Football team had better start winning—soon

The Sports Corner By Eddie Hughes

Good thing Fresno State got its losses out of the way early.

At least, the Bulldogs better hope they have if they want to win a Western Athletic Conference championship.

Saturday’s 34-10 loss at Colorado State might hurt the Bulldogs (3-3), but not as far as the WAC is concerned. In the WAC, Fresno State is still unscathed at 1-0. Undefeated and atop the conference.

Here’s the catch. The Bulldogs travel to Hawaii this week to face a Warriors team picked by the media to win the conference.

Oh, and it’s also a War-riors team that has won two straight against the Bulldogs. When was the last time Fresno State left the islands with a win? It was 1994. The Bulldogs have lost their last four games at Hawaii.

Those are just some of the intangibles that might be in the back of every Bulldog’s head going into a pivotal rivalry match-up.

If Fresno State can beat Hawaii (2-3, 1-1 WAC) the Bulldogs will have the inside edge in the title race, already having beaten Louisiana Tech and drawing a home game against Boise State Nov. 21. Advantage—Fresno State.

If the Bulldogs lose to the Warriors, not only will they have a losing record and broken confidence, but a first-place finish would be highly unlikely.

The Warriors lost to Tulsa—one of the worst teams in the nation—last week. So the Bulldogs can expect a full-throttle effort by Hawaii Saturday. Hawaii knows it’s doubtful the WAC can be won with more than one loss.

Fresno State sophomore quarterback Paul Pinegar is finally looking healthy. That’s good news. He saw his first action of the season against Colorado State, completing 11 of 19 passes for 111 yards. But he also threw two interceptions.

Senior Jeff Grady, who started the first six games of the season, completed 6 of 12 passes for 47 yards.

Regardless of which quarterback coach Pat Hill starts Saturday at Hawaii, the Bulldogs will probably need more than 10 points. Against Colorado State, the Bulldogs were doing fine without scoring until Rams quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt revealed his secret weapons—his legs. Van Pelt ran for 154 yards on 13 carries.

Hawaii isn’t going to run all day—not with quarterback Timmy Chang and not with a running back.

Hawaii likes to pass and the Warriors do it well. Chang has thrown for 1,306 yards this season, completing 60 percent of his passes.

The Bulldogs will have to contain that Hawaii offense. If they don’t, a win is improbable. And a conference title not likely. Now it’s time for Fresno State to prove the losses are out of its system.

The season depends on it.