DRILLED IN BATON ROUGE, NOW READY TO RUN THE TABLE?????

I guess it's actually worse than I thought. Two Saturdays ago, the Fresno State Bulldogs left the Fresno Air Terminal en route to Baton Rouge, La. When they landed the 'Dogs were down by two touchdowns. Which was expected by myself and absolutely nobody else in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Then came an interesting plot twist.

The 'Dogs were able to stop the bleeding and (I can't believe I'm actually saying this in the year 2006) played good defense until halftime. After trading field goals with the Tigers in the second quarter, the halftime score was 17-3. Here's where the Red Wave and I go our separate ways. After having Pat Hill in my face for about a decade telling me we can win these big games on the road, it's a little difficult for me to look at the fact that we're not down by 30 and be happy. But happy the Red Wavers were, and are.

The second half was actually worse for the 'Dogs as they were outscored 21-3 over the final two quarters. Final score - 38-6. My take? We didn't really belong on the field with the number 14 team in the country. The Red Wavers? Oh, I can hardly believe it myself. They think it was a good loss. The team played well. The defense showed up. Sean Norton showed what he can do out there.

I was at a loss to understand the commentary I heard on the TV and post-game Dog Talk that espoused this nonsense. But I felt like Jimi Hendrix on a super-duper load of the most powerful acid known to man when I heard the next epiphany from this bunch.

The first guy I heard say it was Tony D'Addato. Then came Paul Loefler. Next thing I know, it's being treated like a cogent thought. Seemingly coherent people around here were suddenly talking about........get ready for this.........running the table to get bowl-eligible and then winning a bowl game.

I'm absolutely, freakin' stumped. This team just lost its sixth straight and 10th in its last 11 contests. It couldn't find the end zone even once. It is STILL looking for its first interception of the season. But because they didn't give up more than 60 points and the special teams didn't embarass themselves, we're now poised to win five straight? Starting with Boise State, at Boise?

Let's recap the last three games for the 'Dogs. The most recent game was LSU and they were never in the game. Before that was a 68-37 loss to Hawaii at home. (Now, am I the only one that realizes the 'Dogs lost by a wider margin against LSU than vs. Hawaii? Oh, nevermind. Those are just facts and the Red Wave is pretty fast and loose with those.) Then there was the game that set the program back 20 years, a 13-12 loss at Utah State.

Wanna go one more game back? Colorado State manhandled FSU at Bulldog Stadium for a 35-23 victory. That just leaves the two losses to Pac-10 teams and the (gasp!) victory over Nevada in the season opener. But those three competitive matchups are several light years in the past right now. The current trend is more pertinent as it is intact and shows no signs of reversing. It has momentum. This team is taking a beating.

I think FSU will win one more game this season and possibly two. I can't see anymore than that. And I don't believe tomorrow night's tussle on the blue turf in Boise will be one of the victories. This team is in a rough stretch and finds itself overmatched on most Saturdays. It needs a coach that can pull it together, build its confidence and come up with a strategy to outplay a superior team. But it doesn't have such a coach. It's got Pat Hill challenging its manhood and being a drill sergeant.

The impetus for starting this blog was my disbelief in the Red Wave's naive view of the 2006 season as it approached this summer. I was genuinely shocked that no one was seeing that this would be a much different team from the 2005 version and that the 2005 version wasn't anything special. The four-game losing streak wasn't visible to anyone who was blinded by the glow of almost beating USC. The change of personnel seemed to be a non-issue, like FSU is a major national power that just reloads each year. Even after living here all these years and hearing this kind of crap logic applied to the 'Dogs as well as the SF Giants and 49ers, the Oakland Raiders and anybody else these people want to call their own, the blindness of the masses this summer just floored me.

And now, six loses and only one victory later, we're ready to run the table and win a bowl game. Holy shit.

WARRRRIORRRSS.....COME OUT AND KICK OUR BUU-UUTTS!

If being a punching bag for sad-sack Utah State wasn't bad enough, seeing Hawaii run up 68 points in front of the home crowd should have done the trick for the remaining true-believers. Let's step back in time to relive the scenario that led up to this glorious season.

Fresno State lost its last four games of 2005. The first of those four losses was an admirable setback to number one-ranked USC, but the others were to Louisiana Tech (nobody), Nevada (nobody) and Tulsa (nobody). "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere" was starting to ring a bit hollow.

Not to worry, according to the Pollyannas of the Central Valley. Despite losing a four-year starter at quarterback (who everybody bitched about, win or lose) and seeing the secondary graduate and/or move on to the NFL, visions of "crashing the BCS party" and "having a seat at the main table" danced in everybody's heads.

In a rare stroke of intelligence, Fresno State actually broke with a tradition that they had carried out for 900 years and scheduled Saturday games in the afternoon. God, that sounds like what every other school in the universe does. Oh, those Thursday and Friday night ESPN games (where FSU routinely gets massacred in front of a national audience) are a boatload of fun. But against all odds, Saturday day games appeared on the 2006 schedule.

Now, I don't think the Bulldog faithful quite had this scenario in mind. Bright, sunny day, stands full of fans and a 1-4 pin-cushion of a Fresno State team taking the field for homecoming. The national anthem plays, the 'Dogs go right down the field like they always do on their first drive and.........well, Hawaii goes on to storm the end zone like it was the beach at Normandy.

68-37.

68-37, I said.

You want more numbers? How about Hawaii's starting quarterback throwing for over 400 yards in three quarters before sitting out the entire fourth quarter?

How about Dwayne Wright coughing up the ball deep in FSU's own end not once but twice?

How about Fresno State enduring its fifth straight loss and ninth in the last 10 games?

Oh, yeah, I hear you screaming already. Sean Norton came off the bench to throw for 700 yards, created peace in the middle east and helped an old lady across the street. He's the greatest quarterback in the history of college football. All 5' 4" of him. I'm sure everything will be cool next week against......who are the 'Dogs playing again? That's right, LSU. Yeah, I don't see any obstacles there.

Well, as unattractive as it is to say "I told you so," I am more than happy to recount a conversation I had over the summer when my season ticket renewal came in. I saw that my seats that I bought for $125 each when David Carr was at the helm were now going for almost $250. And not only wasn't David Carr at the helm anymore, I didn't know jack crap about the guy who was, be it Brandstater or Norton. And I did know that the secondary and offensive line were a huge step down from......any of the previous 10 seasons.

I called to see about sitting out a year and the rude jackass that I had to deal with basically talked me into sitting out the rest of my life. When I asked what happens if I don't purchase the tickets for one season, I was essentially told I didn't know crap about football. My response included the fact that Fresno State Football is an institution and a community event but that in light of my financial situation at this particular time, I wasn't willing to put up the money for what I thought was going to be a down year.

"A down year? What are you talking about?" He asked.

Oh, hell, I don't know. Maybe a five-game losing streak including a loss to winless Utah State. 68 points given up to a Hawaii team that probably could have scored 100 if they wanted to. One win in nearly a full calendar year. A quarterback dilemma. A secondary that doesn't have an interception as of the third week of October and who couldn't cover a guy in a wheelchair. A kicking game that's as productive and efficient as FEMA.

But the 2006 season isn't without its humor. How about Fresno State, down by over 30 points, gaining enough yardage to actually move the chains and then hearing the PA announcer proclaim "and that's another Fresno State......FIRST DOWN!"

What would really be strange is if any of this was Pat Hill's fault. But of course that's not possible.

Next Up: @ LSU

HMMM.....OK, THAT WAS A WAC LOSS, WASN'T IT

Well, what the hell's left after that? And who says the oddsmakers are always right on? Fresno State went to Logan as something like a four-touchdown favorite and lost 13-12 to a bunch of guys that probably couldn't have lettered at Clovis East High School last year.

It's only one loss in the WAC, you say? Well, buckle up, Jughead, because Utah State hadn't won a game prior to Saturday night and sported a loss to the sad-sack Idaho Vandals by 20 points. The road ahead isn't just rough, it's a veritable suicide mission. Hawaii at home, or anywhere for that matter? LSU and Boise State on the road? Oh, yeah, there won't be too much bloodshed there.

To make a list of the things that went wrong in the loss at Utah State would be like listing all the Yankee managers that preceded Joe Torre under George Steinbrenner's watch. It just can't be done and serves no purpose. But, if you didn't see the game, you'll be shocked to hear that special teams is on the list. A missed 27-yard field goal, another kickoff out of bounds.The word "special" is being stretched to new limits.

Can Tommy Brandstater be the QB of the future? It looks less likely every week but that still may not be his fault. The secondary is abysmal. Utah State went down the field like they were escaping from a tsunami in the waning moments and even threw the winning touchdown pass twice. The first one was called back by a questionable penalty for pushing off.

I am absolutely fed up with hearing post-game quotes where players and coaches allude to the fact that they weren't prepared and the other team wanted it more. Not that we don't notice while the game is going on, but it's a lot of salt in the wounds to those of us who have seen our ticket prices go up, up and away with each passing year while the illusion of moving this program into the upper echelon of D-1 college football remains exactly that, an illusion.

I can take a win over a dogmeat team like Washington or Kansas State being trumped up as a landmark win over a BCS power. It's bullshit, but I see where Hill's going with that. What I can't take is crap like last Saturday night, the Saturday before that against Colorado State, and other pathetic efforts during the now-famous Bulldog Tailspins that follow tough losses to quality opponents. I know perfectly well that Fresno State probably should have beaten USC last year but they didn't and there's no way in hell you let that hangover last until you don't even win the conference title. But that's exactly what happened.

And you can't beat Nevada in the opener, fight tooth and nail against Oregon and Washington, only to turn around and nap your way through the most embarassing loss in Hill's tenure a few weeks later. And then the players say the other team was more "up" for the game? There's absolutely nothing elite about that. No seat at "the main table," no crashing the BCS party, none of that nonsense for this outfit. That's a million miles away right now. "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere?" Nobody in red is ready for that anymore.

If there's going to be a second deck built anywhere it will go on Ratcliffe Stadium.

GAME 5: AT UTAH STATE

Ok, I guess we have to go over that whole "this community expects to win" crap. Yes, yes, yes this college football program is light years ahead of where it was when Jim Sweeney had them playing at Ratcliffe and started building Bulldog Stadium at the corner of Cedar and Barstow. That's a given. So is Pat Hill's indelible mark on the program by taking it in a new direction. I'm not saying that any of that didn't happen or that any of that is bad.

It's just that it's not working right now.

This football season is a struggle. That's just the way it goes. Happens to the best of programs, even up in the rarified BCS air which the Bulldog faithful strives to join someday. Hey, Bobby Bowden's having a rough go of it this year. Joe Paterno took on a ton of water two seasons ago.

But those two guys are established on the highest level and have national championships to their credit. It hurts a little more for a program that's knocking on the door to prominence and trying to get noticed.

Well, here we are. We entered the season minus a four-year starter at QB, who graduated, with a whole lot of inexperience in the secondary and numerous other holes that weren't so obvious at the time. Fans called into the local talk shows and debated whether the team would be 6-0 or 5-1 going into the LSU game. Would the LSU game take too much out of them, win or lose, when they took on Boise State 10 days later? How high would LSU be ranked in the polls when FSU arrived in Baton Rouge? Would FSU be in the top 10 by then?

Instead of all these bullshit questions, fans should have been asking if Tommy Brandstater could play quarterback and if the offensive line could protect him. The hosts (i.e. the enablers) at the local talkies should have been pointing out to fans that the Washington Huskies were a different team than the dismal bunch that FSU had beaten a couple of years ago. But that was then and this is now.

What's gone on since then is a gutsy win against Nevada, a tough loss in a very physical game against Oregon, a close loss at Washington and a clear-cut beating at the hands of Colorado State. 4-0 has become 1-3. At 1-2, Sporting News Radio's Tony D'Adato was having a contest to see how many times he could say "of course this team could be 3-0 but should this team be 3-0.?"Almost everyone he posed that question to on the air said that things were probably right where they should be at 1-2. It was what it was. And now, one loss later, it is what it is.

So why in the hell did I listen to all this dismissal of Utah State this week? Oh, hell, I think Fresno State's going to win. But I'm not taking anything for granted at this point. While these same talkies were going over the three-game stretch of Hawaii-LSU-Boise State and wondering how many of the three were winnable, here's what I was wondering:

How will Fresno State do against Utah State in Logan without Paul Williams or Joe Fernandez when the temperature at game time will be 45 degerees? And falling. I honestly wonder how they would do at full strength with Brandstater under center and with the same secondary, special teams and offensive line that they had against Colorado State.

Well, that's why I'm here. And why I don't call the talk shows. It's hilarious. People who never cared about winning the WAC suddenly care with all the non-conference losses stacking up. They want Brandstater out and Sean Norton in at QB. They want all kinds of stuff. Soften up the non-conference schedule. Don't soften it up. There's even an occasion "get rid of Pat Hill." It's a smorgy of goofiness on the phones and behind the microphones.

Back to the original point, it is definitely good that people care about the team and get pissed off when the team isn't going good. What's crazy is that we even debate that point. I think they'll beat Utah State tonight. It won't prove a whole hell of a lot if they do but it will make the present state of affairs in FSU football very clear if they lose. Here's the bottom line:

For all the talk of becoming a national power, crashing the party and all that, the 2006 Fresno State Football team has played a tough non-conference schedule and lost a tough one that turned into a three-game losing streak. And that is EXACTLY what they did in years past with Paul Pinegar at the helm. And also with David Carr. They previously waited till the end of the season to hit the skids but this is all stuff we've seen before around here. The team may be a huge step below where it was even a season ago, which I believe to be the case. Or it could reel off a bunch of wins sandwiched around a good outing in Baton Rouge to get everybody all riled up again. Heck, they could be the giant slayer again with a win over LSU. My point is, it's Groundhog Day. Same as it ever was in the Pat Hill era. FSU's progress in the battle for BCS recognition has basically been the same whether Carr was on the cover of Sports Illustrated or Paul Pinegar was being criticized by the Red Wave. FSU's no closer to the penthouse but really, no further away.

As Sweeney used to say, "Go Dogs, win the WAC."

GAME 4: VS. COLORADO STATE

Here's one where I was as wrong as everyone else, except for the overblown confidence of a win. I thought Fresno State could handle these guys at home. The local talkies had it in the bag. A walkover.

What actually happened was a beatdown put on the Dogs by the Rams. Fresno State had a 17-14 lead at the half and got manhandled in the second half to fall 35-23. What went wrong?

CSU quaterback Caleb Hanie threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns (hi, secondary).

FSU's Dwayne Wright rushed only 16 times for 77 yards. (He did catch five passes for 96 yards, but that's not what his role is supposed to be).

FSU QB Tommy Bradstater went 19-42 with three INT's.

FSU's special teams unit continued its new tradition: a missed field goal, an extra point blocked by CSU and a 58-yard punt return for a td by the Rams' Damon Morton.

That season-opening victory against Nevada has gone from "cutie-pie" to "supermodel." The WAC championship is far from an afterthought anymore. It's a SuperLotto jackpot. Those non-conference games against BCS opponents? National recognition? Crashing the BCS party? Who wanted any of that? It's all about winning the WAC, baby.

Next Up: @ Utah St.