Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Headed to New Mexico Bowl
12/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 6, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State's bowl tradition continues with a second straight trip to the New Mexico Bowl. The Bulldogs are making their 22nd bowl appearance, and will be playing in a bowl for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.
The Bulldogs have been invited to play in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 at University Stadium in Albuquerque at 1:30 p.m. PT. Fresno State will play the Wyoming Cowboys of the Mountain West Conference. This is the first game of the 2009 bowl season and will be televised in HD on ESPN.
This is the fourth year of the New Mexico Bowl. San Jose State, New Mexico and Colorado State won the three previous bowl games.
The Dogs enter the bowl game with an 8-4 record and winners of seven of their last eight games. Including Sunday's thrilling win at Illinois, Fresno State has 15 wins over schools from BCS conferences since 2000, tied with Utah for most of any non-BCS team. Fresno State has won four of its last six bowl games.
Under Pat Hill, the Dogs have made 67 national television appearances this decade and rank fourth among programs in the west (including schools from the WAC, Pac-10 and MWC) for most wins with 81. Only Boise State, USC, Utah, Oregon and TCU have more victories. The 81 wins this decade are the most in school history.
Fresno State is one of the highest scoring teams in the nation and NCAA rushing leader Ryan Mathews, who ran for 173 yards and three touchdowns against Illinois on Saturday, will be looking to win the national rushing title.
Fresno State will play a Mountain West Conference team in a bowl for the fourth time. The Bulldogs lost to Utah 17-16 in the 1999 Las Vegas Bowl and to Air Force 37-34 in the 2000 Silicon Valley Football Classic, and lost to Colorado State 40-35 last season in New Mexico. The Bulldogs have an all-time record of 4-5 against Mountain West Conference schools.
Wyoming is heading to a bowl for the first time since 2004, when they defeated UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl to earn its first bowl victory since 1967. The Cowboys, coached by first-year head coach Dave Christensen, were 6-6 this season with a tough schedule that included No. 2 Texas, No. 4 TCU and two other Top 25-ranked teams. The Cowboys are led by quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels, the MWC Freshman of the Year.
"Heading back to Albuquerque is an honor for our team and program," said head coach Pat Hill, who earned his 100th career win against Illinois. "The people of New Mexico treated us very well last year and we are looking forward to going back. Playing the first game of the bowl season is a great opportunity for our team. I know the television ratings for our game last year were very good and being the only game on that day is great exposure for our program. We have a very young team and this game and this experience will be good for the development of our team and program as we build toward the future."
The Bulldogs have are record of 12-4 record all-time in games played in the state of New Mexico.
All ticket orders will be taken through the Bulldog Ticket Office beginning online Monday morning (Dec. 7) at www.gobulldogs.com or at the Bulldog Ticket Office located at the south entrance of Bulldog Stadium or via phone at (559) 278-3647.
Bulldog Foundation Members and season ticket holders will be granted first priority based on their 2009 donation level. To inquire about donating or joining the BDF, please contact the Bulldog Foundation at (559) 244-5600.
Bulldog fans are urged to support the Fresno State Athletics Department by ordering all tickets through the Bulldog Ticket Office. Tickets for the New Mexico Bowl are $30 each.
Bulldog fans wishing to support the bowl but can't attend the game can purchase tickets that will be donated to one of 200 charitable organizations in the Albuquerque area.
"We Are Your Team!" -- Fans are encouraged to check www.gobulldogs.com for information regarding the New Mexico Bowl, including ticket, travel and hotel accommodations.
For information on the New Mexico Bowl, please check out the web site: www.newmexicobowl.com.
