Bulldogs begin path to prominence
By Darrell Copeland III
The Collegian
There are three letters that constantly surface when talking about the Fresno State football team — and they are not W-A-C.
Instead of feeding Bulldogs fans politically correct lines that insist his team’s number one goal is trying to claim the Western Athletic Conference crown, Hill has been unafraid to throw out the letters BCS while outlining Fresno State’s chances of producing a memorable season.
Only once has a non-BCS school knocked down the proverbial wall that is the Bowl Championship Series, that being Utah during the 2004 season.
Of course Hill doesn’t omit the fact that his team wants an outright WAC Championship, but if it was up to him, that would just be the final piece of the puzzle that produces a BCS bowl berth at the end of the 2006 season.
“Why not us, why not Fresno State?” asked Hill during Fresno State’s football media day.
For any of the Bulldogs’ goals to pay off, it will first have to get past a schedule of opponents that Hill has stated is the toughest in school history, even admitting that the schedule is “sort of a catch-22.”
But for the Bulldogs to reach the program’s overall goal of becoming a national powerhouse, completing a schedule unscathed is a must, meaning the team must perform at its highest level week after week.
There is a formula that Hill has developed over his tenure at Fresno State, one that has already allowed the Bulldogs to eclipse many schools in terms of national exposure within the last 10 years.
“Anybody, anytime, anywhere,” Hill said.
Despite the first quarterback competition since 1998, Hill believes the blueprint of this year’s team has the makings to make that run into the national spotlight.
“This is the best condition we’ve ever been in coming back [from player voluntary workouts],” Hill said.
Regardless of who wins the quarterback battle — sophomores Tom Brandstater and Sean Norton are in the mix — neither man will have to do more than fulfill a role that only asks that he be an efficient member of the offense.
“I’m just glad we have two quarterbacks who can compete for the [starting] job,” Hill said.
Hill is expected to announce the winner of that quarterback battle today, with the season and conference opener against defending WAC Co-champion Nevada only four days away.
“I’d have rather to have been in the fight and failed then to have never been in the fight and won,” Hill said.
Round one of that fight begins Friday.
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