Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Return Home
10/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 26, 2009
Fresno State (4-3, 2-1 WAC) vs Utah State (2-5, 1-2 WAC)
YOUTH FOOTBALL DAY (For ticket specials go to gobulldogs.com)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009
Kickoff: 2 p.m. PT
Site: Bulldog Stadium (41,031); Fresno, Calif.
Radio: KMJ (AM 580); Bulldog Live (Noon) Countdown to Kickoff (1 p.m.)
Play-by-Play: Paul Loeffler; Analyst: Jordan Christensen; Sideline: Ralph Wood
ESPN Deportes (1600 AM) in Spanish
Play-by-Play: Erwin Higueros; Analysts: Raul Rios and Jesse Beltran
Television: None
Fresno State vs. Utah State Release 
Dogs Return Home, Face an Aggie Team for the Third Time in `09
Before embarking on back-to-back road trips, the Dogs return home with a three-game winning streak ready to host age-old league rival Utah State. It will be the first afternoon game of the season for the Dogs and it will start at 2 p.m. During the dominating three-game win streak, Fresno State has beat its opponents by a combined score of 117-41 and two of those games have been on the road. This marks the second week in a row and third game this season in which the Dogs have played a team nicknamed the "Aggies".
About Utah State
Under first-year coach Gary Andersen, Utah State picked up its second win of the season at home against Louisiana Tech last weekend in Logan, Utah. Led by dynamic quarterback Diondre Borell and sophomore running back Robert Turbin, the Aggies are ranked 25th in the nation in total offense at 427.1 yards per game. Turbin ranks second in the WAC in rushing, 104.9 ypg, and Borell is second in total offense, 274 ypg. They have played a challenging non-conference schedule with road games at No. 19 Utah, No. 20 BYU and Texas A&M.
Against the Aggies
The series dates back to 1952 and the Bulldog hold a slight edge in the all-time series 13-10-1. Since 1990, the home team has only lost once in the series and that was when Fresno State beat the Aggies in Logan last season on Kevin Goessling's school-record 58-yard field goal as time expired. The Bulldogs are 10-2-1 against the Aggies in Fresno with the tie coming in 1990 and Utah State's last win happened in 1980 before Bulldog Stadium was completed.
Mathews Dominates NCAA in Rushing, Record Books Assault On
Seven games into the 2009 season, Bulldog running back Ryan Mathews continues to prove he's the nation's most exciting and explosive running back. For the fourth straight week he leads the nation in rushing, and not just barely. Mathews, at 161.7 yards per game, has a commanding lead (nearly 26 more yards per game) over No. 2 Darius Marshall of Marshall (136.0). He has two of the NCAA's top 10 rushing performances this season, and those rank third and fourth, respectively, in Bulldog history. He's powering a Fresno State ground game that ranks fifth in the NCAA in rushing yards, 266.7 yards per game. After last week's performance he moved into fourth place on the Bulldog career rushing yardage list (see page three for updated list). The most impressive part is that he's done it against good competition. His career-high 234 rushing yards against No. 5 Boise State was amazing considering he alone has accounted for 34% of the entire rushing yards the Broncos have allowed this season (691) through seven games.
Have you seen him run?
Ryan Mathews, the nation's most exciting and explosive running back, has seven runs this season of more than 50 yards (69, 68, 68, 60, 59, 58 and 55 yards). No other player in the NCAA has more 50-plus yard runs.
"We Are Your Team"
Spend your Halloween with the Bulldogs when they take on the Utah State Aggies. Kick-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. It will be Youth Football Day at Bulldog Stadium. For special youth ticket deals, including tickets as low as $16 each, be sure to check out GoBulldogs.com or call the Bulldog Ticket Office at 278-DOGS.
