Bulldogs need last second FG to top Aggies

Fresno State kicker Kevin Goessling had been taking a lot of heat in the media for missing kicks in two crucial losses to Wisconsin and Hawaii, two wins that would have Fresno State unbeaten at this point in the season. Tonight, he became the hero, kicking three big field goals including a game winning, 58-yard, field goal as time expired giving the Bulldogs a 30-28 win over Utah State. It was the first win for the Bulldogs up in Logan, UT since 1989 and just their third win their all-time.

The Bulldogs trailed 28-27 with just 36 seconds left to go in the game and it seemed like they would lose another game to a team that shouldn't stay with this Bulldog squad. Tom Brandstater would lead the Bulldogs down the field and into field goal range when he would hit wide receiver Rashad Evans with an 18-yard strike to the Aggie 48-yard line then a crucial 6-yard pickup to receiver Seyi Ajirotutu to the 41-yard line with just 1 second to go. Enter kicker Kevin Goessling, imagine the pressure squarely on his shoulders, Bulldog fans hiding their heads in their hands imagining the kicks he had missed, but Goessling squared up and nailed the 58-yarder, sending the Bulldog sideline into a frenzy like they had just won the BCS Championship game.

I talked a few days ago about Tom Brandstater needing to have a better game than his previous two and he did me proud. The Bulldog quarter back finished the night 25-of-36 for 257 yards and his 40th career touchdown pass as a Bulldog, putting him 7th on the All Time List, just 10 touchdown passes behind Mark Barsotti (1988-91). He was the field general on the last drive, completing 3 of 4 passes including the one to Ajirotutu to set up the game winning field goal. To make that drive with just 36 seconds to go, shows how big of a factor he can be for this offense.

On the ground, the Bulldogs were only able to muster 165 total yards on the ground while Utah State rushed for 211, including a team high 75 yards by Aggie quarterback Diondre Borel who also passed for 193 yards, giving him a total of 282 all purpose yards. Bulldog running backs Ryan Mathews (14 carries, 60 yards) and Lonyae Miller (12 carries, 69 yards) would get the other two touchdowns, one apiece, Miller having the longest of the two from 19-yards out.

With the loss, Utah State will drop to 1-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play. They will remain home as they welcome in Hawaii (4-4, 3-2) on Saturday, game time there set for 3pm local time.

As for Fresno State, they'll improve to 5-2 on the year and 2-1 in conference play. They will return to Fresno this week for practice as they get ready to travel to Ruston, LA to take on Louisiana Tech (3-4, 1-2) who's coming off a 14-7 loss to Army. Kickoff, between the 'Bulldogs', will be at 2:30pm local time, 12:30pm on the west coast.

Bulldogs hope for strong showing against Aggies

With the Bulldogs giving up 30+ points in each of their last four games, Pat Hill and his coaching staff hope the bye week gave the team time to heal and get ready for their game tonight against Utah State up in Logan, UT. where it's expected to be mostly sunny and 65 degrees. One thing to keep in mind about these two teams is the Bulldogs haven't had much success up in Logan, having not won there since 1989 and are 2-8 all time, a streak the Bulldogs hope to break this afternoon.

Yes, Utah State is 1-6 currently on the year, but three of those losses have come to 18th ranked Oregon, 22nd ranked Utah and 8th ranked BYU, so they haven't played the easiest schedule this season. However, their last two losses have been of the lopsided nature, losing 30-7 to San Jose State two weeks ago and dropping a 44-17 decision to Nevada last week.

The one thing the Bulldogs need to exploit is the Aggies' run defense, which is currently giving uip 192.3 yards per game. With Ryan Mathews, Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding making up the Bulldogs' 3-headed monster, they could easily run up 250+ yards today. Tom Brandstater also needs to be efficient today as well, he threw for just 125 (14/23) against Idaho two weeks ago, he needs to be more of a factor if they're going to put Utah away early. The Bulldogs have always been a 2nd half team, but they can't keep letting teams hang around, it's what cost them the Hawaii game three weeks ago and possibly the Wisconsin game towards the beginning of the season.

The one 'X Factor' with this Bulldog team is their defense currently giving up over 400 yards of total offense per game. Hopefully with the bye week, it's allowed some of their injured players to be able to heal enough to make the start today against Utah State. The defensive line needs to be solid as does their secondary, if they can improve in those two facets of the game, I don't see Utah State hanging around at all.

Prediction Time: Ok, like I've said the past few weeks, I'm done predicting blowouts....well, I WAS. Fresno State coming in with three of the top rushers in the WAC going against a team giving up almost 200 yards per game in rushing defense, look for the Bulldogs to use that to their advantage. Fresno State 41 Utah State 17

Bulldogs lose Ramos for the year

The Fresno State defense could ill afford to lose another player to an already decimated defensive line, but they'll have to do without defensive tackle Wilson Ramos, possibly for the remainder of the 2008 season, joining offensive lineman Cole Popovich.

Ramos, a 6'4" 270 lbs Jr from Woodlands, CA who replaced defensive tackle Jon Monga (knee), suffered a high-ankle sprain and a slight stress fracture of his left leg Saturday in the Bulldogs' 45-32 win over Idaho at Bulldog Stadium.

With the injury to Ramos, it will force head coach Pat Hill to rely on younger players like true freshmen Chase McEntee and Logan Harrell, sophomore defensive tackle Mark Robert and sophomore defensive end Chris Lewis. Not to mention that the Bulldogs hope to have Jon Monga, who suffered a knee injury 3 weeks ago, back for the Utah State game a week from Saturday, which should definitely give this team a boost.

Other key injuries to this Bulldog squad that should be returning for the Utah State game are receivers Marlon Moore (ankle) and Jason Crawley (hamstring) as well as tight end Bear Pascoe (ankle). Starting safety Marvin Haynes should also be ready to go next weekend after sitting out the 2nd half of the Idaho game with back spasms.

'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.