DOGS BEAT K-STATE, TRAVEL TO NMSU

Fresno State beat Kansas State in the last home game of the season by a score of 45-29 to push their record to 7-4. Surely a berth in the Acme Back Hair Remover Bowl awaits. After knocking off another BCS team (yeah, that's right, here we go with that shit again) FSU has guaranteed a winning season. And though K-State isn't exactly the class of the Big 12 at 3-5 and 5-7 overall, it was just last year that the 'Dogs crossed the finish line with a 4-8 record sporting a loss to Utah State on its ledger. So I guess the blind and delirious around here can't be blamed too much for feeling like Pat Hill is Pete Carrol. They're still dumbasses, but.....you get the point.

So tonight the regular season ends with a road game against 1-6/4-8 New Mexico State. Rumor has it that the crowd is expected to be smaller than an O.J. Simpson For President rally. But that Friday-night-at-rush-hour-with-nobody-in-the-stands exposure is what this football program thrives on. Go 'Dogs.

FOOTBALL TEAM LOSES AS SCHEDULED IN HAWAII

Plus another banner week off the field/bb court

The Fresno State football team lost in Hawaii as expected by the score of 37-30. The result was deceptively close due to the injury of Hawaii's record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan in the fourth quarter. Before the Heisman candidate scrambled into a big hit by Marcus Riley he was torching the hapless Bulldog defense to the tune of 28-39, 396 yards and two touchdowns, plus a rushing TD.

Prior to the injury the game was going according to form. The Warriors scored 1:26 into the game on a 67-yard TD pass and raced out to a 21-0 lead. It was 34-16 after three quarters. The 'Dogs scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it look respectable, but when everybody was at full strenth Hawaii was moving the ball like it was a scrimmage.

The second WAC loss officially ended Fresno State's football season. But basketball was just getting started.

Rekalin Sims was suspended indefinitely from the basketball team because he was facing two felony charges. And even for a program with the rich history of the Hoop 'Dogs, these are doosies.

Sims is a 6'9" senior transfer from Kentucky (what's wrong with this picture?). He got busted last week for an incident in which a car he was driving stopped and one or more passengers got out and allegedly kicked, punched and robbed a 29-year old handicapped man. And no, Steve Cleveland hasn't been covertly replaced by Tark or Ray Lopes.

There's a lot that could be said in a forum such as this but I'm going to defer to Matt James on this one:

School Better Off Cutting Some Losses

He covers all the bases including references to samurai swords.

And back to football, Jason Shirley won an appeal of a suspension that he was given after being charged with driving drunk into an apartment and knocking a guy off the toilet. On Wednesday Shirley returned to practice. On Thursday he was held out of practice after he was cited early that morning for driving with a supsended license and expired registration.

I don't want to be overly negative....well, actually, that's what I do I guess. So I'll just go ahead and say Jason Shirley doesn't get it.

The football team is off this weekend and the basketball plays in Bakersfield tonight. Someone might want to tell both squads that the Fresno police are still on the job all over the city.

'DOGS AVENGE WORST GAME EVER....

But we'll always remember

Fresno State beat the second-worst team in college football (CBS Sportsline) on Saturday, which puts them a step ahead of where they were last year. Before reveling in this landmark victory, let's reminisce about the day the Red Wave longed for games against Cal Poly and Bakersfield College.

In October of 2006, Utah State was a pathetic college football team. Only problem for Pat and the gang was that FSU was worse. And they proved it. 13-12 Utah State last year in Logan.

Well this year it was time for revenge at the Doghouse. The final score was 38-27 but FSU was up comfortably at the half, 31-7. The Bulldog running attack looked a lot like Boise St.'s ground foreces in racking up 275 yards. And the best part of all was that Tommy Brandstater only had to throw the ball 18 times. Brandstater handing off rather than throwing is a key ingredient for Bulldog victories.

So, it wasn't exactly a victory over USC or even Boise St. for that matter. But it was a conference win and made the 'Dogs bowl-eligible. That's right, a berth in one of the worst bowls in the nation against the ninth-place team of some other nobody conference is there for the taking. This landmark win was so important, attendance was announced as 32,904. That's just under 10,000 short of filling up the place. And rumor has it that some of the people who bought tickets actually showed up at the game. If this keeps up that second deck will be added on to the stadium in a mere 50 years or so.

The joy continues next week with a trip to AP #14 Hawaii. It's another revenge game for a different kind of disaster from last year, so the boys should be really fired up. And FSU always does so well out on the islands. Should be fun.