Matt Weir/Collegian File Photo

Following coach Pat Hill’s mantra of playing any opponent any time and anywhere, Fresno State football announced its stacked 2011 football schedule on Monday.

As promised, the Bulldogs will play a neutral-site game against California for the first time since 2000. The game will be played in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on Sept. 3, but this time taking snaps from under center will be the highly touted Derek Carr. Carr’s older brother David Carr engineered the 2000 17-3 victory over the Bears, but the new-look Bulldogs will be taking on a California squad that missed a bowl game last year for the first time since 2002.

Following the Bay Area showdown with California, Fresno State will head to Lincoln, Neb., to take on now-Big 10 powerhouse Nebraska. The Cornhuskers lost in the Big 12 Championship game and then the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl, but finished the year 10-4. The Cornhuskers were ranked No. 9 in the country on the ground last season, averaging 247.6 yards per game on the ground, led by 2011 Heisman prospect in dual-threat quarterback Taylor Martinez.

Fresno State will not play at home until Sept. 17 when it plays host to Football Championship Subdivision North Dakota, who finished 3-8 last year, including 0-4 in the Great West Conference standings.

Last year’s schedule was highlighted by seven home games, including two Western Athletic Conference co-champions Nevada and Hawaii. Fresno State also hosted 2009 Big East champion Cincinnati and Illinois from the Big Ten en route to a 5-2 home record.

Fresno State’s home schedule in 2011 will feature back-to-back games against Mississippi and Boise State following the game against North Dakota. All together, Fresno State’s opponents in 2011 had a combined record of 84-81 in 2010. The Bulldogs will play eight games in California as well.

A problem in the past for Hill’s squads has been conquering difficult early-season schedules unscathed. In the last five seasons, Fresno State has opened the first five games with a combined record of 12-13, which included a slew of injuries to key starters on both sides of the ball.

Matt Weir/Collegian File Photo

Last season, Fresno State lost starting wide receiver Devon Wylie and starting guard Andrew Jackson in the first two games of the season to go along with a number of banged up other starters.

While Hill and company have never shied away from scheduling stiff competition throughout the years, the win-loss column in those games is far from where the program would like it to be. Fresno State is just 6-11 against Bowl Championship Series opponents since the 2005 season, and hasn’t defeated an opponent in the AP Top 25 since beating No. 18 Virginia in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl.

The 2011 season could mark Fresno State’s best shot at a WAC championship. With Boise State departing to the Mountain West Conference, Fresno State is expected to contend for the WAC title after finishing no better than third each of the last seven years. The upcoming season will be Hill’s final shot to take home the WAC crown as Fresno State follows Boise State in 2012 to the MWC.

Illustration by Michael Uribes/The Collegian