Mike Howells / The Collegian
Head football coach Pat Hill knows the upcoming bye week could not have come at a better time for his squad, for a number of reasons.
It is only the fifth time in the 19 years Fresno State has been a member of the Western Athletic Conference that the ‘Dogs have started a season with a 5-2 record. The Bulldogs now set focus on arguably the toughest stretch on this season’s schedule.
Despite the looming task that lay ahead for Hill, who is in his 14th season as head coach, he is confident in his team’s chances based on how it has played as of late.
“We’ve got to play very good football down the stretch here,” Hill said. “But do I think we have a chance to win? Heck yeah I do. I feel good about this football team.”
After having Halloween weekend off this Saturday, Fresno State will travel cross country to face Louisiana Tech, then come home to face a 6-1 Nevada squad before heading north to try and knock rival Boise State off its top conference ranking. The Broncos have won seven of the last nine WAC titles and are currently ranked third in the most recent Bowl Championship Series rankings.
“I think it’s a perfect bye week because now it’s getting us really ready for the stretch that we’ve got to take in November,” running back Robbie Rouse said.
With the weekend off, Hill and the rest of the coaching staff will not only begin working on preparation for their next opponent in Louisiana Tech, but will also get an early start on studying film for the following week’s home contest with Nevada. This strategy, Hill mentioned, is one he has practiced throughout his career with much success.
“We get a great head start on La. Tech,” Hill said. “We get a great jump on Nevada after a long trip. That’s a little something that we’ve done here for a long time, I just like to try to take advantage of our bye week and do preparation for a couple games out.”
Also, with spring class registration just around the corner, midterms being dished out and plenty of makeup assignments to be completed, the impending bye week is just as beneficial academically as it is athletically.
“It’s a good time right now,” Hill said. “They’re getting ready to register for spring classes so everybody’s getting all their counseling done. Next Monday will be registration for classes so it’s a pretty busy time for them right now right at midterms, a lot of midterms a lot of papers. It came at a very good time.”
Another focal point for the bye week is nursing Fresno State’s ever-growing injury list, which just added starters Kyle Knox and Joe Bernardi.
An injury riddled unit, especially the wide receiving corps, has left Hill and company scrambling for replacements, often turning to freshman who likely would not otherwise see much playing time.
Although the coaching staff has praised the performances they have seen from their young guns, the players’ health over the course of the next week is crucial.
“Our goals for the bye week are just to get healthy, kind of heal up, get a little bit of rest and we’ve got a tough stretch in November and December, so we’re just going to have to stay focused, watch film and play hard,” senior defensive end Chris Lewis said.
Fresno State has already gone through one bye week this season, between a weekone win over Cincinnati and a week three road victory over WAC foe Utah State. But the timing of the upcoming bye week is much more beneficial for a squad that has played seven games now and still has five remaining.
“This is a good time to get this break,” Hill said. “We need a little rest time right now. Since that game we’ve played six straight games and it’s time for these guys to get a little refreshed. It’s the same thing in the NFL when they get a bye. They need them bad too.”