Fresno State Athletics
Football Out to Earn National Respect
8/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 16, 2003
By Ted Miller
Special to ESPN.com
Fresno State is like the wiry, 185-pound guy who swaggers into the biker bar and announces without fear that he can lick anyone in the joint.
That brave or foolish fellow might not walk away under his own power, but he has something to prove by calling out the house.
And what if he does flatten everyone?
The Bowl Championship Series and its six conferences is more like an exclusive country club than a biker bar, but Fresno State refuses to accept a position outside the gilded gate without a fight.
Check out this year's schedule. The first three games: at Tennessee, Oregon State, at Oklahoma. On Oct. 4, there's a visit to Colorado State.
Rodney Davis and Fresno State battle OU, Tennessee and Oregon State this year. While big-time, BCS teams mostly seek out directional schools as patsies to pad their non-conference schedules, Fresno State volunteered to visit three preseason Top 25 teams -- including the top-ranked Sooners -- and to host a fourth expected to compete for the Pac-10 title.
The Bulldogs don't just show up for a payday and a whipping. They have averaged nine wins over the past three seasons and have more victories over BCS teams during that span -- five -- than any other non-BCS program. That list of victims includes Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon State and Georgia Tech.
Coach Pat Hill, with his Fu Manchu mustache and wrap-around sunglasses, looks like the sort who could handle himself in a roughneck joint. But when he discusses his teams and its goals, he almost could pass for a politician.
He talks demographics, economics and television contracts, selling his program as deserving of an invitation to the penthouse when the BCS contract expires in 2005.
"Why not Fresno State being among the nation's elite, Division I football programs?" Hill said. "We've got the facilities to back it. We've got the population to back it. Once we're under the umbrella, it's only going to get better.
"You should write this: The San Joaquin Valley (which surrounds Fresno) provides 80 percent of the nation's food. It's a very strong area as far as the United States is concerned. We're a region that is very important for the economy of this country."
It's not just about football for teams left out by the BCS. Teams like Fresno State, Southern Miss and Colorado State regularly whip programs from the Big Six and are vastly superior annually to at least half of the lucky colleges who share the riches.
Does the BCS need Vanderbilt? Or Rutgers? Or Duke?
But Hill sees the future, or hopes he does. That vision includes a 25,000-seat stadium expansion to 65,000 and inclusion in a West Coast superconference -- who cares if Pac-10 powers-that-be sniff at suggestions of expansion? Hill sees television dollars and the big time.
" When you're a mid-major, you have to prove you belong. When realignment comes and all the new television contracts are handed out, hopefully all the work the kids and the program have done will hopefully pay off. " - Fresno St. coach Pat Hill
He's modeled Fresno State after another FSU, Florida State. It might seem like ancient history, but the Seminoles were abysmal before Bobby Bowden started touring the country and taking on all-comers with his high-flying style of play.
When FSU started to win, it earned respect and was courted by both the SEC and ACC before choosing the latter.
The Bulldogs were coming off three consecutive losing seasons when Hill took over. His first three years, they were 0-10 vs. BCS teams. The past three, they've been 5-6. And almost all of those games occur on the road. For a fifth consecutive year, Fresno State will play seven road games. Teams that do visit tend to struggle in Bulldog Stadium -- ask California, Oregon State and Colorado State.
That's perhaps a good reason Texas Tech chickened out of a contracted visit last year, and Oklahoma State did the same this year. The Cowboys, in fact, plan to become a big-time program by not playing any outside the Big 12, witness a slate that would make even a Kansas State fan blush: Wyoming, Southwest Missouri State, SMU and Louisiana-Lafayette.
So while Hill sells the potential of his program (11 million people in the Valley by 2011!), he also can't help but point out what he has to overcome.
"Our facilities aren't the same; our training table isn't the same; we've got to raise our own money to keep them here for summer school," he said. "There's a lot of things we have to do here that other schools don't. We have a Spartan work ethic that the kids understand. Our locker room doesn't even have air conditioning."
The Bulldogs welcome back 16 starters, including 10 on offense, who won eight of their final 10 games. Tailback Rodney Davis (1,586 yards rushing) and quarterback Paul Pinegar (2,929 yards passing) are outstanding, even if you've never heard of them.
In fact, the non-BCS game of the year is the matchup with Colorado State. The Rams' schedule is pretty forgiving, and there is potential for a-BCS-thwarting unbeaten run, much like the Bulldogs nearly pulled off two years ago with David Carr at quarterback.
Still, it's not only about the present when you're outside the BCS.
"When you're a mid-major, you have to prove you belong," Hill said. "When realignment comes and all the new television contracts are handed out, hopefully all the work the kids and the program have done will hopefully pay off."
