Football Looks Ahead to Nevada on Saturday

Oct. 1, 2007

Dogs Back on the Road: Coming off their only home game in a 49-day stretch, the Bulldogs begin a two-game WAC road venture beginning Saturday at Nevada. Both teams are coming off home victories, as Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech 17-6 in it's WAC opener, while the Wolf Pack beat in-state rival UNLV 27-20. Fresno State heads to Idaho October 13.

About Nevada: The Wolf Pack will open their WAC season at home this weekend when the Bulldogs come to town. With wins over UNLV and Nicholls State, Nevada enters the week with a two-game winning streak. Nevada started the season with a 52-10 loss at Nebraska and a tough 36-31 loss at Northwestern. Under Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault, Nevada is coming off consecutive seasons of playing in bowl games, beating Central Florida 49-48 in the 2005 Sheraton Holiday Bowl and losing to Miami (Fla.) 21-20 in the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl. Ault, who is in his third stint as Nevada's head coach, previously served as the schools athletics director before returning to the sidelines for the 2004 season. Ault's home record is impressive, 127-26-1 (.821), and he has never lost to Fresno State at Mackey Stadium.

Leading the Pack: The Fresno State-Nevada rivalry began in 1923 and the Dogs own a commanding lead in this series with a record of 23-13-1. Recent history has been very one-sided, in which Fresno State has won 12 of the last 17 games, seven of the last eight, and had a six-game winning streak. That win streak was snapped in a thrilling 2005 game at Mackey Stadium, when Nevada upset No. 16 Fresno State 38-35 to claim a share of the WAC title. The Dogs won last season's game 28-19 in the opener on national television. Pat Hill is 3-1 in Mackey Stadium. Here's a look at the Dogs under Hill on the road at Nevada.

Year    Outcome         Game Note1999    Fresno State 49, Nevada 24  Derek Ward rushed for 176 yards and blocked a punt.2001    Fresno State 61, Nevada 14  Bernard Berrian had 357 all-purpose yards.2003    Fresno State 27, Nevada 10  Dogs score 21 first quarter points2005    Nevada 38, Fresno State 35  Nevada upsets No. 16 Dogs

Rough Road: After finally getting home for the first time in five weeks, the Dogs are heading back on the road for two more game beginning this week. With four of the first six games on the road, the Dogs will be playing just two home games in the first 53 days of the college football season. After taking on Nevada this week, the Dogs are headed to Moscow, Idaho and an Oct. 13 game against the Vandals. Fresno State is back in Bulldog Stadium Oct. 20 for Homecoming against arch-rival San Jose State.

Bulldog Sports Network: Saturday's game will be on the Bulldog Sports Network, which reaches approximately 3.2 million homes. Here's where the BSN Broadcasts may be seen:

Fresno/Visalia Market: KFRE CW 59 (Comcast Cable Channel 5)

Bakersfield: KUVI TV

Northern California/Bay Area/Sacramento/Western Nevada: Comcast Sports Net

* ESPN Gameplan: Contact your local cable provider for details

* - WAC games may be a part of the ESPN Gameplan Package. ESPN will announce the available games on Monday.

Last Game: The Dogs opened the 2007 WAC campaign with a 17-6 win over Louisiana Tech. Fresno State trailed Tech 6-0 at halftime, but some big special teams plays and a smothering defense that produced seven second half sacks was the difference.

Last Game Tidbits: Head coach Pat Hill improved his record to 10-1 in WAC opening games ... sophomore Jason Crawley scored his first touchdown of the season and his first since Nov. 25, 2006, also against Louisiana Tech ... Jon Monga's career-high three sacks of quarterback Zac Champions gave him four for the season, tying him with Tyler Clutts for the most on the team ... sophomore cornerback Damion Owens and freshman center Joe Bernardi made their first career starts ... linebacker Eric Brown, son of defensive coordinator Dan Brown, was on two Bulldog special teams, made his first appearance as a Bulldog player ... receiver Marlon Moore had a 20 yard run in the first quarter, the longest of his career. He was later injured and missed the rest of the game ... freshman receiver Tim Lang had a 9 yard run, the first carry of his career. He made his first reception in the last game against Oregon, which went for 34 yards ... after allowing six points in the first quarter, Fresno State has now been outscored 34-13 in the first quarter of games this season ... Darren Newborne had the longest catch of his career in the second quarter, 17 yards ... in his first action as a kick return specialist, A.J. Jefferson opened the second half with a 56 yard return, the longest by the Dogs this season, which led to a Clint Stitser 45 yard field goal ... 10 area youth football teams bought more than 500 tickets and attended the game as Fresno State hosted Youth Football Day at Bulldog Stadium.

Fresno State Athletics

Football Looks Ahead to Nevada on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Joe Bernardi

Eric Brown

Tyler Clutts

Jason Crawley

A.J. Jefferson

Tim Lang

Jon Monga

Marlon Moore

Darren Newborne

Damion Owens

Clint Stitser

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