Owner: Fresno State Football Blog URL:http://www.fsbulldogsfootball.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2006 16:56:04 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: The ins and outs of Fresno State Football. Site statistics:Click here
A Letter to Utah State 2007-11-02 09:45:00 Dear Utah State
fans, While it has been a tough season for you up there in Logan I have to say there is a part of me that feels sorry for your team. You currently sit at 0-8 on the season and have to travel to Fresno State to take on a Bulldogs team who will be looking for revenge after the debacle that occurred last season. As if last year's loss wasn't enough apparently your players celebrated a bit too much in the eyes of the Bulldogs making tomorrow's game that much more important to every player who sat through the game last year. Sometimes you play a game against a team who is down and out which makes it that much easier to walk away with the upset. Last season that worked out well for you as the Dogs were definitely down. However, you ran into Fresno State at the wrong time this season. The Bulldogs lost to Boise State last week and will be ready to clear their minds of that game. That is why I truly feel sorry for the Utah State players and fans. Tomorrow is going to Read more:Letter
The Difference Between 9-3 and 7-5 2007-10-31 08:48:00 Four games remain for the Fresno State Bulldogs. All four of these games will challenge the Bulldogs in one way or another. Each team remaining on their schedule does not provide the same type of challenge. None the less each team will force Fresno State to play a different style of football to win the game. New Mexico State and Hawaii run similar offenses so the game plan against both teams will have to be quite similar. Kansas State is a defensive team that will force the Dogs to throw and Utah State will come into Bulldog stadium with absolutely nothing to lose. In other words Fresno State had better be ready for the final four games of the season. If they aren't they very well could lose each game remaining on their schedule. While four losses is possible it is not probable. A Probable finish for Fresno State would be 7-5 with wins over NMSU and Utah State and losses to Kansas State and Hawaii. However, Fresno State has an outside shot at winning their final four games. The only
Random Thoughts 2007-11-08 14:33:00 by nscEach time I write a blog on Fresno State I try to be as objective as I possibly can. I try my best not to use any personal bias when I predict scores or how the flow of a game will go. I try to analyze each aspect of what a team brings and in turn compare each team's strengths and weaknesses against one another. I do not predict scores or discuss a game based on how much I love the Fresno State Bulldogs or how much I dislike the Hawaii Warriors. Instead I give those who read the blog a fair assessment of what could happen in each football game the Bulldogs play in. But today I don't want to discuss the Hawaii game. Today I don't want to think about the 6-3 record the Dogs have or what bowl game they could possibly play in. Today I don't want to assess the positives and negatives of the Bulldog football program. Today I would rather focus on random thoughts across the sports world. I like blogging about the Dogs but every now and then it is nice to have some fun with what you Read more:Random
Hawaii vs. Fresno State - Position, Individual and Unit Comparisons 2007-11-07 14:43:00 Fresno State
is racked with injuries, so this comparison will be slightly different, looking at probable starters by position. We’ve met the Rainbows 39 times, beaten them 20 and have the awful 1985 game as the lone tie. The Bulldogs are 1-5 on the islands since ’95, but did beat them in Aloha the last time there.Quarterbacks- remains the same; TB is healthy, as is Colt Brennan. The numbers here are likewise straightforward. Brennan is passing for 405 yards per game (2nd NCAA), has 26 passing touchdowns (tied-5th NCAA), and has completed 225 of his 328 attempts for a 68.6 passing completion percentage, and 8.6 yards per attempt. He has thrown 11 interceptions and been sacked 12 times. As a scoring offense, Hawai’i has scored 50 or more points in every home game this year, and no team has kept them under 42 points on the road. For Fresno State
, Tom Brandstater has passed for 182 yards per game, has passed for 9 touchdowns and been intercepted 5 times. He has completed 140 out of 2 Read more:Hawaii
, Fresno
, Individual
Hawaii's Schedule Hurting Credibility 2007-11-07 13:35:00 by nscIt is not often that a team begins the season 8-0 as Hawaii
has. The problem is that Hawaii is viewed as a team who has scheduled down in order to get to where they are today. With remaining home games against Fresno State, Boise State, Washington and a road game at Nevada Hawaii does have a chance to run the table and finish 12-0 this season. The question is: Will that be enough to get the Warriors into a BCS game? If the BCS rankings have anything to say about it the answer is a difinitive no and would you really be able to argue this decision? Could you make the argument that a school who has played two Division 1AA schools and has a schedule littered with teams who have won two games or less should be a BCS qualifier? Here in lays the problem with the Warriors. They have all the talent in the world on offense and their defense does just enough to get them wins. But these wins are coming against sub-par competition. Even if the Warriors knock off the Broncos of Boise Read more:Schedule
, Credibility
The Hawaii Challenge 2007-11-06 09:32:00 Anyone who knows me knows the hatred I have for the University of Hawaii
. I think all true Fresno State fans hold a hated for the Warriors that cannot be rivaled by any other team. Hawaii has been a rival to the Bulldogs in every sport for as long as I can remember. If it isn't football then it's basketball. If it isn't basketball then it's baseball. If it isn't baseball then it's women's softball and so on. There is absolutely no love lost on the field of play when it comes to Fresno State and Hawaii. Pat Hill is known for taking his foot off of the gas pedal when Fresno State jumps out to a big lead, that is of course unless the Dogs are playing Hawaii. Hawaii on the other hand tends to score uncontrollably regardless of who is on the opposite side of the field. Saturday Fresno State faces one of the toughest challenges of the season when they travel to Hawaii to take on the Warriors. Fresno State has not fared well on the island the last twenty years. However the D Read more:Challenge
The Walking Wounded 2007-11-05 09:39:00 As the injured list continues to grow for Fresno State I have begun to wonder if God has a vendetta against the Bulldogs. I am not sure if I have ever seen a college football team ravished so badly by injuries. To really understand how bad the injuries have been just take a look at what Fresno State has gone through since Summer practices began:Ahijah Lane: Out for yearChastin West: out for year (both occur before first game of the season)When the season finally began the Dogs looked to move past early injuries to play solid football. However the first two injuries on the list were merely a precursor to what would occur during the course of the season. After West was lost for the season Bulldog players began dropping like flies as you can see in the list provided below:Cole Popovich and Adam Mcdowell - Both lost off of the offensive line at same timeJoe Bernardi - out for seasonLonyae Miller - missed past two games due to bruised kneeMarlon Moore - missed three games due to ankle s Read more:Walking
The Four Quarter Requirement 2007-11-13 10:24:00 by nscSaturday night Fresno State mounted a comeback against Hawaii that many Bulldog fans did not believe was possible. Fresno State's offense had left many of us wondering what would happen if we fell behind a good offensive team by a large amount early in the game. Oregon jumped out to a insurmountable lead in the first half earlier this season and Hawaii looked as if they were on their way to doing the very same to Fresno State this past weekend. However, the 2007 Fresno State Bulldogs showed us that they are nothing like the team from last season. We all know last season a game such as the one vs.Hawaii would have ended with Fresno State losing by forty. In 2007 the Dogs fought back and lost by seven. While the comeback can be used as a great motivational tool in the locker room what the Dogs should learn from this experience is that it takes four solid quarters of football to win a game. Up until this point in the season you would be hard pressed to find a game that Fresno State Read more:Requirement
What We Learned in Hawaii 2007-11-12 11:04:00 In 2006 Hawaii
came into Fresno and jumped out to a 28-7 lead before Bulldog fans could get comfortable. We all remember what Hawaii did from that point on as Colt Brennan tore Fresno apart en route to a 68-37 victory. The Bulldogs defense never seemed to get on track in that game and everyone in the stadium knew as soon as Fresno State fell behind by two touchdowns the game was over. The 2006 Bulldogs lacked heart. The 2006 Bulldogs lacked toughness on the football field. The 2006 Bulldogs did not have the talent to come back from a deficit of any margin. Saturday in Hawaii Fresno State once again fell behind by 21 points to the Warriors in the first quarter. It looked as if the Bulldogs would be blown out of Aloha stadium once again as trips to the island have never gone well for Fresno State. But something happened when the Warriors put their third touchdown on the scoreboard nine minutes into the game. Fresno State decided this game was not going to get out of hand. A.J. Read more:Learned
Instructions on Beating Hawaii 2007-11-09 17:31:00 Tomorrow night Fresno State will begin another compelling match up with the Warriors of Hawaii
. At first glance this game looks to be a mismatch as Fresno State does not generally implore the type of defense that can stop Hawaii. The Dogs tend to play a soft defense that allows the five to seven yard route. Fresno State relies on it's LB's and secondary to make tackles as soon as the ball is caught (something they have not done too well this season). There is a way to beat the Warriors and it was on display last season when the Oregon State Beavers traveled to the island. True, Oregon State was quite hot and had defeated a very talented USC team only weeks before, but they ran the type of defense it took to stop the Warriors amazing offense. While I can write down the steps to stopping Hawaii's run and shoot offense it does not mean that they will necessarily work. College football is a game of sixty minutes and Hawaii can adjust to what a defense is doing as well as any othe Read more:Instructions
Not So Offensively Challenged Anymore 2007-11-15 12:39:00 by nscEach time I write about our offense I have to refer to 2006 and how everything went horribly wrong. I don't do this because I enjoyed what happened during the 2006 season but instead I use 2006 as a reference to show Bulldog fans how bad things truly were for this program at this very same point last season. At this point last year Fresno State sat at 3-7. Our offense was non-existent aside one Dwayne Wright and our defense looked worse as the season wore on. Fans continually complained about the execution of our offense and how often the Bulldogs ran the ball regardless if the defense put nine men in the box to stop the run. Our QB looked lost, our plays lacked creativity, and our receivers did very little to help our QB succeed. We as fans threw most of the blame on the QB when in reality the problem lay with our offensive coordinator Steve Hagan. Hagan seemed to run the offense into the ground. The reason I say this is under Frank Cignetti the Bulldogs averaged 39 points a ga
On the Right Track 2007-11-14 11:31:00 by nscThe past two seasons have been a tumultuous time for Tom Brandstater. In 2006 he was booed more often than he was cheered. In 2006 he led the Fresno State Bulldogs to their worst record since 1996. Brandstater's stat line was less than stellar in 2006 as he completed 54% of his passes for 1490 yards with 13 td's and 14 int's. The future looked dim for the Bulldogs signal caller. The fans in Fresno did not want to see Brandstater take another snap after his horrendous start. However, Pat Hill stuck with Brandstater throughout 2006. While Tom's 2006 season was not one to write home about the chance to erase all of those memories would come at the start of the 2007 season. Whether fans feel like Tom has moved past 2006 is left up to their perception of the QB position at Fresno State and how they view success. I feel Tom has been very successful in 2007 and to show why I feel this way I am going to use the junior seasons of two of the best Bulldog QB's in our recent history: Bi Read more:Right
, Track
NSC...on Brandstater's Revival 2007-11-26 11:58:00 by nsc2007 has been an interesting season to say the least. Fresno State has endured more injuries across the board than most teams in Div. 1A college football, yet they sit at 7-4 on the season. The Dogs travel to NMSU for their final game of the season this Friday with a chance to double their win total from 2006. Fresno State will play in a bowl game again this season. Fresno State's offense has pulled a complete 180 this season as they have averaged well over thirty points per game, up from 23 per game in 2006. However the biggest improvement this season has been in our signal caller. Brandstater struggled through 2006 as we all know. But what we did as fans that was not fair to Brandstater was blame him more so than everyone else on the team. We as fans felt that Brandstater was the sole reason that the Bulldogs offense failed miserably in 2006. We as fans were completely wrong. Today every single Bulldog fan should be praising Brandstater. For some reason that is not happening,
Comparing Tom Brandstater and David Carr (yes it can be done) 2007-11-29 12:07:00 by nscIn 2001 we all remember the magic ride the Fresno State Bulldogs embarked on to begin the season. The Dogs opened up with three straight wins over BCS schools and were awarded the #8 ranking in the nation for doing so. David
Carr had an amazing season as he threw for over 4000 yards and 45 td's leading the Bulldogs to an overall record of 11-3. Today it seems that regardless of how good or bad our teams are we continually compare them to that 2001 team. The other day I wrote a blog on Tom Brandstater and how he has matured over the season. I wrote that I feel his development is ahead of where David Carr was at the same point in his Junior season. I am quite sure many of you do not feel the same way as I do so I decided to use opposing team's record, common stats, and team schedules to try and further prove that Tom Brandstater is right where we need him to be at this point in his career. Brandstater had a very tough 2006 season but I cannot use that in comparison because David
A Confident Realization 2008-01-09 18:50:00 by nscWe are all familiar with the offensive problems that the Bulldogs suffered throughout the 2006 football season. We are all also very familiar with the offensive improvement that was shown on the football field in 2007. Tom Brandstater looked like the QB we all hoped he would turn into. Our running game once again dominated nearly every game as the Bulldogs averaged over 200 yards on the ground per game. Receivers such as Marlon Moore, Seyi Ajirotutu, and Jason Crawley showed they can be the go to guy when the game is on the line. Fresno State raised their points per game average nearly ten points from 23 to 33 and showed the ability to not only hit on big plays but to control the clock for the entirety of a game. While it would be nice to credit the players for this improvement the f Read more:Confident
NSC asks...Can Fresno State Replace These Seniors? 2008-01-08 17:35:00 by nscIn 2007 the Bulldogs will endure the losses of a handful of seniors. FresnoState
's offense will bid adeu to both Clifton Smith and Ryan Wendell. On the defensive side of the ball the Bulldogs will say goodbye to Marcus Riley (ouch), Damon Jenkins, Tyler Clutts, and Charles Tolbert. On special teams the Bulldogs say goodbye to Clint Stitser and Kyle Zimmerman. Obviously there are more seniors moving on such as Shannon Dorsey and Jesus Tapia but the players listed above are the ones that will be the most important to replace. How Fresno State goes about replacing these key players may determine what happens on the field of play in 2008. Since the offense has the least amount of work to do we will start with them.2008 Bulldogs Offense: Key Losses: Clifton Smith and Ryan Wendell. Key re Read more:Seniors
The State of the Bulldogs 2008-01-07 18:01:00 by nscRecently, I spent three days in Boise, Idaho to watch our Fresno StateBulldogs
take on the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. I had high hopes for Fresno State coming into the Humanitarian bowl if for no other reason than the fact that the Bulldogs were able to turn around their fortunes on the football field when compared to what happened during 2006. Since the Bulldogs defeated Georgia Tech I have read that Fresno State will be the team to watch out for in 2008. I have read that if there is a mid-major primed to make a run at the BCS in 2008 it's the Bulldogs. While I tend to agree with this sentiment I want to cover a few thoughts that fans of Fresno State should stear clear of during what should be a very eventful offseason for Fresno State. I realize that Pat Hill is currently en
Bulldog Rankings 2008-05-11 20:13:00 Hi folks, SF Gator here, and I'd like to thank NSC and MDG for giving me the opportunity to represent as a guest contributer to the FSFB. The Barkboard has come alive of late with the various preseason rankings that have been released by magazines, websites, and other media, placing the Bulldog
s securely in the top-25. The preseason mags begin to heat up during the summer, and the two that 'really matter,' the AP and the Coaches polls, both are released latter than that; nevertheless, the post-spring workouts have yielded college football fans and pundits a variety of musings, which have manifested in rankings like the following:ATHLON has released teams in its top 25 once-a-day, starting auspiciously with the Bulldogs at #25;CBS Sportsline pundit' n' hack Dennis Dodd actually didn't suck Read more:Rankings
How is this year different? 2008-05-23 11:35:00 SF Gater again taking the gauntlet as guest on the Fresno State Bulldog Blog. As previously mentioned, those who pay attention to college football are placing the Bulldogs in their top-25s, and the team may be the presumptive favorites to win the conference for the first time since 1999. Nevertheless there are naysayers who point out that the Boise State Broncos have dominated the WAC since joinin Read more:different
What the 2008 Bulldog Football Season Hinges on 2008-06-02 12:05:00 This past weekend I attended the Under Armour camp with Mdg and Zagfan559 (I have a horrendous sunburn on my forehead to prove it). While watching all of the junior and seniors compete one on one in drills I began to think about the many different avenues the 2008 Bulldog
football season might take. I have had a hard time coming up with what I think will happen during the football season if only Read more:Football
, Season
Pat Hill's Recruiting Style 2008-06-03 15:17:00 Over the past eleven years we as Bulldog fans have witnessed a change in Bulldog football. It all began with the head coach. Pat Hill took over Fresno State in 1997 and immediately made an impact as the head coach of this team. At the time recruiting was not nearly viewed in the same light as it is in today's world. Recruits were not under a microscope in the same respect that they are today a Read more:Style
A Team for the Ages 2008-06-10 01:32:00 The year began just as it had the past few seasons in Fresno. The Bulldogs would be ranked in the top twenty five only to falter out of the gates. Diamond Dog fans in Fresno were once again left to question whether this team had the talent to win their third consecutive WAC title. As the season moved along Fresno State sat near the .500 mark for much longer than many of us were comfortable with
The Role of the Underdog 2008-06-11 00:20:00 Every sport aside FBS college football has a true champion crowned at the end of the season. Sometimes the champion crowned is exactly who everyone figures it will be. During the 1990’s the Chicago Bulls were as sure a bet as anyone could make during their six championship runs. On the other hand sometimes the favorite is upset in monumental fashion. During the 2007-2008 Super Bowl we as a n Read more:Underdog
What to Expect in 2008 2008-06-12 01:21:00 This past week the Fresno State football players began eight weeks of individual practices in which coaches will not be present. During individual workouts QB’s and Receivers work on their timing and route running in order to prepare for the 2008 football season. These eight weeks have become far more important to the Bulldogs than they have to most other teams as Fresno State generally opens Read more:Expect
The 2008 Fresno State Bulldogs Offense 2008-08-07 00:26:00 Fresno State
fans to this point have addressed their worries as to how the Bulldogs
are going to be able to stop opposing team’s offenses. While our front line on defense should be strong the best answer as to how the Bulldogs will stop the other team’s offense is through the use of our own. I realize this may sound confusing but sometime’s a team’s best defense is their offense when it Read more:Fresno
, Offense
, Fresno State
Will Fresno State be Defensively Challenged in 08? 2008-08-05 23:50:00 Throughout the summer fans of FresnoState
continued to realize that 2008 may be a special year not only for the players but for the fans of the Fresno State Bulldogs. With 16 returning starters Fresno State has the experience to make a serious run at the BCS. The offense will be explosive in 2008 as every starter returns aside Ryan Wendell. Replacing Wendell will be tough but Fresno State has
Fresno State at Rutgers- Position, Individual and Unit Comparisons 2008-08-31 04:40:00 It's a brand new season, so all stats are for last year. This is the first meeting between the two teams, and it is the furthest the Bulldogs have ever travelled. Rutgers
is coming off a 8-5 season, with losses at home to Maryland, #20 Cincinnati, #6 West Virginia, and at Louisville and #16 Connecticut, and beat South Florida when they were ranked #2 in the country. They are coming off a 52-30 win Read more:Fresno
, State
, Individual
, Fresno State
Recommend Site To A Friend
