Fresno State to honor 1982 Bulldog football team

FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State has a long lineage of special years, and the 2022 season just happens to bring up memories of the last few decades of Bulldog teams. Fresno State Athletics will honor four decades of Bulldog football programs throughout the 2022 season, recognizing the anniversary of significant events and years in Fresno State football history. This Saturday, Fresno State Athletics welcomes back to The Valley the 1982 Fresno State Football team for homecoming weekend.

40 years ago, quarterback Jeff Tedford led Fresno State to a 29-28 win over Bowling Green in the California Raisin Bowl to cap a historic season in Fresno State Football history. The Bulldogs finished that season 11-1 and as Pacific Coast Athletic Association champions. Led by head coach Jim Sweeney, the Bulldogs had a high-caliber talent on the field behind Tedford as quarterback and the wide receiver duo of Henry Ellard and Stephone Paige to name a few.

The wins were great, but what is more special is how those wins came about, and what the program endured that season. Fresno State's only loss of the season was at Nevada (Oct. 16).

Life changed for members of the football program on Friday, Oct. 15 - the night before the game.

While at the team's walk through of the home stadium on Friday evening, the Bulldog coaching staff was notified that a car full of wives and significant others traveling to Reno had been in an accident on their way out of Fresno, colliding with an armored truck and leaving their loved ones severely injured.

The team was sent back to the locker room area as the coaching staff began to process what had happened to their family members and close friends. Many staff members flew home that night.

The team played the game at Nevada that next night, and lost 40-26. That Oct. 16 game would be the only loss of the season in 1982.

As the team returned home, the program was left feeling empty – dealing with the loss of loved ones, recovering from the emotions felt by both the players and the staff who were not directly affected, and knowing there was still a long season of football to be played ahead of it.

The remainder of the season was coached mostly by volunteer coaches from around the area, but it was the players who held themselves accountable to lead the team to six-straight games through the rest of the season to finish as one of the best teams in Fresno State Football history.

With a quick turnaround following the tragic accident, Fresno State traveled to San Jose State for its game on Oct. 23. Behind the support of the Red Wave who made the trip north to San Jose, Fresno State came out on top with a 39-27 victory.

Fresno State would win out, making it to its first bowl game in 11 years - The California Raisin Bowl against Bowling Green. At the game, and going scoreless until the third quarter, Fresno State trailed by three touchdowns with 15:42 to play, and bounced back with a 22-point fourth quarter to capture the 29-28 victory with just 11 seconds remaining.

Bulldog wide receiver Stephone Paige set a then-school record with 246 yards receiving and tied another with 15 receptions in the win. Quarterback Jeff Tedford tied a then-school record with 373 yards passing and set a single game record with 31 completions in the game.

The last six games of the season were exhausting mentally and physically for the players, staff, and volunteers. But, it was the efforts by all parties involved that led Fresno State to its success, in honor and memory of the tragic event that took place during the season.

Elizabeth Blue, wife of then-defensive coordinator Ken Blue, passed away three days after the accident. She was 55 years old.

Francis O'Brien, a tight end and fullback on the 1982 team, put into words by poem what the 1982 season meant from the perspective of a Bulldog on that team.

There is nothing finer in this land
Than you crazy Bulldog football fans.
You're so wild,
You got us riled.
You're so loud,
You made us proud.
When we played in San Jose,
We will never forget that great RED WAVE.
We beat the Spartans, that was a thrill,
But it was your cheers that gave us the extra will.
It was such an awesome sight,
As we walked off the field before we played the night.
We will miss those cheers
With great big tears.
From Go Dogs Go to Fresno State,
You're what made this season great.
We had to prove us to the writers,
That this team was full of fighters.
They said there would be no championship,
And that we would finish fifth.
The seniors provided the leadership
So the rest could follow and never quit.
We made this year a huge success
By being a fist and with togetherness.
We were eleven and one in eighty-two,
With that one in memory of Elizabeth Blue.
For she was with us spirit and soul,
Especially in the fourth quarter of the California Bowl.

- Francis O'Brien and 1982 PCAA Champions

Join in on the recognition of the 1982 Bulldog football team at Saturday's homecoming game at Valley Children's Stadium against San Jose State. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. PT. Tickets are available here.

"Fresno State Athletics - For The V: The Central Valley" - Bulldog student-athletes, coaches, and staff proudly wear the "Green V" to show their pride in representing the Central Valley. Stories of why the Bulldogs play for the "Green V" will be shared throughout the next year with #ForTheV. To become a Bulldog Foundation member or join "The Green V Society," please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

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Fresno State Athletics

Fresno State to honor 1982 Bulldog football team

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