Photo Illustration by Bryan Cole / The Collegian

The 2009 football schedule is out and for the second straight year, the Bulldogs will have seven road games in six time zones

With the 2009 schedule released Wednesday, Fresno State football coach Pat Hill didn̢۪t want to hear anything about his team playing a weak schedule.

“There is no softness about our schedule at all,â€Â Hill said. “We don’t play one of those kinds of schedules. It’s great; that’s why our kids come here, they come here to play that kind of schedule. We’re [playing on] all Saturday’s except for one Friday.â€Â

The upcoming football season has the Bulldogs opening with a rugged five game stretch against four teams that went to a bowl game last season.

It begins with UC-Davis at home. After that, it̢۪s a road trip to Wisconsin, then the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opener versus Boise State at Bulldog Stadium on a Friday night.

The next two road games have Fresno State playing against Big East champion Cincinnati and then a trip to Hawaii.

“Well, it’s tough,â€Â Hill said. “The first five weeks of the season are very tough games opening with UC-Davis here and then going to Wisconsin, then Boise State, Cincinnati and then Hawaii.â€Â

Last season, the Bulldogs did a lot of traveling with trips to Rutgers, Toledo, Louisiana Tech and Utah State. The Bulldogs will play seven road games this upcoming season, just like last year.

Joseph Edgecomb / Collegian File Photo

Either way, Hill and the Bulldogs will put in a lot of frequent flyer miles in 2009.

“That’s a lot of travel, they’re very good teams to open the season,â€Â Hill said. “It will be a real test for our young team and it will be a challenge for us.â€Â

The early match-up with Boise State will test to see if the Bulldogs are ready for WAC play. The game is schedule for Sept. 18.

“I think it’s good. They [Boise State] are definitely going to be the team to beat in our conference so we’ll find it out early,â€Â Hill said. “We’re going to find out a lot about us early. There’s still a lot of season to play and a lot of things to look forward too.â€Â

The first half of the season may be difficult for the ̢۪Dogs, but the rest of the schedule also won̢۪t be easy, according to Hill.

“We’re going to have a very heavy schedule early, but we end it very tough with Nevada, Louisiana Tech and Illinois,â€Â Hill said.

The season finale against Big Ten powerhouse Illinois will be the first meeting between the two schools.

One player excited about the upcoming season and the trip to Illinois is true freshman quarterback Derek Carr.

“I love it. We got some great games,â€Â Carr said. “I’ve never been to Champaign, Illinois so it will be fun. We want to win every game. It doesn’t matter when we play everybody, we’re going to come out and play our best.â€Â

Carr says that despite the tough schedule, no game is really marked down for the Bulldogs.

“There really is no game circled,â€Â Carr said. “Every game is circled for us and we’re going to go out and play as hard as we can each game.â€Â

Wide receiver Devon Wylie wants to use the tough schedule as motivation to stay healthy. Wylie missed some significant playing time after being injured against Wisconsin last season, a game where he electrified the Bulldog fans with his long reverse run and touchdown reception.

“I’m very determined to stay healthy and I’m excited to get more reps, get more plays and contribute to the team the best I can,â€Â Wylie said.

When the season opens up, Wylie and the rest of the Bulldogs are looking forward to the tough competition to set the tone for the rest of the year.

“People will say that we play up and I’m really excited to be able to play up to some big teams that people might think that we can’t beat,â€Â Wylie said. “But I’m excited to get after them and have our team play big games against big opponents, like how we did against Wisconsin. Only, obviously, finish the game.â€Â