Bulldogs get a win in Bill Woodward's final home game

The long time voice of Bulldog football called his last home game and the Bulldogs made sure that he went out with a victory.

After 37 years, Bill Woodward has called his final home game at Bulldog Stadium and was honored, before the game, at midfield by Fresno State Athletic Director Thomas Boeh, former head football coach Jim Sweeney and current men's basketball head coach Steve Cleveland. He was given a # 37 football jersey for the number of years behind the mic, an autographed College World Series framed commemorative poster and a special plaque after the coin toss.

Bill Woodward on his time at Fresno State, "It goes by so fast. The 37 years were great. It's exciting, it's something that takes awhile to sink in, but it hasn't yet. When I started we were going up the steps at Ratcliffe Stadium and now we are at this beautiful stadium. I can remember the first game we played here when there was a rabbit running around the field petrified."

Current head football coach Pat Hill, "Bill Woodward has been synonymous with Fresno State athletics for nearly 40 years. His voice brought home so many great Bulldogs memories to fans. We are proud of Bill. He's the consummate Bulldog."

Men's basketball head coach Steve Cleveland, "The main thing about Bill is that he has so much passion for the program. He was more than a play-by-play guy or radio personality. He truly cared about the young men in our program. He cared as much as the coaches. It's been great working with Bill through the years. I've known him a long time and we have many great memories together."

As for the game, the Bulldogs made sure of two things. The first being that their long time radio voice didn't see a loss in his final home game, the second being that after defeating New Mexico State 24-17 tonight, that the Bulldogs are now bowl eligible. If they do end up getting to a bowl game, Bill Woodward will be behind the mic for one last post season game.

If you read the interview I did with Sam Wasson of bleedcrimson.net, I talked about quarterback Tom Brandstater being this teams' biggest strength. Well, he proved it tonight with two rushing touchdowns, the only two offensive touchdowns this team would score tonight. The other coming on a 25-yard fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by safety Sharrod Davis in the 2nd quarter. Also having, arguably, his best game of the 2008 season was running back Anthony Harding. He carried the ball 23 times for 101 yards on the ground.

The biggest surprise of the game was the Bulldog defense, who shut out the Aggies for the entire 2nd half after going into halftime tied at 17-17. They also kept New Mexico State from running the ball at all, totalling negative nine yards when the night was over. I talked about Jon Monga making a difference in this game and he did just that, getting what might have been the game saving tackle on a possible game tying touchdown late in the game.

With the win, the Bulldogs (6-4, 3-3) are now bowl eligible but they still have two more tough tests coming up. Next Saturday, they'll travel to San Jose to take on the Spartans who are just coming off a lopsided loss in Reno against the Wolf Pack, so they're sure to be ready for the Bulldogs when they come to town. Then, Fresno State will close out the season on the blue turf up in Boise against the 9th ranked Broncos, a game I don't see even being close.

As for New Mexico State (3-7, 1-5), they're sure to continue their streak of 41 straight years without going to a bowl game. The Aggies will return home on Saturday to face another Bulldog squad, this one from Louisiana Tech, then they'll finish the season on the road in Logan, UT against Utah State.

Bulldogs unable to capitalize on Brandstater's big night

Quarterback Tom Brandstater had one of his best games of the season, but Fresno State couldn't capitalize as Louisiana Tech would win the battle of the Bulldogs 38-35, Fresno State's first road loss this season.

The game might have been won on two big plays in the third quarter, leading to 10 Louisiana Tech points, giving them a 24-21 lead. The first was an interception thrown by quarterback Tom Brandstater, which Louisiana Tech would convert into a touchdown to tie the game at 21-21. The second was a blocked punt, the first allowed by Fresno State since 2002 against Oregon, which allowed Louisiana Tech to take a 24-21 lead on a field goal. Fresno State would eventually take a 28-24 lead on a 33-yard hookup from quarterback Tom Brandstater to wide receiver Seye Ajirotutu, but those previous two scores from Louisiana Tech was possibly what decided the game.

Brandstater would finish his night 23-of-38 for 295 yards and 4 TD's, throwing two a piece to wide receiver Seyi Ajirotutu and tight end Bear Pascoe, the other touchdown coming on a 56-yard punt return by Rashad Evans.

Defensively, Fresno State would struggle again, giving up 297 yards on the ground while the Bulldogs' 3-headed monster, minus Ryan Mathews and Lonyae Miller, gained only a grand total of 85 yards. Lonyae Miller missed the entire game due to injury while Ryan Mathews re-aggrivated an injury he suffered against UCLA and missed the entire second half, leaving Anthony Harding to shoulder the load.

With the win, Louisiana Tech will improve to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Bulldogs will travel to San Jose State as they'll take on the 2nd place Spartans. Game in San Jose is set for 8pm local time.

For Fresno State, it almost guaruntees that the WAC will probably be won by Boise State who remains unbeaten after blanking New Mexico State 49-0 on Saturday, that is, if they remain unbeaten or San Jose State drops another game or two. The Bulldogs still have a bowl game to play for, though they still have Nevada, San Jose State and Boise State to deal with, so that bowl game may not be in the picture if they can't win at least 2 of those 3 games. They'll (5-3, 2-2) return home as they welcome in the Nevada Wolfpack (4-4, 2-2) on Friday night, it'll be a late start due to national coverage. Game time will be 9pm PST.

'Dogs ride 3-headed monster in win over Idaho

If there was any question of how good the Fresno State running backs were, that question was answered on Saturday night.

Lonyae Miller, Anthony Harding and Ryan Mathews combined for 318 total yards on the ground, tying a season high, as the Bulldogs hung on for a 45-32 victory over the Idaho Vandals at Bulldog Stadium. Lonyae Miller would finish the night with 15 carries for an impressive 181 yards and a touchdown, which came on a 90 yard sprint down the sideline in the 3rd quarter. Anthony Harding would add 8 carries for 94 yards while Ryan Mathews, just back from missing last week's loss to Hawaii, was limited but still managed 8 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Tom Brandstater had another sub par performance, though he did throw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another, he ended the night just 14/27 for 125 yards passing while Idaho quarterback Nathan Enderle was 22/39 for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns. Surprisingly, Bulldogs kicker Kevin Goessling was still the starter after missing crucial field goals against Hawaii in their overtime loss last week, but he didn't miss an attempt including a 46-yarder in the 4th quarter that barely cleared the crossbar. When asked about it, head coach Pat Hill responded, "Clint Stitser was our kicker here for three and a half years and only had two game-deciding kicks. Kevin Goessling has been our kicker for six games and has had six game deciding kicks."

Fresno State struggled again defensively against the Vandals, not only giving up more than 30 points for the fourth straight game, but allowed 452 total yards including 237 through the air and another 215 on the ground, not to mention allowing Idaho to hold possession of the football for a grand total 35:05 to Fresno State's 25:55. The Bulldog defense needs to get a whole lot better if they even hope to get into a bowl game this year, especially with games against Boise State and Nevada still upcoming on their schedule.

Next up for Idaho (1-6, 0-3), they will travel to Rustin, LA to take on Louisiana Tech (2-3, 0-2) as both teams look to gain their first conference win.

As for Fresno State (4-2, 1-1), they will have a bye weekend before they head for Logan, UT as they take on the Utah State Aggies (1-5, 1-1) on October 25th. Game time is slated for 12pm PST.