Bulldogs must cover up blemish of La Tech loss

Hughes Views by Eddie Hughes

Blemishes come in various shapes and sizes. And the one Fresno State’s football team just got from a loss to Louisiana Tech is hideous.

But as big as it is—and it is big—it’s nothing that can’t be covered up.

It’ll take quite a bit of work to hide it, but the Bulldogs have the ability. There’s just one thing they have to do—win.

They have to win on Saturday against Texas-El Paso. And again in three weeks at Boise State.
And again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

If all those agains happen, the Bulldogs will finish the regular season 10-1 and 7-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.

If that happens, the Bulldogs will be back in the rankings—probably pretty high in them, too. And the Bulldogs will have a WAC championship to show for it.

That’s not quite the same as crashing the Bowl Championship Series’ elitist party, but it’s the best the Bulldogs can hope for now.

The mindset might be BCS or bust before a loss, but it can’t be that way anymore for Fresno State.
If that’s still the mindset, there’s nothing left to play for.

But that’s not the case for the Bulldogs, who were ranked 17th in the nation before last week’s upset in Ruston, La.

There is still plenty to play for. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at the polls and the remaining schedules.

And the fact that Fresno State still has the same very talented team it had two weeks ago.

Only, now, that talented team has a blemish on its record.

But, even after that loss, the Bulldogs are still just four spots out of the top 25 in this week’s two major polls.

Fresno State got 17 votes in the Associated Press poll, which gives the Bulldogs the 29th most votes in the country. They got 29 votes in the coaches’ poll, good for 29th place there, too.

Keeping that in mind, if Fresno State were to win the remaining seven games on its schedule—including a win against a Boise State team likely to be near the top 15 at game time—the Bulldogs would climb right back up there.

It’s even safe to assume that scenario could land Fresno State in the top 15 by season’s end.

But winning those last seven games won’t be easy. As much as this is going to sound like coach-speak, Fresno State has to show up and go all out for four quarters every week.

The rest of the WAC still gets hyped to play the Bulldogs like it’s the biggest game of the season.

That’s how the Bulldogs need to view every game now.

One more slip-up, and even a WAC title is probably out of reach because the Bulldogs are the only team that has a realistic shot to beat the Broncos, meaning they’ll probably finish 7-1 in the conference, too.

The winning-out scenario would also have the Bulldogs playing in a bowl game for the sixth straight season, a school record.

Sure, it might be the Silicon Valley Football Classic again, but it’s another game and possibly another shot to take down a BCS-conference team.

And it’s a chance to further remove that blemish from everyone’s memory.

—This columnist can be reached at [email protected]