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Surprising Fresno State may already be doomed

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 8, 2001

What appeared to be a brutal schedule could turn into a blessing for Fresno State.

After a season-opening victory at Colorado and a stirring home win on Sunday night over then 10th-ranked Oregon State, the Bulldogs scratched into the Associated Press Top 25. A victory today at Wisconsin would solidify their standing.

Fresno State's 44-24 victory over Oregon State -- which went 11-1 last season and ripped Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl -- had a record crowd of 42,410 at Bulldog Stadium carrying off the goal posts.

But because the Bulldogs began the season unranked, it will take time to move up. And they might not ever recover enough to finish among the Top 6, which would assure them a spot in a Bowl Championship Series game.

"We still don't get the respect we should," said quarterback David Carr, who threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns against the Beavers. "But we're in the Western Athletic Conference and it's tough. If it was Florida that came out and did this to Oregon State, then you'd hear all about it.

"We expected to win the whole game. People around the nation didn't give us a chance, but we knew."

The Bulldogs are No. 19 in the AP poll, but because they are in the WAC, there is no guarantee of a BCS spot or a shot at the national title. In 1998, Tulane of Conference USA went 12-0 but didn't get a BCS invitation. Last year, TCU, formerly of the WAC and now in C-USA, faced a similar fate until a late-season loss. Strength of schedule was a big factor.

But that excuse can't be used against Fresno State. Coach Pat Hill purposely scheduled some tough opponents, knowing that his WAC schedule would not impress poll voters or the BCS computers. Last season he played at Ohio State and UCLA, although the Bulldogs lost both.

"We may take our lumps at some point, but with the guys we have in our program, I don't think we're scared of anybody," Hill said.

Today's game should be telling. Winning at rowdy Camp Randall Stadium is not easy. But should the Bulldogs pull it off, they'll have defeated teams from the Big 12, Pac-10 and Big Ten.

NUMBERS ARE DECEIVING: Nebraska rushed for 330 yards in a 42-14 victory over Troy State, but the Cornhuskers' vaunted rushing attack is far from ultimate efficiency.

Four times, Nebraska failed to score on possessions inside the Troy State 15 and twice the Cornhuskers were stopped on goal-line stands inside the 3.

"We're Nebraska, and we need to power people over the goal line," quarterback Eric Crouch said. "Really, there are no excuses. I want everybody to know that the offense is okay, but I don't want to pump it up like we're doing great, because we're not."

MOVING UP: When Miami moved to No. 1 in the AP poll on Monday, it was the first time that the four-time national champion Hurricanes occupied the top spot since Nov. 30, 1992, a span of 3,199 days and 457 weeks. In 26 games as the No. 1-ranked team, UM is 21-5 and 20-3 in the regular season. The Hurricanes, who play Rutgers today, last lost as a No. 1 on Sept. 8, 1990, in the season opener at BYU.

TROJAN TIME: With a victory over San Jose State in Pete Carroll's first game as coach, Southern California snapped a five-game losing streak at home at the Coliseum. The Trojans' last victory before Saturday also was against San Jose State, 34-24 last season. ... Kansas State gets plenty of grief about its nonconference schedule, but the Wildcats are opening at Southern California today, finally a formidable foe. The last time K-State played a Pac-10 team during the regular season was in 1991, a 56-3 loss at Washington.

WOODY'S WORLD: Vanderbilt coach Woody Widenhofer, coming off a 3-8 season and 13-31 record in four years, figured to be on the hot seat. It didn't get any cooler after a loss to Middle Tennessee State.

School chancellor Gordon Gee's comments are proof. Even before the loss, the words of Gee, who held similar posts at Brown, West Virginia, Colorado and Ohio State, were telling.

"I told the team that until I went to Brown, I had been to 18 bowl games in a row, and I don't like to sit at home during bowl season," Gee said.

If Gee has holiday plans, they shouldn't include watching the Commodores, who have not been to a bowl since 1982.

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