Fresno State Athletics
Bulldog Football Looks to Build on Momentum
10/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
This Week
The Bulldogs play their final non-conference game hosting Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference. Fresno State is home for the second consecutive week. It's the first road game for the Rams since Sept. 16.
Last Week
The Bulldogs opened the WAC season with an overtime victory over TCU 26-19. Fresno State trailed 19-10 with 5:30 remaining in the fourth quarter but scored nine unanswered points, including the tying touchdown at 1:08, to send the game to overtime. The Bulldogs could have won the game in regulation but TCU blocked the extra point attempt. Billy Volek connected with Charles Smith for the winning touchdown on the sixth play of overtime. The Bulldog defense held TCU out of the endzone. Fresno State held TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson, the NCAA's second leading rusher, to a season-low 49 yards. Despite being sacked five times, Billy Volek had another solid performance, completing 22-31 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Paris Gaines had career-highs for rushing and receiving yards, with 96 and 51 respectively.
Head Coach Pat Hill
Pat Hill is in his third season at Fresno State but is no stranger to Bulldog football, having spent six seasons as an assistant coach (1984-89) under Jim Sweeney when the Bulldogs were among the nation's most successful teams. Fresno State posted a 53-16-1 overall record during those six seasons, won three league titles and three bowl games. Hill was Fresno State's offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. Hill became a hot young assistant coach and left FSU to become offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Arizona (1991-92). After two seasons in Tucson, he left for the NFL where he spent five seasons (1992-96) as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens franchise. In addition, Hill was the offensive coordinator for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL (1983), offensive coordinator/offensive line/recruiting coordinator at UNLV (1981-82), recruiting coordinator/offensive line coach at Utah (1977-80) and offensive line coach at L.A. Valley College (1974-76).
PAT HILL YEAR BY YEAR
Overall Pct WAC Pct Home Road
1997 6-6 .500 5-3 .625 4-2 2-4
1998 5-6 .454 5-3 .625 4-1 1-5
1999 3-2 .600 1-0 1.000 2-0 1-2
Totals 14-14 .500 11-6 .647 10-3 4-11
'Dogs vs. Rams
Colorado State and Fresno State have met four times with CSU holding a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series. The last meeting between the two schools came Nov. 8, 1997, a game won by the Rams 41-3 at Hughes Stadium.
Last Time vs. Colorado State
Fresno State's last game with Colorado State came on the first Saturday of November and would have major repercussions on the WAC Pacific race. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, CSU racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense and ended up beating Fresno State 41-3 at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo. Moses Moreno completed 20 of 26 passes for 249 yards and one touchdown and the Rams ran for 235 yards and five scores. As dominant as Colorado State was offensively, it was equally so defensively. The Bulldogs gained only 57 rushing yards on 36 attempts and Billy Volek was 15 of 36 for 118 yards and one interception.
vs. the Centennial State
Fresno State has had its trouble with teams from Colorado. The Bulldogs have posted a 4-11 record against the Colorado school they have played (Air Force, Colorado and Colorado State). The last team from Colorado Fresno State played was the University of Colorado on Sept. 12, 1998, a 29-21 win for the Buffaloes in Boulder, Colo.
In Case You Missed It
The Bulldogs improved to 3-2 on the season, the best start under Pat Hill. . .It matches the best start by Fresno State since 1995. . .Pat Hill is now 3-0 in WAC openers with victories over Utah, BYU and TCU. . .The Bulldogs won their first-ever overtime game. Fresno State was 0-3 in previous overtime games, including 0-2 in home overtime contests. . .Fresno State allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown for the first time since Oct. 17, 1992, when Matthew Harding of Hawai'i scored on a 97-yard kick return. . .It was the first time in his 15-year career that special teams coach John Baxter has allowed a kickoff return for a score. . .Fresno State's defense held TCU to 59 yards rushing and limited LaDainian Tomlinson, the NCAA's second leading rusher, to just 49 yards on 20 carries. . .TCU sacked Billy Volek five times. which is two more than Fresno State had allowed all season. It also snapped a two-game sackless streak. . .Volek extended his TD pass streak to five games. . .He has not thrown an interception in 71 consecutive attempts, including none in the last two games. . .The 37,112 fans were the most for a home game since Oct. 24, 1998 vs. UTEP (39,881).
"V" is for Valley
Fresno State prides itself on being the "Valley's team." This pride can be seen in the form of a large green V on the back of the Bulldog helmets as a symbol to the Central Valley.
Young Pups
Of the 101 student-athletes listed on the roster, 41 are freshman, 23 are sophomores, 20 are juniors and only 17 are seniors. Of the 44 players on the depth chart, exactly half are either freshmen or sophomores. The youth is evident in the skilled positions. Of the 14 offensive players who have all-purpose yards this season, only three of them are seniors - quarterback Billy Volek, tight end Vince Branstetter and fullback Jeromy Blackwell.
Isn't That Special?
Despite allowing one big play, a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against TCU, the Fresno State special teams continue to be a big part of the team's success. In the TCU game, Terence Brown blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt, the third blocked field goal this season. Here are a few other Fresno State special teams highlights this season: o Fresno State has three blocked punts o Derrick Ward has two blocked punts for touchdowns o Opponents are averaging 29.3 net yards punting o Opponents have just 19 total punt return yards for a 2.7 average o Fresno State has downed seven of its 26 punts inside the 20-yard line Good Gaines
Sophomore Paris Gaines (Vista, Calif.) had his finest day in the Cardinal and Blue with 96 rushing yards and 51 receiving yards vs. TCU. Gaines rushed for 73 yards in the fourth quarter that keyed Fresno State's offensive surge that led to 16 unanswered points and a 26-17 overtime victory.
Volek Honors
Senior quarterback Billy Volek (Fresno, Calif.) received the WAC's offensive player-of-the-week honors for his four-touchdown performance against Portland State (Sept. 5). A three-year starter, Volek passed for 1,973 yards last year, finishing second in the WAC in passing efficiency with a rating of 131.7. Volek was the preseason selection for WAC Offensive Player of the Year. This season, Volek continues to impress, completing a career-best 64 percent of his passes while throwing 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions. For his career he has an impressive TD-Interception ratio of 40:11. Volek is leading the WAC and ranks 12th in the NCAA in pass efficiency with a 148.7 rating.
Volek's Career Passing Statistics
Year G-GS Att Comp Int Yds Pct TD LG 1997 12-12 318 178 6 1,853 .560 17 47 1998 11-11 261 151 3 1,973 .579 10 63 1999 5-5 145 93 2 996 .641 13 45 Totals 28-28 724 422 11 4,822 .583 40 63
Volek on the Charts
Quarterback Billy Volek has moved into fifth place in Fresno State history in career passing yards and total offense. In addition, he became just the fourth player in Bulldog history to throw 40 touchdowns in his career. Here's where he stands in the FSU career record books:
Total Offense Plays Pass Rush Yards Yds to Pass
3. Trent Dilfer (1991-93) 1016 7,631 154 7,785 3,295
4. Jeff Tedford (1981-82) 720 4,872 -58 4,814 325
5. Billy Volek (1996-) 813 4,822 -150 4,672
Passing Yards A-C-I Pct Yards Yds to Pass
3. Trent Dilfer (1991-93] 865-511-22 .591 7,631 3,013
4. Jeff Tedford (1981-82) 598-316-33 .528 4,872 254
5. Billy Volek (1996-) 724-422-11 .583 4,822
Touchdown Passes TDs Needs to Pass
3. Mark Barsotti (1988-91) 50 11
4. Billy Volek (1996-) 40
Payton's Place
Senior cornerback Payton Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif.) is considered one the top players at his position in the nation. In addition to his work on the Bulldog special teams, Williams is ranked third in the WAC this week in punt returns with an average of 8.4 per return. He is one of the premier student-athletes on the FSU campus, earning GTE Academic All-District honors last season and should be an academic All-America candidate this year. A sociology major, Williams represented Fresno State at the NCAA Leadership Conference last spring. Through the first five games of his senior season, he has 23 total tackles, fourth best on the team, and has four pass break-ups. He missed most of the TCU game with a strained hamstring.
Little Big Man
Junior middle linebacker Tim Skipper (Kenner, La.), a 1999 Preseason Street & Smith and Walter Camp All-American Honorable Mention, continues to be FSU's leader on defense. Despite being only 5-7, short by middle linebacker standards, Skipper continues to play very large. He is on pace for his second consecutive 100-tackle season. Skipper was a first-team All-WAC selection as a sophomore. He had a season-high 13 tackles in the season opener vs. Portland State and has led the Bulldogs in tackles in four of five games this season.
Ward Watch
Freshman running back Derrick Ward (Moreno Valley, Calif.) has been a big part of Fresno State's success this season. Not only is he leading the team in rushing with 333 yards and a 7.1 per carry average, he is second on the team with three touchdowns and has been a special teams demon with two blocked punts for touchdowns. Last week, Ward played the TCU with a broken bone in his hand and finished a team-high 13 carries for 47 yards.
WAC Attack
The Bulldogs continue to dominate the WAC stats in third down conversions, converting 35-73 attempts for a league-best .473 percentage, nearly 10 percentage points higher than San Jose State, which is second place (29-73, .397).
Who's Hot
Defensive tackle Alan Harper (Fontana, Calif.) played what Pat Hill called the "best performance by a defensive lineman in my three years here" last weekend against TCU. Harper had five solo tackles, three assiststs, one quarterback hurry and two tackles for losses. Harper teamed with nose tackle Thabiti Lockhart (Oakland, Calif.) and end Frank Battle (Elm City, N.C.) among others to limit TCU to just 59 rushing yards, including holding LaDainian Tomlinson, the NCAA's No. 2 rusher, to a season-low 49 yards. . .Terence Brown (East Palo, Calif.) blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt and also broke up a pass attempt on the final play of overtime that sealed the Bulldog's victory over TCU. . .Paris Gaines (Vista, Calif.) had career-highs for rushing (96 yards) and receiving (51 yards) vs. TCU. . .Pat Hill is 3-0 in WAC openers. . .Kicker Jeff Hanna (Alta Loma, Calif.) has converted on three of four field goal attempts this season including two vs. TCU (37- and 27-yards) and added a 26-yard punt that was downed at the 10-yard line. . .
Penalty Problems
The Bulldogs are one of the most penalized teams in the WAC commiting 52 infractions (10.4/game) for 409 yards (81.8 yards/game). Last weekend's game with TCU was the first this season when Fresno State did not have more penalties than the opponent. TCU was flagged 11 times for 126 yards and the Bulldogs were penalized 10 times for 69 yards.
In the Zone
Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig has the Bulldogs ready to score when they get in the red zone (opponent's 25-yard line). The Bulldogs have been in the red zone 21 times and scored on 17 of those opportunities for a pertcentage of .809. Fourteen of those scores have been touchdowns, for a red zone TD percentage of .667. That's the main reason kicker Jeff Hanna only has four field goal attempts this season, two of those coming in the TCU game.
'Dogs in NCAA Stats
Here's how the Bulldogs rank in the NCAA statisics this week. Only the top 50 players are ranked.
Player Category NCAA Rank Avg. Rodney Wright All-Purpose Yardage 32 130.2 Billy Volek Passing Efficiency 12 148.7
Ouch
Head athletic trainer Paul Schechter has more visitors than he wants to the new Duncan Building training room. Over the weekend, a couple more Bulldogs were added to the injured list. In addition to starting right tackle Joe Schey (broken ankle) and right guard Ahmad Bahtti (broken finger), both out for the season, freshman Derrick Ward also suffered a broken bone. Ward's injury will allow him to continue to play. Senior cornerback Payton Williams (hamstring), linebacker Tim Skipper (knee sprain) and linebacker Justin Johnson (shoulder) were injured in the TCU game. They will be evaluated later in the week to determine their playing status for this week.
Dirty Dozen
The Bulldogs have 12 games in 12 weeks with no breaks from the schedule. Next week, Fresno State will have just five days to prepare for the SMU game on Oct. 14. After that, the Bulldogs will have nine days before hosting UTEP Oct. 23. The last time Fresno State played 12 consecutive weeks was in 1997, Pat Hill's first season.
Looking Ahead
It will be a short week of preparation for Fresno State which travels to Dallas for a WAC showdown with SMU in Dallas, Thu., Oct. 14, in a national Fox SportsNet TV telecast.
