Late comedian Rodney Dangerfield once said, “Even in hell, I get no respect,” and that is pretty much the feeling the Fresno State football team got on Sunday afternoon when it found out that it only received one vote from the Coaches Poll to be in the top 25 teams of the nation.
In fact, the AP Poll didn’t give the Bulldogs a single vote, ranking them behind other Mountain West Conference teams like University of Hawaii, Boise State University, San Diego State University and Utah State University.
Coming off of a 21-3 over University of Nevada, the Fresno State Bulldogs were looking to get some recognition, especially with three wins in a row and an overall record of 4-1. However, it seems as though neither the AP Poll nor the Coaches Poll were paying attention to the ‘Dogs.
The reason why Fresno State thought it was sure to get votes is that the Bulldogs are not just winning games, they are defeating their opponents in dominating fashion. Each Bulldogs’ margin of victory has been at least two touchdowns.
With the exception of Boise State, which has been in the polls since preseason, no other Mountain West teams have been able to crack the top 25 in the polls.
This week, five Mountain West teams received votes, but none were ranked in the top 25 in either poll. The team with the most votes in both polls was San Diego State, followed by Utah State and Hawaii. Boise State only received votes in the Coaches poll.
The Bulldogs, however, have the same record of 4-1 as San Diego State and Utah State and a better record than Boise State, (3-2).
Hawaii (6-1) has a record better than any other team in the Mountain West, but that is because it has played two more games than any other team in the conference.
All five teams have faced similar opponents, with only San Diego State and Fresno State getting wins over Pac-12 conference opponents.
Hawaii’s biggest victory came against Navy in the second game of the season, and neither Utah State nor Boise State has had a win against a top opponent.
The Bulldogs’ only loss came in a very close, 21-14 game against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, but the ‘Dogs have rolled over University of Idaho, 79-13, UCLA, 38-14, University of Toledo, 49-27) and Nevada, 21-3.
Even with those type of wins, the ‘Dogs are still getting no respect from the polls that would rather give votes to a 3-1 Appalachian State University team or a 4-2 Syracuse University.
It will be difficult for the Bulldogs to crack the top 25, but it won’t be impossible, especially if they continue to play the way they have been playing. If Fresno State keeps winning, there won’t be any excuses for the pollsters to keep them from the top 25.
The Bulldogs will have three opportunities to gain more respect. Two will be at home against Hawaii and San Diego State, and another will be in Idaho when they face Boise State. Those will be key wins to get voters to notice the ‘Dogs, but they still have to make statements in every game they play.
Fresno State cannot look back and dwell on what could have been if only they hadn’t lost to Minnesota, but they must look forward toward their next opponents. This will be the only way to get that respect they covet and deserve to have.
It won’t be easy for the Bulldogs, but knowing Jeff Tedford, I don’t believe he would want it any other way. Everyone in the Central Valley already knows that the Bulldogs are getting overlooked, but sooner or later everyone else will start looking toward Fresno and the Fresno State football team.
