SOMETHING GOT RUN......AND IT WASN'T THE TABLE
Almost exactly one calendar year ago the Fresno State Bulldogs threw a huge monkey from Pat Hill's back with a win over Boise St. in Bulldog Stadium, 27-7. That was on November 10, 2005. What has happened since has placed the Fresno State football program amongst the dregs of Division 1 football programs.
Following that landmark win for Hill's program last year, his Bulldogs went on to suffer a close loss in a thrilling battle with then-Number 1 USC at the LA Coliseum, 50-42. We all know what happened next. Fresno State got drunk on success gleaned from a failure and the hangover never ended for the 2005 team.
11 losses later, the 2006 'Dogs hold down the prestigious #110 spot in CBS.Sportline.com's ranking of college football's 119 Division 1-A teams. That's 110 out of 119. For those new to rankings, football, life, etc., it's the goal of all 119 teams to be near the top, not the bottom.
This blog has been a vent-fest and a rant-fest and my history as a Red Seat ticket holder has been detailed at length. So have the win (singular) and losses (plural) of the year that has passed since that November evening when all seemed right with the Pat Hill era at Fresno State. Hill had finally guided his 'Dogs to a victory on The Island and a win over arch-nemesis Boise St.
What a difference a year makes.
But I'm ready to move on. If only the program will.
Of course, the dick on the phone who argued with me about what a "great" year this was going to be is all wet. Of course the local talk show hosts are deeply into "what went wrong" mode. And, inexplicably, those same hosts are hiding behind a paper-thin "who knew?" motif.
I knew, that's who.
But here we go with solutions.
1. Play Brandstater the rest of the year - He's the best bet to salvage some dignity over the remainder of this year and be "the guy" for the remainder of his college career. I don't have a problem with Norton and this, most definitely, is NOT Adrian Claiborne vs. Richie Donati. Both of these guys can do this job and be succesful. But they're both absolutely, positively green. Brandstater's better and will become the better QB with more playing time. This is the horse to ride. Being that he is a sophomore and he had no meaningful game experience going into 2006, it is way too early to worry about his Pinegar-esque interceptions that come at the worst possible time. Both QB options were void of experience. Hence the rough year, my disbelief at the over-confidence of the Bulldog faithful, etc., etc....They've both done the best they can. Brandstater's the future. Let's do it.
2. Feature Lonyae Miller - Dwayne Wright's got an impressive skill set that could be deadly if used correctly, but Miller, even as a freshman, is good to go. I would propose something like a 60-40% distribution of the rushing duties between the two, with Miller getting 60% of the carries. With Wright as a feature back you're going to see fumbles and injuries. That's all there is to it. But he would be brutally effective as a change of pace, on short yardage and catching passes out of the backfield, as we saw against Colorado St. The thunder and lightning of these two would be as impressive a running attack as any in the country. Maybe FSU could even get out to a lead behind these two one of these days.
3. Get an offensive philosophy - Steve Hagan is the new offensive coordinator and Jeff Tedford and Frank Cignetti are long gone. It is hard to know for sure just exactly what Hagan is dealing with this season with two inexperienced QB's behind a suspect offensive line. There are three money receivers in Paul Williams, Joe Fernandez and new blood Chastin West. Can Brandstater and Norton get the ball to these guys? This year's answer has been a mixed bag. But with those three and Bear Pascoe at TE, the "O" is sporting a bunch of weapons out there. Plus Wright and Miller out of the backfield. Well, Wright anyway, at this point. FSU was once spoken of around here as Wide Receiver U. Pat Hill's citing of the stats be damned. Stretch the field.
4. Hey, Bulldogs fans (in Axl Rose voice)....."Do You Know Where You Are?!?!?!?!" - You're in Fresno, baby. You're gonna struuuuuuuugggggggggglllllleee. Sad but true, folks. Hill's been brilliant in bridging the years so that there haven't been any abysmal seasons like this during his tenure. But Fresno State does NOT attract the blue chippers by nature. Hill's brought in great talent from throughout the Valley and sparred with the heaviest hitters in the NCAA and that's to his ultimate credit. But we've got this coming once a decade, don't you think? Being comfortable with losing is unacceptable, but you can't possibly think of yourself as elite when your gold standard of teams (2001, 2005) can't avoid three losses each year and can't beat the likes of Hawaii and Louisiana Tech. The truth hurts. This isn't USC or LSU or any other elite program. It's Fresno State and thank goodness for Pat Hill bringing his lunch pail and blue-collar attitude here because it will take nothing less than that to get this show on the road. It's not working this year. The team takes the field short handed almost every week. But to get back to having that puncher's chance against the titans, you're just going to have to ride this one out. And Hill's going to have to pick his weapons (Brandstater or Norton, vertical game or this crap that's going on now, etc.) and build, build, build. He's got a pretty good track record after taking over for Sweeney with the cupboard absolutely bare.
5. After 11 losses in 12 games, stop challenging these guys to win out - 2006 is beyond saving. Yet Hill tells his team, after this latest blowout, that he expects to win all four remaining games. God damn. David Carr and Nick Burley and Bernard Berrian aren't in that locker room. This team's another animal. Build. Grow. All expectations have been shattered. All the sexy goals are unattainable at this point. Forget winning four straight games. Put two good offensive series together. Get consistent stops from the defense. Or even an interception once or twice a season. Give them something to build on and feel good about. And I don't mean the fact that no kickoffs went out of bounds this game. Build these units and make them a team. Start at ground zero, because that's pretty much where the hell you are.
2006 is a wash, from the standpoint of continuing the drive for a BCS bowl and all that. FSU can't be bowl-eligible, even if they (sigh!, I hate this freaking phrase) run the table. So look up and look ahead. David Carr's not suiting up this week or ever again for FSU. (And even if he did, he'd have trouble with Boise St., but I digress). Go 'Dogs, win.......something.
Following that landmark win for Hill's program last year, his Bulldogs went on to suffer a close loss in a thrilling battle with then-Number 1 USC at the LA Coliseum, 50-42. We all know what happened next. Fresno State got drunk on success gleaned from a failure and the hangover never ended for the 2005 team.
11 losses later, the 2006 'Dogs hold down the prestigious #110 spot in CBS.Sportline.com's ranking of college football's 119 Division 1-A teams. That's 110 out of 119. For those new to rankings, football, life, etc., it's the goal of all 119 teams to be near the top, not the bottom.
This blog has been a vent-fest and a rant-fest and my history as a Red Seat ticket holder has been detailed at length. So have the win (singular) and losses (plural) of the year that has passed since that November evening when all seemed right with the Pat Hill era at Fresno State. Hill had finally guided his 'Dogs to a victory on The Island and a win over arch-nemesis Boise St.
What a difference a year makes.
But I'm ready to move on. If only the program will.
Of course, the dick on the phone who argued with me about what a "great" year this was going to be is all wet. Of course the local talk show hosts are deeply into "what went wrong" mode. And, inexplicably, those same hosts are hiding behind a paper-thin "who knew?" motif.
I knew, that's who.
But here we go with solutions.
1. Play Brandstater the rest of the year - He's the best bet to salvage some dignity over the remainder of this year and be "the guy" for the remainder of his college career. I don't have a problem with Norton and this, most definitely, is NOT Adrian Claiborne vs. Richie Donati. Both of these guys can do this job and be succesful. But they're both absolutely, positively green. Brandstater's better and will become the better QB with more playing time. This is the horse to ride. Being that he is a sophomore and he had no meaningful game experience going into 2006, it is way too early to worry about his Pinegar-esque interceptions that come at the worst possible time. Both QB options were void of experience. Hence the rough year, my disbelief at the over-confidence of the Bulldog faithful, etc., etc....They've both done the best they can. Brandstater's the future. Let's do it.
2. Feature Lonyae Miller - Dwayne Wright's got an impressive skill set that could be deadly if used correctly, but Miller, even as a freshman, is good to go. I would propose something like a 60-40% distribution of the rushing duties between the two, with Miller getting 60% of the carries. With Wright as a feature back you're going to see fumbles and injuries. That's all there is to it. But he would be brutally effective as a change of pace, on short yardage and catching passes out of the backfield, as we saw against Colorado St. The thunder and lightning of these two would be as impressive a running attack as any in the country. Maybe FSU could even get out to a lead behind these two one of these days.
3. Get an offensive philosophy - Steve Hagan is the new offensive coordinator and Jeff Tedford and Frank Cignetti are long gone. It is hard to know for sure just exactly what Hagan is dealing with this season with two inexperienced QB's behind a suspect offensive line. There are three money receivers in Paul Williams, Joe Fernandez and new blood Chastin West. Can Brandstater and Norton get the ball to these guys? This year's answer has been a mixed bag. But with those three and Bear Pascoe at TE, the "O" is sporting a bunch of weapons out there. Plus Wright and Miller out of the backfield. Well, Wright anyway, at this point. FSU was once spoken of around here as Wide Receiver U. Pat Hill's citing of the stats be damned. Stretch the field.
4. Hey, Bulldogs fans (in Axl Rose voice)....."Do You Know Where You Are?!?!?!?!" - You're in Fresno, baby. You're gonna struuuuuuuugggggggggglllllleee. Sad but true, folks. Hill's been brilliant in bridging the years so that there haven't been any abysmal seasons like this during his tenure. But Fresno State does NOT attract the blue chippers by nature. Hill's brought in great talent from throughout the Valley and sparred with the heaviest hitters in the NCAA and that's to his ultimate credit. But we've got this coming once a decade, don't you think? Being comfortable with losing is unacceptable, but you can't possibly think of yourself as elite when your gold standard of teams (2001, 2005) can't avoid three losses each year and can't beat the likes of Hawaii and Louisiana Tech. The truth hurts. This isn't USC or LSU or any other elite program. It's Fresno State and thank goodness for Pat Hill bringing his lunch pail and blue-collar attitude here because it will take nothing less than that to get this show on the road. It's not working this year. The team takes the field short handed almost every week. But to get back to having that puncher's chance against the titans, you're just going to have to ride this one out. And Hill's going to have to pick his weapons (Brandstater or Norton, vertical game or this crap that's going on now, etc.) and build, build, build. He's got a pretty good track record after taking over for Sweeney with the cupboard absolutely bare.
5. After 11 losses in 12 games, stop challenging these guys to win out - 2006 is beyond saving. Yet Hill tells his team, after this latest blowout, that he expects to win all four remaining games. God damn. David Carr and Nick Burley and Bernard Berrian aren't in that locker room. This team's another animal. Build. Grow. All expectations have been shattered. All the sexy goals are unattainable at this point. Forget winning four straight games. Put two good offensive series together. Get consistent stops from the defense. Or even an interception once or twice a season. Give them something to build on and feel good about. And I don't mean the fact that no kickoffs went out of bounds this game. Build these units and make them a team. Start at ground zero, because that's pretty much where the hell you are.
2006 is a wash, from the standpoint of continuing the drive for a BCS bowl and all that. FSU can't be bowl-eligible, even if they (sigh!, I hate this freaking phrase) run the table. So look up and look ahead. David Carr's not suiting up this week or ever again for FSU. (And even if he did, he'd have trouble with Boise St., but I digress). Go 'Dogs, win.......something.
posted by Green V Watchdog | 11:58 PM
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