2008 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

Last updated

2008 Fresno State Bulldogs football
Fresno State wordmark.png
Conference Western Athletic Conference
Record7–6 (4–4 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier (1st season)
Offensive scheme Pro-style
Defensive coordinatorDan Brown (8th season)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Bulldog Stadium
(Capacity: 41,031)
Seasons
  2007
2009  
2008 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 11 Boise State $  8 0   12 1  
Louisiana Tech  5 3   8 5  
Nevada  5 3   7 6  
Hawaii  5 3   7 7  
Fresno State  4 4   7 6  
San Jose State  4 4   6 6  
Utah State  3 5   3 9  
New Mexico State  1 7   3 9  
Idaho  1 7   2 10  
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Fresno State football team (variously "Fresno State" or "the 'Dogs") represented California State University, Fresno in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by 12th-year head coach Pat Hill, who had a contract lasting through the 2010 season. [1] This season was the Bulldogs' 28th in their current home of Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California.

Contents

Preseason

The Bulldogs has enjoyed success as one of the most highly regarded BCS non-AQ conference schools in the country in the previous decade. The 2007 team finished with 9 wins, 4 losses, including a victory in the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl. The annual spring game for the 2008 season took place on April 18, and the Bulldogs concluded spring drills on April 21.

Going into the summer, the Bulldogs already began to draw attention to their team in the post-spring preseason polls released by sports pundits, drawn to the large number of returning starters, along with the impressive finish, beating the Georgia Tech in the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl to finish the season with a record of 9-4. Athlon has released their preseason 25 poll with the Bulldogs listed ranked #25; [2] Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline has ranked the team at #24; [3] and Mark Schlabach of ESPN placed the Bulldogs in the #21 spot. [4]

At the end of the 2007 season, former offensive coordinator Jim McElwain resigned to accept the coaching position of offensive coordinator at Alabama, replacing former Texas Longhorn Major Applewhite. On February 28, 2008, Fresno State announced the hire of Doug Nussmeier as the Offensive Coordinator at Fresno State. [5]

Personnel

Coaching staff

NamePositionSeasons at
Fresno State
Alma Mater
Pat Hill Head coach12th as HC;
18th overall
UC Riverside (1973)
Doug Nussmeier Offensive coordinator1st Idaho (1994)
Dan BrownDefensive coordinator11th
Jeff GradyTight Ends2nd
John Baxter Special Teams/Wide Receivers/Assistant Head Coach12th Loras College
Will PlemonsLinebackers1st
Kerry Locklin Defensive line9th New Mexico State (1982)
Tim Skipper Running backs3rd Fresno State (2001)
Randy StewartSecondary2nd
Derek FrazierOffensive line2nd
Mike KellyGraduate Assistant1st
Mike SchepersGraduate Assistant1st

Roster

Depth chart

Defensive starters
FS
Marvin Haynes
Jake Jorde
WLB MLB SLB
Qaadir BrownBen JacobsNico Herron
Ricky PemasaNico HerronNick Bates
SS
Mosses Harris
Lorne Bell
CB
Damion Owens
Will Harding
DE DT DT DE
Wilson Ramos, JrCornell BanksJon MongaIkenna Ike
Chris CarterBryce HarrisMark RobertsChris Lewis
CB
A.J. Jefferson
Sharrod Davis
Offensive starters
WR
Chastin West
Jason Crawley
LT LG C RG RT
Bobby LeporiCole PopovichJoe BernardiAndrew JacksonKenny Avon
Kenny WigginsPierce MasseRichard PachecoAdam McDowellDevan Cunningham
TE
Bear Pascoe
Isaac Kitner
WR
Marlon Moore
Seyi Ajirotutu
QB
Tom Brandstater
Ryan Colburn
FB
Anthony Harding
Reynard Camp
RB
Ryan Mathews
Lonyae Miller

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 11:30 pmat Rutgers * ESPN W 24–742,508
September 137:30 p.m.No. 10 Wisconsin *No. 21 ESPN2 L 10–1342,387
September 205:15 pmat Toledo *No. 25 ESPNU W 55–54 2OT20,096
September 2712:30 pmat UCLA *No. 22 ABC W 36–3173,963
October 47:00 pm Hawaii No. 22
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA (rivalry)
L 29–32 OT40,572
October 117:00 pm Idaho Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 45–3237,015
October 2512:00 pmat Utah State W 30–2814,071
November 111:30 amat Louisiana Tech L 35–3820,300
November 76:00 pm Nevada
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
ESPN2L 28–4133,207
November 152:00 pm New Mexico State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 24–1736,137
November 216:30 pmat San Jose State ESPN2W 24–1024,384
November 283:00 pmat No. 9 Boise State ESPN2L 10–6132,412
December 2011:30 amvs. Colorado State ESPNL 35–4024,735
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

At Rutgers

1234Total
No. 25 Bulldogs00101424
Scarlet Knights00077

No. 10 Wisconsin

1234Total
No. 10 Badgers733013
No. 21 Bulldogs0010010

At Toledo

1234OT2OTTotal
Bulldogs1431777755
Rockets7143177654

At UCLA

1234Total
No. 24 Bulldogs71316036
Bruins7125731

1-6 all time. Last meeting in 2003. (17-9 in San Jose in the Silicon Valley Bowl) A Derrick Coleman fumble in the redzone in the fourth quarter took away the Bruins' hope of keeping the Bulldogs from winning a game in the Rose Bowl stadium. Fresno State won its first game there by five points, taking control of the final 8 minutes and 55 seconds and not allowing a UCLA comeback.

Hawaii

1234OTTotal
Warriors910100332
No. 22 Bulldogs36137029

Idaho

1234Total
Vandals3771532
Bulldogs714141045

At Utah State

1234Total
Bulldogs777930
Aggies7601528

At Louisiana Tech

1234Total
Fresno State Bulldogs7147735
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs77101438

Nevada

1234Total
Wolf Pack710141041
Bulldogs7014728

New Mexico State

1234Total
Aggies1070017
Bulldogs3140724

At San Jose State

1234Total
Bulldogs3071424
Spartans730010

At No. 9 Boise State

1234Total
Bulldogs730010
No. 9 Broncos76282061

vs. Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl)

1234Total
Rams101002040
Bulldogs1477735

Awards

First Team All WAC

Bobby Lepori- Sr. OL

Second Team All WAC

Bear Pascoe- Sr. TE- 2007 1st team

Chris Carter- So. LB

Ben Jacobs-So. LB

Moses Harris- Jr. DB

References

  1. "Pat Hill Gets Contract Extension to Stay at Fresno State". Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
  2. "No. 25: Fresno State". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
  3. "Stop us if you've heard this before: Buckeyes top Dawgs". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
  4. "Buckeyes rise to No. 1 in updated Top 25". May 9, 2008. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  5. "Fresno State Hires New Offensive Coordinator" . Retrieved May 14, 2008.[ dead link ]