Fresno State Athletics
Illinois Comes to Bulldog Stadium
11/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 29, 2010
Fresno State (7-4, 5-3 WAC) vs Illinois (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten)
Date: Friday, Dec. 3, 2010
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. PT
Site: Bulldog Stadium (41,031); Fresno, Calif.
Radio: KMJ (AM 580); Bulldog Live (4:30 p.m.) Countdown to Kickoff (6:30 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: Jose Salas and Jesse Beltran
Television: ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Carter Blackburn; Analysts: Brock Huard and Mike Bellotti; Sideline: Shelley Smith
Dogs Close Regular Season with Illinois on ESPN2
The Fresno State football team will wrap-up its 2010 regular season with a rare non-conference home game to end the season when Illinois comes to town. Friday's game will be televised live on ESPN2. Three of Fresno State's four losses this season have come to teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll (No. 9 Boise State, No. 17 Nevada and No. 25 Hawaii). Since the formation of the BCS system, this will mark just the ninth time a team from an AQ-BCS conference has played at Bulldog Stadium. During that time, Fresno State has faced 34 AQ opponents on the road or at neutral sites. This season the Dogs host two teams from AQ BCS leagues, Cincinnati of the Big East and Illinois.
Fresno State vs. Illinois Release 
About Illinois
The Fighting Illini closeout the 2010 season against the Dogs and are just the second Big Ten team to play in Bulldog Stadium. The Fighting Illini have won five national championships also played in 15 bowl games, the last being the 2008 Rose Bowl against USC, one of five Rose Bowl apperances. Illinois has faced the fourth-toughest schedule in the nation thus far according to the official NCAA schedule strength rankings. The Fighting Illini defense forced 12 turnovers in three games (five vs. Indiana, two vs. Purdue and five at Michigan). Illinois is coming off a 48-27 win over Northwestern in a game played at Wrigley Field on Nov. 20. Mikel Leshoure rushed for 330 yards in that game for the Illini. Illinois' football alumni include Red Grange, Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke.
Against Illinois
Last season was the first meeting of the Bulldogs and the Fighting Illini in program history. Fresno State won the game, 53-52, after offensive lineman Devan Cunningham caught a deflected pass and ran into the end zone for a two-point conversion with just seconds remaining in the game.
Against the Big Ten
The Dogs are 2-6 all-time against team from the Big Ten. When Wisconsin played at Bulldog Stadium in 2008 marked the first time a Big Ten team played at Fresno. Fresno State's wins over Big Ten opponents came last season at Illinois (53-52) and in 2001 at Wisconsin (32-20).
Carter and Harrell Top 10 in NCAA Sack Race
Fresno State's Chris Carter and Logan Harrell are among the top players in the nation in quarterback sacks. Carter leads the WAC and ranks No. 6 nationally with 10 sacks, while Harrell is second in the league and no. 9 nationally with 9.5 sacks. As a team, Fresno State has 33 sacks this season which ranks 10th among NCAA teams.
Senior Salute
The Bulldogs have 15 seniors, who will play in their final game at Bulldog Stadium against Illinois. Cornell Banks, Lorne Bell, Joe Bernardi, Chris Carter, Ryan Colburn, Devan Cunningham, Desia Dunn, Ben Jacobs, Andrew Jackson, Chris Lewis, Sonny McCree, Vince Pascoe, Mark Roberts, Tracy Slocum and Kenny Wiggins take the field one last time in a Bulldog uniform. In addition, Kenny Borg, who suffered a career-ending injury last season vs. Illinois will be honored in the game.
"We Are Your Team!" Fresno State concludes the regular season on Friday Dec. 3 at 7:15 p.m. against Big Ten foe Illinois. Tickets for the game can be purchased by clicking the tickets icon at the top of this page.
