Fresno State coach full of bravado but not much else

Fresno State head coach Pat Hill is definitely a refreshing personality in a profession that features many dud-like sayings like "one game at a time" or "if we don't make mistakes, we'll win." All of that jazz.


Hill brings his Bulldogs into Lincoln, Nebraska Saturday for a matchup against the No. 10 rated Cornhuskers. Much has been made of Hill's infamous statement years ago of "we'll play anyone, anywhere, anytime." So much so that Hill has been lauded to the point where people point out that in an age where more and more coaches are afraid to take non-conference risks out of fear they might ruin their shot at a .500 season and a precious bowl bid, Hill spits in the face of that strategy and wants to take on any team that will have him. Hill does it because he has to do it. Let's face it, how much respect is a team from the Western Athletic Conference going to get by going in beaten in that conference. On the other hand, conferences like the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 12 and so on are loaded with tests so how can one blame those coaches for scheduling "easy games."

OK, I get the idea of praising Hill for having a personality many coaches do not have. Yes, he is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise timid coaching environment. However, has his way been successful? That depends on your idea of success.

Fresno State is 16-17 against BCS Conference opponents since 2001, which is more wins than any other non-BCS school during that time. More applicable to gamblers, though, is Hill’s "against the spread" record against those schools, which is 23-10. OK, that's fine. Puff your chest with this "anywhere, anytime" stuff all you want but beat them. If you're satisfied with simply losing by less than Las Vegas bookies thought you would, why take the field?

So, given the tremendous against the spread success against stronger competition, the same has to be true of the Bulldogs in WAC play, right? His record against the WAC is 75-36. He has never been below 4-4 but never above 6-2.

Fresno State has won just one WAC title (a share in 1999) since Hill took over in 1997. The problem seems to be that Hill puts so much emphasis on the “big games” — most of which come on the road at places hundreds or thousands of miles away — that his players often suffer a letdown when they get into winnable conference games.

In 2001, Fresno State had early season wins against Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin that allowed them to jump to No. 8 in the rankings. The tough schedule caught up with them. They lost to Boise State and Hawaii early in WAC play.

In 2004, the Bulldogs scored a big win at 13th-ranked Kansas State was followed quickly by losses to Louisiana Tech, UTEP and Boise State. Fresno State finished 10-3 overall.

In 2005, the Bulldogs started 8-1 and almost won at USC, losing 50-42. That was the same USC team that lost to Texas in the BCS Title Game. While the narrow loss put them on the national map, losses in winnable games against Nevada and Louisiana Tech ended all hopes of a conference championship.

So, has Hill’s strategy been successful? True, his program is more relevant than before his tenure but it should be dually noted that Boise State and Hawaii have both made it to BCS bowls out of the WAC by taking a different approach. Fresno State’s best bowl game during that time is hard to even figure out. The MPC Computers Bowl? The New Mexico Bowl?

Yes, Hill routinely gets his teams up to play against big-time opponents and he routinely fails at preventing a hangover effect in the following conference games. True, Hill could care less what you, I or the man on the moon think. He’s going to keep scheduling the toughest possible opponents at the toughest venues in the country.

Look, there's a lot to like about Hill even more than his refreshing personality that media types and fans espouse. Under Hill's leadership, Fresno State has greatly improved the academic performance of its football players. During Hill's tenure the team has produced (as of 2005) 65 Academic All-WAC players, compared to a total of nine in the entire history of the program before Hill's arrival.

His Bulldog teams have reached a bowl game in eight of the last nine seasons to being on national television as much as any team this decade, the Bulldog program is regularly recognized for its success. That success transcends to the classroom, where once again the Fresno State team has posted a very strong Academic Progress Rate score. Fresno State's APR score ranks fourth in the western United States among public institutions, and second among California public schools.

As for how Hill's approach plays into the concern of Husker fans that post on message boards and call talk radio, well, let's just say that a segment of Nebraska fans were less than impressed with the team's 40-7 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga. Of course, those same perspective-lacking schnooks fail to realize that had starting quarterback Taylor Martinez played the entire game AND if starting cornerback Alfonzo Dennard played, the Huskers probably win 56-0. Then again, it is more prudent to play backups in a blowout game. Seriously, for you "statement win" wonks, is 56-0 THAT much more impressive than 40-7? Secondly why play Dennard if you win the game without him anyhow?

Nebraska is favored by 24.5 points. Fresno State lost 36-21 last week to the California Golden Bears at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Bulldogs led 7-0 in the first quarter and 19-14 at halftime. Midway through the fourth quarter it was 36-14. So, the Bulldogs started strong and faded as the game progressed.

I expect them to learn their lesson and play hard for all four quarters this week. Nebraska will also learn from their mistakes, mainly in communications between players on the field, and post an even stronger effort at Memorial Stadium than last week.

The Bulldogs will bark and show their teeth, but I don’t believe they’ll bite enough of the Huskers to score more than 20 points. Huskers will win say 38-14.

Huskers not alone in needing to iron out rough edges

The perfectionist Nebraska football fan would like to have seen the Huskers season-opening 40-7 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga have a lot fewer rough edges.


However, there are a few things that miss the point about that argument. For openers, if quarterbck Taylor Martinez plays the entire game, Nebraska probably wins 54-7 but in a lopsided game it is much more prudent to get the second and third teamers some much need playing time. If you hadn't watched the game, you would have immediately thought the Huskers were a powerhouse but a 40-7 win is nothing to complain about whether it's Game #1 or Game #10. Consider what else took place around the naton. No. 2 Alabama beat a Kent State team that is probably just as weak as UT-Chattanooga 48-7. No. 6 Florida State was a 34-0 winner over Louisiand-Monroe, an opponent just as weak as Kent State and UT-Chattanooga. No. 18 Ohio State beat Akron 42-0. Not that big of a deal considering Akron is consistently one of the worst teams in the nation.


The point is that other teams had their problems Saturday, too, and we haven't begun to mention reigning National Champion Auburn needing a miracle to beat Utah State 42-38. While we're at it, let's mention Sacramento State going into Oregon State and winning 29-28. Sac State, people! Div. I-AA Sac State. Oklahoma is the top-ranked team in the nation and played like it n beating Tulsa 47-14 but keep in mind led the Sooners 17-0 in the Big 12 title game only to lose 23-20.

The truth of the matter is, nobody is a juggernaut. Yes, the Huskers need to learn to develop consistency, but there is no team that resembles the 1995 Huskers let alone say, the 2004 USC Trojans or the 2001 Miami Hurricanes out there. Yes, Nebraska has a long way to go, but the Huskers can get better.


True, there were some impressive performances around the Top 25 ike No. 11 Wisconsin rolling UNLV 51-17. In some circles, Wisconsin is consdered the favorite to win the Big Ten conference and they certainly played like it Thursday. The Huskers have three more nonconference games (Fresno State, Washington and Wyoming) before vsitng Wisconsin on Oct. 1. Fresno State lost to a pretty meidocre (and frequently overrated) California team 36-21 but a garbage time touchdown made that game closer than it appeared. Washington narrowly escaped at home with a 30-27 win over Div. I-AA Eastern Washington. Wyoming also narrowly beat Div. I-AA Weber State 35-32.


Point being, the Huskers have a month to clean up their mistakes before the aforementioned road trip to Madison, Wisc. so there is no need to panic.


True, the Huskers' season-opener was more ragged than you would have liked, especially on offense as the timing and spacing in the backfield seemed surprisingly bad on several occasions. However, I didn't see anything that priactice and time shouldn't overcome. The young offensive line needs to come together -- and very quickly at that. They had a few good moments but to many not so good.


No need to worry yet. Let's see how much the Huskers get cleaned up this week and what they put on the field Saturday against a Fresno State program that has had a history of knocking off college football's giants.