Bulldog defense dominates in win over Spartans

In what was a must win game, the Bulldogs brought their 'A' game for the 2nd straight week as they knocked off San Jose State 24-10 on Friday night.

Defensively, Fresno State was outstanding. They had to be in the field more than I'm sure they wanted to, but they were up for the challege. They would give up the only points the Spartans would score (10) in the first half, shutting them out in the 2nd half and allowing their offense to run away with the game with three second half scores including two from running back Anthony Harding and a 49-yard punt return from Chastin West.

The team was, again, without the team's leading rushing Ryan Mathews as he is still nursing his ankle injury, but they would show just how strong the running back trio of Mathews, Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding are. Miller would carry the ball 14 times for 67 yards while Harding would have an even bigger night, carrying the ball 17 times for 99 yards and 2 scores. Jr. running back Jamaal Rashad would even get into the act as the Bulldogs' third option, finishing the night with 5 carries and 41 yards rushing.

The Bulldogs used the ground game to their advantage and it was much needed, as they got a season low 71 yards through the air from Sr. quarterback Tom Brandstater on 5-of-18 passing and an interception.

This should be an incredible confidence boost for this team as they look forward to their showdown against 9th ranked Boise State on the blue turf. With the kind of defense this team has played in recent weeks, they'll need to put up an even bigger effort against a very high powered offense.

With the win, Fresno State (7-4, 4-3) should be a lock for a post season bowl game, though we'll have to wait until probably mid-December before that is announced, but the win definitely helps their chances. Their game against Boise State will be a nationally televised game on ESPN2 on Friday afternoon. Kickoff scheduled for 3pm local time.

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 may be in a win or go home situation this Saturday

Fresno State looks towards their home finale, just under 48 hours away, as a win or go home situation when New Mexico State comes to town. If the Bulldogs are unable to get a win against the Aggies of New Mexico State on Saturday, it's likely that Pat Hill and his staff will start to look towards the 2009 season.

Fresno State did get a few pieces of good news yesterday as they learned that defensive tackle Jon Monga and the teams' leading rusher Ryan Mathews will make their return to the Bulldog lineup. Both players should be a huge boost for this Bulldog football team and especially in the situation they're in. Monga has been a big part of the defensive line and could be a much needed boost for a defense that gave up over 400 yards rushing to Nevada last Saturday. As for Mathews, he'll be a definite boost and will take the rushing load off the shoulders of Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding, who have struggled in recent weeks, especially with Miller missing the entire Louisiana Tech game with an injury. With all three seemingly at full strength, it should also take a huge load off the mind of quarterback Tom Brandstater, who has had to throw the ball more in the past two weeks because of the limited action that Miller saw and not having Ryan Mathews at all.

Say the Bulldogs do get a win this weekend, which I believe they will, they will need absolutely heroic efforts to knock off San Jose State and 9th ranked Boise State, both games will be played on the road. That's why the Bulldogs absolutely need a win on Saturday.

Have the Bulldogs had their chances to win games, absolutely they have, but this team was horrendous on defense last week against Nevada, they missed crucial field goals against Hawaii and Wisconsin that cost them both games as well as turning the ball over way too much. It's not time to look towards 2009 yet, but if they can't get a win on Saturday, it'll be time to head from Bulldog Stadium over to The Save Mart Center to support the basketball team who, though they are young and somewhat inexperienced, could surprise a lot of teams this season if this team is able to come together.

Time will tell...

Bulldogs in danger of missing the postseason

Fresno State is in danger of missing the postseason for the 2nd time in three years, not playing in a bowl game in 2006 after going through a rough 4-8 season, then turning it around in 2007 with an 8-4 finish and a 40-28 victory over Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl.

The Bulldogs will need at least one win in their next three games starting this Saturday against New Mexico State, Fresno State's home finale. They'll finish up the 2008 season at San Jose State then at 9th ranked, and undefeated, Boise State, neither of which I expect Fresno to win so it's win or go home against the Aggies this weekend.

The biggest problem for Fresno State this season has not only been the horrible defense, but injuries, turnovers and missed opportunities have been this team's downfall all season long. Against Wisconsin, a 13-10 loss, kicker Kevin Goessling missed 3 FG's that would be been the difference between a 3 point loss and a Bulldog victory. A few weeks later, again at home, against Hawaii, Goessling would again miss three FG's that eventually would cost them the game, one of which came at the end of regulation that would have given Fresno State the victory. Notch a victory in both those games, and instead of currently being at 5-4 they would be sitting pretty at 7-2 going into Saturday's game against New Mexico State.

Will missing the postseason mean that Pat Hill's job is on the line? I doubt it, but the rumors will begin to swirl I can almost guarantee that. I don't believe Hill is responsible for missed FG's in crucial situations, the injuries they sustained that have really cost this team or the lack of ball control this offense has been plagued with, but Hill will always tell you that he's responsible for getting the team ready. The two injuries that have hurt this team the most were Sr. lineman Cole Popovich and Sr. defensive tackle Jon Monga, both players were lost early on in the season and it's shown how much of an affect it has had on this team.

We'll see what this team has the final three weeks of the 2008 season. Are the out of gas? Only time will tell.

Atrocious defense leads to second straight loss

Well, how do you talk about a game like this without wanting to get extremely angry? How do you rationalize being on national television and have another team almost collect 500 rushing yards against you, at your own place?

That's exactly what happened tonight as Nevada ran up 472 yards of rushing offense, handing Fresno State their 2nd straight loss 41-28 on Friday night. It marks the sixth time in the last seven games that Fresno State has allowed 30 or more points and the second time this season they've given up 40 or more (Sept. 20th @ Toledo).

The Bulldogs would again be haunted by turnovers and it would eventually cost them the game. With the Bulldogs trailing 17-14 and looking poised and ready to take the lead back from Nevada, quarterback Tom Brandstater (14-of-23, 260 yds, 2 TD's) would find tight end Bear Pascoe over the middle, but as Pascoe tried to stretch for more yards, he would fumble the ball and Nevada would recover. The Wolf Pack would drive quickly down the field for a touchdown and stretch the lead to 24-14. Fresno State had two more drives in the final minutes, both ended with turnovers, an interception from Brandstater and a fumble, by receiver Seyi Ajirotutu at the Nevada 10 yard line with 1:57 left to play in the game, that was the nail in the coffin.

Nevada was led by running back Vai Taua who ran for a career best 263 yards and a touchdown as well as quarterback Colin Kaepernick who added 118 yards and 2 TD's on the ground. They barely needed Kaepernick's arm tonight, the same arm that baseball scouts were drooling over before he decided to give up the sport for football, going 7-for-17 for just 128 yards.

Bulldogs' head coach Pat Hill, "First off, I have to give credit to Nevada. We got beat by a good football team tonight. The time of possession was critical tonight. They had the ball nearly 38 minutes tonight and we had it 22."
"We're not the same team we were in September. We need to find a way to make this team win in November."

I know Bulldog fans are going to be all over Pat Hill after this loss, though how is that different from any other loss. I can't imagine the outcry if this team can't win at least one of their final three games (New Mexico State, San Jose State, Boise State).

Next up for the Wolf Pack of University of Nevada-Reno (5-4, 3-2), they'll return home for a very big showdown with San Jose State (6-3, 4-1) next Saturday, then play their home finale on Nov. 22nd against 9th ranked Boise State before finishing their 2008 schedule, Nov. 29th, against the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech.

As for Fresno State (5-4, 2-3), they need at least one win in their next three games in order be bowl eligible. That starts next Saturday, at Bulldog Stadium, as they'll welcome in the Aggies of New Mexico State (3-5, 1-3) for Fresno State's home finale. Their final two games, of the 2008 football season, will be at San Jose State and at 9th ranked Boise State, two games that I can't see this team winning, especially not after how they played tonight against Nevada, but stranger things have happened.

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.