Juan Villa / The Collegian
If last weekend̢۪s near-comeback at Texas A&M was a step forward for Fresno State, then Saturday̢۪s contest against the Oregon Ducks was a big jump backwards.
Numerous penalties, a stagnant running game and potent Oregon offense lead to the demise of the Bulldogs as they fell 52-21 at Autzen Stadium.
The loss was Fresno State̢۪s fifth straight to the Ducks, and Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti̢۪s 100th career victory at Oregon.
“Today we got beat soundly in all phases of the game,â€Â Coach Pat Hill said. “Oregon is a great football team and I can’t say it enough that they beat us in all phases of the game.â€Â
Carrying the load for the Ducks was running back Jonathan Stewart, who rushed for 165 yards on 17 carries including two touchdowns.
One of those touchdowns was an 88-yard scamper in the first quarter, the longest run in Autzen Stadium history.
“Great blocking set it up,â€Â Stewart said. “When you’re in that situation you just see a lot of green. It’s like money.â€Â
One of the things Fresno State wanted to do Saturday was shut down quarterback Dennis Dixon and Oregon̢۪s spread offense.
This didn̢۪t pan out as Dixon would throw for 139 yards, including two touchdowns, while rushing for 59 yards and another score.
“It’s always great to get off to a good start,â€Â Dixon said. “Everyone comes together on offense and defense.â€Â
Dixon and the Ducks would jump out to a 42-6 lead in the second quarter and never look back.
“We made a lot of mistakes defensively, we missed a lot of assignments,â€Â linebacker Marcus Riley said. “Oregon is a very good team and they execute very well, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance when it came to playing assignment football.â€Â
The biggest blow Fresno State suffered on defense was the loss of junior defensive end, Jason Roberts, who broke his leg in the third quarter and will miss the remainder of the season.
While Oregon gained a total of 461 yards offensively, the Bulldogs̢۪ running game was stagnant, gaining only 60 yards total. This was due in part to the absence of guards Cole Popovich and Adam McDowell who are out with injuries.
Fresno State̢۪s downfall was in part due to the amount of yellow flags they received. Overall, the Bulldogs received 12 penalties resulting in 105 yards total.
“There were a lot of flags tonight; you can’t have that many a game,â€Â Hill said. “But I think when you get behind guys are going to get frustrated but still there aren’t any excuses we just had too many.â€Â
Additionally, the turnover bug continues to infect the Bulldogs, as their grand total for the season is now eight turnovers.
In the first quarter, running back Ryan Mathews fumbled a carry that was returned for a touchdown by cornerback Walter Thurmond III.
“We tried to go out there and make a statement by stopping the run, and I think we did that,â€Â Thurmond said.
Two possessions later, Thurmond would also disrupt the Bulldogs̢۪ passing game as he picked off Tom Brandstater in the first quarter for 30 yards and set up another Oregon score.
Brandstater completed 18 of 32 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown to go with an interception.
“That was a good team we played, but we can’t make that many mistakes,â€Â Brandstater said. “I thought we didn’t sustain enough drives and keep control of the game.â€Â
Fresno State̢۪s touchdowns came on runs from Lonyae Miller in the first quarter and a late fourth quarter score from Mathews. True freshman fullback Vince Pascoe made a touchdown catch at the end of the first half.
The new task for the Bulldogs will to be to win the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship. This week they have a bye, and will prepare for Louisiana Tech on Sept. 29 at Bulldog Stadium.
“We have a lot of seniors on this team who have a goal of winning a WAC Championship and that’s still obtainable,â€Â Hill said. “That’s our focus right now. We are going to get ready for Louisiana Tech and put together a good game plan. We are going to work on winning the WAC.â€Â
that dude • Sep 18, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Hill sets these teams for emotionally draining seasons. The tough schedules are tough on the team. They spend more of the week getting psyched, watching film, and training to take on lets say Texas A&M. They keep the game close and end up losing. then the next week they go against a legit team in Oregon and get blown out of the water.
What more does this team have mentally?
From what i’m hearing on the practice field Hill has been requiring the team to train even harder. That is going to be a 2 week period to think about last weeks defeat.
Yeah it does give the team spotlight, but when we get handled in Oregon were not that team that takes on the big system teams, but the team that got their (explicative) kicked. The schedule is anything but balanced.
We need to be the best in our conference before we go around and beat the best of other conference.
Just to put my two sense in…
that dude • Sep 19, 2007 at 12:30 am
Hill sets these teams for emotionally draining seasons. The tough schedules are tough on the team. They spend more of the week getting psyched, watching film, and training to take on lets say Texas A&M. They keep the game close and end up losing. then the next week they go against a legit team in Oregon and get blown out of the water.
What more does this team have mentally?
From what i’m hearing on the practice field Hill has been requiring the team to train even harder. That is going to be a 2 week period to think about last weeks defeat.
Yeah it does give the team spotlight, but when we get handled in Oregon were not that team that takes on the big system teams, but the team that got their (explicative) kicked. The schedule is anything but balanced.
We need to be the best in our conference before we go around and beat the best of other conference.
Just to put my two sense in…
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Fresno State?—–maybe like 6 or 7.
1999-Cal.
2001-Col., Wis.
2002-Ga. Tech.
2003-UCLA
2004-Wash., K-St., UVA
That’s all I can name. Utah and Boise both won Fiesta Bowls—-should we not be on that level right now? We’ve won didley in the way of Conference titles.
2001-Blown out by Hawaii
2002-Blown out by Oregon State
2005-Lost to Oregon and Tulsa
2006-Lost to Utah State and San Jose State
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Fresno State?—–maybe like 6 or 7.
1999-Cal.
2001-Col., Wis.
2002-Ga. Tech.
2003-UCLA
2004-Wash., K-St., UVA
That’s all I can name. Utah and Boise both won Fiesta Bowls—-should we not be on that level right now? We’ve won didley in the way of Conference titles.
2001-Blown out by Hawaii
2002-Blown out by Oregon State
2005-Lost to Oregon and Tulsa
2006-Lost to Utah State and San Jose State
FSDogs1 • Sep 18, 2007 at 2:57 pm
And another thing “Davis Carr”…Fresno State is not below ANY non-BCS schools. That’s ridiculous. Boise State has several WAC titles. But how many times have they gone on the road and beaten a BCS-conference team?
How many times has Fresno State?
FSDogs1 • Sep 18, 2007 at 9:57 pm
And another thing “Davis Carr”…Fresno State is not below ANY non-BCS schools. That’s ridiculous. Boise State has several WAC titles. But how many times have they gone on the road and beaten a BCS-conference team?
How many times has Fresno State?
FSDogs1 • Sep 18, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Are you serious “Davis Carr”!? Where has Hill’s philosophy gotten the ‘Dogs from 1999-2007, you ask?
Let’s see, a bowl game EVERY one of those years except for ’06 (the most consecutive in school history). Wins over Oregon State, UCLA, Kansas State, Washington, Virginia, Cal, Wisconsin, Colorado, etc. Fresno State became a regular on national television (look up the stats about how many times the ‘Dogs have been on ESPN under Hill). The APR is in the top 3 in the West behind only Stanford and Utah. The team GPA has skyrocketed. A co-WAC title in ’99 (there should be more, won’t disagree there). The No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL. A winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award. A Heisman finalist. A cover of Sports Illustrated. A cover of The Sporting News. The most NFL players (by far) of any non-BCS conference team. A vision and attitude the whole Valley can be a part of. And most of all, Hill has given us all the pleasure of knowing there’s a legitimate chance Fresno State will beat ANY team it steps on the field with. He brought big-time college football to the Valley, did it with local kids predominantly, and it’s here to stay.
FSDogs1 • Sep 18, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Are you serious “Davis Carr”!? Where has Hill’s philosophy gotten the ‘Dogs from 1999-2007, you ask?
Let’s see, a bowl game EVERY one of those years except for ’06 (the most consecutive in school history). Wins over Oregon State, UCLA, Kansas State, Washington, Virginia, Cal, Wisconsin, Colorado, etc. Fresno State became a regular on national television (look up the stats about how many times the ‘Dogs have been on ESPN under Hill). The APR is in the top 3 in the West behind only Stanford and Utah. The team GPA has skyrocketed. A co-WAC title in ’99 (there should be more, won’t disagree there). The No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL. A winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award. A Heisman finalist. A cover of Sports Illustrated. A cover of The Sporting News. The most NFL players (by far) of any non-BCS conference team. A vision and attitude the whole Valley can be a part of. And most of all, Hill has given us all the pleasure of knowing there’s a legitimate chance Fresno State will beat ANY team it steps on the field with. He brought big-time college football to the Valley, did it with local kids predominantly, and it’s here to stay.
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 1:18 pm
It is getting kind of tiresome. Looking back on 2001 and 2005 and wondering what could have been.
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 8:18 pm
It is getting kind of tiresome. Looking back on 2001 and 2005 and wondering what could have been.
kris graben • Sep 18, 2007 at 11:44 am
A loss is a loss, for sure, but maybe we would have lost uglier. Or maybe even more games. It is hard to measure that. I will say that playing “big” schools might attract more visibility and hopefully help recruitment, if not revenues. I never watched Fresno until they played (and almost beat ) USC. It makes for a broader audience, I think. But, then, I try not to think too much. I mostly like teams with red colors….HA!
kris graben • Sep 18, 2007 at 6:44 pm
A loss is a loss, for sure, but maybe we would have lost uglier. Or maybe even more games. It is hard to measure that. I will say that playing “big” schools might attract more visibility and hopefully help recruitment, if not revenues. I never watched Fresno until they played (and almost beat ) USC. It makes for a broader audience, I think. But, then, I try not to think too much. I mostly like teams with red colors….HA!
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 9:12 am
A narrow loss against Oregon last year, and a 1-2 record going into conference play, didn’t prepare our win record any.
Hell, we lost to Utah State. They were 1-34234 last season.
Benjamin Baxter • Sep 18, 2007 at 4:12 pm
A narrow loss against Oregon last year, and a 1-2 record going into conference play, didn’t prepare our win record any.
Hell, we lost to Utah State. They were 1-34234 last season.
Joe Graben • Sep 17, 2007 at 7:44 pm
It’s called respect. If you watched Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs never quit. You can thank Pat Hill for that.
It is facing the adversity that makes them a better team than they otherwise could be…and better individuals too.
Joe Graben • Sep 18, 2007 at 2:44 am
It’s called respect. If you watched Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs never quit. You can thank Pat Hill for that.
It is facing the adversity that makes them a better team than they otherwise could be…and better individuals too.
Davis Carr • Sep 17, 2007 at 5:16 pm
and where has the tough schedule gotten the team (1999-2007)?
Davis Carr • Sep 18, 2007 at 12:16 am
and where has the tough schedule gotten the team (1999-2007)?
Joe Graben • Sep 17, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Comment for Davis Carr–
Playing “easy” teams does not prepare your football team for the season. Needless to say it gives players a false sense of reality. I applaud Pat Hill, and as an old footbal coach, I want to play the toughest schedule I can.
Go Dogs!!
Joe Graben
Joe Graben • Sep 17, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Comment for Davis Carr–
Playing “easy” teams does not prepare your football team for the season. Needless to say it gives players a false sense of reality. I applaud Pat Hill, and as an old footbal coach, I want to play the toughest schedule I can.
Go Dogs!!
Joe Graben
Davis Carr • Sep 17, 2007 at 11:08 am
This proves that we are not able to compete with the big time schools. Five Oregon games—-five L’s.
Instead of taking on the best (Oklahoma, Tenn., Oregon, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC)—-how about gaining easy wins against lesser BCS conference teams (Kentucky, Minnesota, Connecticut, Baylor, UNC, Duke)—-and focus on the WAC Conference title—–I’m holding you to the WAC title thing, Pat.
That’s the way to get to Boise, TCU, Utah, and Hawaii’s level. We’re still a few strides behind those elite mid-majors.
Looking for the easy million dollar payouts from the big time programs hasn’t proved successful—-and it’s shorted the fans on decent home schedules (remember 2004’s 5 home game lineup with Portland State?)
Davis Carr • Sep 17, 2007 at 6:08 pm
This proves that we are not able to compete with the big time schools. Five Oregon games—-five L’s.
Instead of taking on the best (Oklahoma, Tenn., Oregon, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC)—-how about gaining easy wins against lesser BCS conference teams (Kentucky, Minnesota, Connecticut, Baylor, UNC, Duke)—-and focus on the WAC Conference title—–I’m holding you to the WAC title thing, Pat.
That’s the way to get to Boise, TCU, Utah, and Hawaii’s level. We’re still a few strides behind those elite mid-majors.
Looking for the easy million dollar payouts from the big time programs hasn’t proved successful—-and it’s shorted the fans on decent home schedules (remember 2004’s 5 home game lineup with Portland State?)