Matt Weir / The Collegian
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC) vs. UC Davis Aggies(0-0, 0-0 Great West)
Breakdown: Bulldogs
The 2009 season may leave the Bulldogs with more questions than answers.
But their matchup against the UC Davis Aggies will, hopefully, provide the most answers the Bulldogs will find this year.
Who will start at quarterback and lead Pat Hill̢۪s team? Well, he has said all off-season that he won̢۪t be able to decide until he sees Ryan Colburn and Derek Carr on film. But Hill made the decision yesterday that Colburn would start. Even though the lefty will get the reps, it will still be intriguing to see Carr looking over his shoulder.
What kind of offense can fans expect to see? Everyone has heard the rumors that Ebahn Feathers is going to be used as a option quarterback, but there are skeptics who question if Hill will change his ways after 12 seasons or not.
How will the two-coordinator system work? Both the offense and the defense have running and passing coordinators, with the passing coordinator in the booth calling plays. Neither Randy Stewart (defense) nor Jeff Grady (offense) have been in those positions before.
With so many important questions to be concerned with, plus all of the unknowns, the Bulldogs must stay focused.
First and foremost, Hill must concentrate on beating UC Davis and not becoming Stanford part II.
And the rest might just work itself out.
Breakdown: Aggies
UC Davis is entering its 17th season under head coach Bob Biggs and is playing one of its most aggressive schedules in his tenure. Not only are the Aggies opening their season at Bulldog Stadium, but they will also take their act up north to play Boise State on Oct. 3.
But this isn̢۪t the only season the Aggies, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program, have taken on opponents from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
In 2005, the Aggies beat Stanford 20-17 on a late touchdown with only 8 seconds left on the clock. The win helped put the program on the map, but unfortunately for the Aggies, there aren̢۪t many players left who can say they played in that game.
But the Aggies do return experience and talent on offense, especially at the quarterback position. Junior signal-caller Gregg Denham is back after a stellar sophomore campaign, throwing for more than 3,400 yards and 27 touchdowns.
The Aggies also have another talented player in the backfield – junior tailback Joe Trombetta. Trombetta only played in eight games last season, but still managed to rush for 547 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
The Aggies will travel to Fresno with high hopes and will be fired up at Bulldog Stadium. Still, it would be surprising if the Bulldogs don̢۪t win by double-digits.
But Stanford thought the same thing a few years back.
Steven • Sep 4, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Along witht that, maybe the idiots who take care of the field can actually do a good job for the first time this century and the field can stay green for the whole season, not the usual dead brown grass.
Steven • Sep 5, 2009 at 6:58 am
Along witht that, maybe the idiots who take care of the field can actually do a good job for the first time this century and the field can stay green for the whole season, not the usual dead brown grass.
The Academics • Sep 3, 2009 at 6:46 pm
wow—another five home game schedule—–not a problem if we were getting a Big 10 or ACC team to head out here in the non-conference slot—–otherwise pretty lame——the NCAA really needs to do something about the teams that use their name to build a 7/8 home and 5/4 away schedule (blasphemy i tell ya)……..Michigan of 2007 comes to mind.
nothing fair about that kind of imbalance—–hey, but we have a new center pitch logo on the turf at Bulldog Estadio—–using the basketball dawg face versus the four-paws dawg this year it seems.
The Academics • Sep 4, 2009 at 1:46 am
wow—another five home game schedule—–not a problem if we were getting a Big 10 or ACC team to head out here in the non-conference slot—–otherwise pretty lame——the NCAA really needs to do something about the teams that use their name to build a 7/8 home and 5/4 away schedule (blasphemy i tell ya)……..Michigan of 2007 comes to mind.
nothing fair about that kind of imbalance—–hey, but we have a new center pitch logo on the turf at Bulldog Estadio—–using the basketball dawg face versus the four-paws dawg this year it seems.