Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Getting Ready for No. 19 Oregon
9/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State football team is preparing for its second tough test in a row when it travels to Autzen Stadium to take on No. 19 Oregon. The Ducks, who jumped into the national polls this week after pounding Michigan 39-7, will be playing their second home game of the season. Fresno State is coming off a heart-breaking 47-45 triple overtime loss at No. 23 Texas A&M. The game time has been changed to 4 p.m.
Autzen Stadium has been a tough place for teams to play and one of the loudest stadiums in the nation. The Ducks have lost just one non-conference home game since 1995 and own three recent wins over the Bulldogs. Fresno State's last appearance at Autzen Stadium was in 2005, a 37-34 Oregon victory. Of the last three Fresno State-Oregon games at Autzen Stadium, the combined scoring margin was 10 points.
"Autzen Stadium is loud," said coach Pat Hill. "We've played in loud stadiums before and we played in front to 75,000 loud fans last weekend at Kyle Field. We will be ready for the noise. That's not our concern. We have to get ready for Oregon, which is the best Oregon team we've faced since I've been here. They have great size and speed. The Michigan gamed looked like a track meet. They are a confident team right now. Our team is looking forward to the challenge."
The Dogs are taking on a Top 25-ranked team in back-to-back games on the road for the second time in the last nine games. Fresno State played at No. 5 LSU (Oct. 21) and at No. 14 Boise State (Nov.1 ) toward the end of the 2006 season and are coming off a road trip at No. 23 Texas A&M. Counting Saturday's game, Fresno State is in a stretch of playing six of its last nine games on the road, including four of five.
Fresno State's offense had 399 yards last weekend against Texas A&M and will be led by junior quarterback Tom Brandstater, who threw for a career-high 260 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target thus far has been junior tight end Bear Pascoe, who has 10 receptions for 161 yards and four touchdowns. Pascoe, a John Mackey Award candidate, leads the NCAA in touchdowns by a tight end.
The Bulldogs are tough on defense with a No. 2 national ranking in pass defense, allowing just 69.5 yards per game. Leading the way for Fresno State is senior linebacker Marcus Riley, who ranks 11th in the nation in tackles, and freshman linebacker Ben Jacobs, who is No. 21 in the nation.
The game will be shown on the Bulldog Sports Network in Fresno on KFRE CW 59 (Comcast cable channel 5) and in Bakersfield on KUVI TV. In addition the game will be available on ESPN's GamePlan package. The originating broadcast crew is from the Oregon Sports Network with Joe Giansante and Anthony Newman calling the action.
The game will also be heard live on KMJ Radio (580 AM), the flagship station for Bulldog football, and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes (1600 AM).
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - Fresno State Football returns to Bulldog Stadium on Youth Day, Saturday, September 29th against Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. A special ticket package for youth teams is available NOW. For tickets and more info, go to the football page at www.gobulldogs.com, or call 559-278-DOGS.
