2001. "Anyone, anywhere, any time," he added.
Soon the Pac-10 teams, especially those residing as Fresno State's neighbors in California, scattered like the broken glass of a dropped mirror if Pat Hill came asking them for a game. Cal has played the 'Dogs twice ever, losing both times. USC is 1-1 against the 'Dogs, including the '05 game everyone remembers at the LA Coliseum when Fresno State almost knocked off "the best team in college history." UCLA has never been brave enough to play at Bulldog Stadium, yet has still lost its past two meetings with Fresno State. And Stanford, well they haven't played the 'Dogs since the 1920s (Fresno State didn't even join Division I-A until 1980).
Between the disappointments fans have felt as Hill and his chip-on-the-shoulder Bulldogs failed to go undefeated in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and going without a WAC title since 1999, Hill has established the second most feared football program in the state, behind USC's quasi-professional franchise.
There's something to be said for that. He's doing it with half the budget of most Pac-10 teams, yet still outrecruiting several of them. But best of all, most fitting of all, is Hill and Fresno State have identities that go hand in hand. Hill doesn't drive a hybrid, he drives a ghastly beast of a Bulldog Red Hummer. He does talk politically correct, he tells you what he thinks. He doesn't hide from the BCS chatter the way other coaches might, he welcomes it. He turned Bulldog Football into an adjective. He had former MLB slugger Larry Walker wearing a Fresno State cap to practice with the Rockies. He opened up a line of compliments for any Fresnan on vacation in any spot in the country from fellow vacationers who admire what he's done at Fresno State.
Pat Hill has our vision. If you're a Red Waver who truly believes Fresno State will one day win a national title in football, you love Pat Hill. If you don't have that confidence, you criticize him. But Hill has worked tirelessly for this program and this vision, and that's what we should do too -- yell as loud as you can every game, gift as much as you can to the university, invite others to attend games with you and gift whatever they can too. That's the difference of college sports and pro -- in college sports you really are allowed to say "we" when referring to your team. Because you're really part of the team.
And I want my team to include Pat Hill for years and years to come.
Fat chance if you ask me, but this guy doesn't seem to think so. The question is, has he ever even asked Pat Hill, or is he just going on a blind assumption?
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/huskiesfan/archives/151226.asp
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