Fresno State Bulldogs

[WesVLT]

Courtesy of the Fresno State Football home page:

 

The ground game is in the hands of Rodney Davis, who as a junior shattered the Fresno State single-season rushing record with 1,586 yards. Davis, a junior college transfer, spent his first offseason at Fresno State on a dedicated weight program and enters the fall in the best shape of his life. Having already accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game, Davis has the ability and has shown the durability to challenge his previous record. He finished last season on a high note, averaging 142.5 yards over the last six games and added two 200-yard games in his last eight. He was the offensive MVP of the Silicon Valley Football Classic with 153 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to a 30-21 win over Georgia Tech. Fresno State's backfield should have good depth. Sophomore Bryson Sumlin returns as Davis' backup, but he will be challenged by junior college transfer Dwayne Wright, who averaged more than 135 yards per game last season. As a prep senior at San Diego's Lincoln High School, Wright was one of the most sought after high schools backs in the nation. Sophomore Matt Rivera, who began the 2002 season as the starter, also returns. The Bulldogs will have excellent depth at fullback, something that they haven't had recently. James Cummings and converted linebacker Jamal Jones will give Davis and the other runners a powerful lead blocker.

 

Rodney Davis is not the only talented player who will get his hands on the ball. Senior receiver Bernard Berrian, a 2001 first-team All-American, returns after sitting out the 2002 season with a knee injury. Berrian could be one of the best in the nation in 2003 and has already established himself as one of the best in school history. If he duplicates his junior season in 2001 (85 receptions, 1,364 yards and 13 touchdowns) he will break all Bulldog career receiving records. Explosive is the best word to describe the sleek Berrian, rated the fifth-best NFL prospect for the 2003 draft by ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., heading into the 2002 season. Lining-up opposite Berrian will be 2002 receiving leader Marque Davis, who caught 64 passes for 956 yards and seven touchdowns, earning second-team All-WAC honors. Marque Davis emerged as big-time playmaker and is a physical, over-the-middle possession receiver. Senior Deandre Gilbert is a veteran clutch receiver and a leader among the receivers. He came on late last year, racking up 217 receiving yards in the final two games of the season. Two outstanding sophomore receivers, Jermaine Jamison and Adam Jennings, will give excellent depth to one of the nation's best receiving corps. Jamison received Freshman All-America mention last season after catching 34 passes for 589 yards and four touchdowns. Jennings added 33 receptions for 295 yards and one touchdown and served as the team's punt returner all season. In a nationally-televised home game against 22nd-ranked Colorado State, he thrilled the Bulldog faithful with a 59-yard return for a touchdown. Junior college newcomer Chico Mackey is also expected to see time in the rotation.

 

Getting the ball to all of these horses will be the responsibility of sophomore Paul Pinegar. In 2002, he emerged on the scene by replacing injured Jeff Grady and never looked back. Pinegar threw for 2,929 yards, more than any other freshman quarterback in school history, including the likes of Kevin Sweeney, Trent Dilfer, Billy Volek and David Carr. Pinegar won the WAC Freshman of the Year award in 2002 as he completed nearly 58 percent of his passes and tossed 20 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. Pinegar has thrown for more yards, fewer interceptions and earned two more victories than Carr did in his first 12 starts.

 

"When you look at the offensive players returning, there's no question we have a lot of talent," said Hill. "I expect this offense to be able to control the football with a pounding ground game plus we have same receivers who can score anytime we get them the ball. Pinegar handles pressure very well. He's a cool customer and I'm not concerned about that. Our biggest area for improvement will need to be our touchdown production in the compete (red) zone and our offensive's ability to keep our defense off the field."

 

The Bulldogs offensive line must replace two starters, but a cornerstone, junior left tackle Logan Mankins, leads a talented, physical and strong group. Mankins, an All-American and Outland Trophy Award nominee, has started all 28 games in his career. His productivity in 2001 earned him first-team Freshman All-America honors as he protected Carr, the NFL's No. 1 draft pick, for the entire season, allowing just two sacks in 14 games. Through 28 games, he has allowed only three sacks. The opposite tackle spot will be taken by Matt Stevenson, a part-time starter last season. The two guard positions are in the capable hands of returning starter Dartagnon Shack, the team's strongest player, and Sean Finnerty. At center, freshman Kyle Young has the coaching staff excited. At 6-5 and 320 pounds, he owns the physical presence needed, thought he lacks experience. If he continues to develop as expected, Hill predicts Young will turn into a high-round NFL Draft choice. James Martin and Kawika Edwards, two junior college transfers who redshirted in 2002, will provide depth along the line. "Our offensive line has always been solid," said Hill. "We continue to develop bigger and stronger players and I'm confident the news guys will step right in and we won't skip a beat. There's going to be a lot of pressure on the young center (Young), but we wouldn't put him in there if we didn't think he couldn't handle it."

 

Fresno State's defensive strength in 2003 will be found in the linebacking corps and the improved depth in the secondary. Senior Bryce McGill converted from safety to linebacker five games into the 2002 season and didn't skip a beat, earning second-team All-WAC honors. One of the most vicious tacklers in the WAC, McGill is pound-for-pound the team's strongest player. A special teams demon during his career, McGill possess the coverage skills of a defensive back and the physical strength of a linebacker. For his career, he has 245 tackles and should be one of the top linebackers in the WAC in 2003. McGill also owns the unique distinction of being the active Bulldog leader in both interceptions (six) and sacks (16), which ranks ninth in Fresno State history. He has 32 tackles for losses and caused five fumbles in his career.

 

Captaining the defense will be three-year starter Marc Dailey. As a fixture in the middle, Dailey possesses the great combination of brains and brawn. In his last two seasons as a starter, Dailey has made 150 tackles, six tackles for losses, three sacks, one interception and forced a fumble. The other linebacking spot will be taken by junior David Adamo, a part-time starter in his career. Several young players will be seeing action, including sophomore Kyle Goodman, who enters the fall as the backup to McGill, and talented freshman Dwayne Andrews, who rests behind Dailey in the middle. Former walk-on Todd Garcia earned a scholarship this year after his play as a linebacker and special team performer. He will back-up Adamo. Freshmen Ricky Miller and Manual Sanchez will also see time. Miller is expected to see action as a pass rush specialist. "I'm happy with our linebacker situation," said Hill. "We have three starters who are excellent football players and have played a lot for us over the years. After that, we have a lot of young talent, but they can learn from the older guys. We have great leaders among our linebackers and I like that."

 

Sophomore safety James Sanders, a 2002 first-team Freshman All-American, had as impressive a rookie season as any Bulldog defender in recent history. Sanders ranked second on the team with 83 tackles, including seven for loss, had three quarterback sacks and two interceptions. He led the defense in breaking up passes with nine and became a leader in the secondary. The free safety spot be will held by either experienced senior Dee Meza or super sophomore Tyrone Culver. "James Sanders is a great football player," Hill said. "He's got the potential to be one of the best in school history. He will lead our secondary, which has as much talent and depth as we've ever had. We now have four or five legitimate cornerbacks who are capable of starting, and in the WAC you need as many as you can get. When he's healthy, Kendall Edwards is as good as anyone. Raymond Washington and Richard Marshall are going to be good young players. That's the most depth we've had there. Our young safeties, Tyrone Culver and Vincent Mays, are going to be very good players over the next three or four years." Edwards, a senior, was emerging as one of the league's elite cornerbacks until suffering a season-ending knee injury against San Diego State last season. If healthy, he should be one of the top defenders in the WAC. Edwards has the great combination of size and speed and is Fresno State's most physical cornerback. A sophomore, Washington emerged in his first season and will battle for a starting spot. Fellow sophomore Awan Diles saw increased playing time toward the end of the 2002 season. Two freshmen, Marcus McCauley and Marshall, had impressive spring sessions. Marshall is a talented player who was named Fresno State's top defensive scout team player last year.

 

The defensive line lost two first-team All-WAC players in Nick Burley and Jason Stewart, but the replacements appear to be very capable. Junior college All-American Donyell Booker will take over the nose tackle position vacated by Stewart. A physical presence, Booker has drawn favorable comparisons to former Bulldog All-American and 2001 WAC Defensive Player of the Year Alan Harper. Sophomore walk-on Garrett McIntyre will fill the large shoes of Burley. McIntyre was one of the biggest surprises from the 2002 season, making 22 tackles, including seven for losses, and contributing three sacks as a true freshman walk-on. Junior Claude Sanders returns at the other end after a season in which he had 62 tackles, 10 for losses and six sacks while earning honorable mention All-WAC honors. He had a memorable game against Oregon, winning WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after making 11 tackles, three for losses, two sacks and recovering a fumble. Junior Fai Satele is a returning starter at the other tackle. Del Hawkins is an experienced player at both tackle and nose tackle and senior Brian Morris, who has missed the last two seasons with injuries, is expected back at full strength by fall camp. "We need to develop some depth on the line," Hill said. "We have some young players who are going to have to step up and fill some big shoes. Donyell Booker is a big-time talent and I think he can be a dominating force in the middle. He is the kind of player who can make everyone around him better. And our ends are very athletic and play hard."

 

The Bulldogs have three large holes to fill in their special teams units, most noticeably two-time All-WAC performers Asen Asparuhov and Jason Simpson. Equally important will be finding a replacement for four-year long snapper Kevin Murphy, who was flawless in 520 career snapping attempts. The kicking chores will likely fall to junior squadman Brett Visintainer while the punter will be strong-legged redshirt freshman Mike Lingua. The long snapper will be selected after spring ball. "With John Baxter in charge, I never have to worry about the special teams," said Hill. "Baxter's the best in the country. People always ask how we can replace an All-WAC kicker or punter, but their replacements become All-WAC. In the six years we've been here, we've had the All-WAC kicker or punter almost every year and in some years, like the last two, we've had both."

 

Another important factor in Fresno State's success is coaching continuity. For the first time in Hill's tenure, the entire coaching staff remains intact, which helped the program during the spring session. Just when you think Fresno State's schedule can't get any tougher, Hill comes up with another humdinger. The 2003 schedule will be the most challenging yet, with four non-conference teams being ranked in several Top 25 preseason polls. Two of Fresno State's opponents (Oklahoma and Tennessee) have won national championships in the last five years. Oklahoma will be the preseason No. 1 team in many polls. Oregon State has been to three consecutive bowl games and are in most preseason Top 25 polls. Colorado State, which has lost to Fresno State in each of the last three games, has been a fixture in the Top 25 in recent years and is expected to once again win the Mountain West Conference. The WAC schedule is difficult, with road trips to two schools (UTEP and Hawaii) that beat Fresno State in its previous visits. In the case of the Hawaii, the Bulldogs have only defeated the Warriors once on the island since 1967. The Bulldogs will get defending WAC champion Boise State at Bulldog Stadium. "We have to keep playing a tough schedule and beat the best teams to gain respect," said Hill. "There are very few programs in the country that are willing to play anyone, anywhere. We want that, even though that means playing these tough teams on the road. Our schedule is designed to be this tough. It's designed to make our program better."

[Sequatchie]

I think Tennessee still Wins with the score around 34-17.

 

Playing in a 107,000+ stadium will be very diffrent for Fresno St. compared to the small 41,000 seat stadium they play in at home and you can bet that the players will be looking up at how tall it is!

[WesVLT]

I think your score is pretty accurate. Fresno's defense is pretty weak, and thought their offense may be able to light it up, I think we can beat them.

[splainshornet]

...34-17.

 

I don't care how many people Neyland Stadium "supposedly holds"

 

The score will be much closer than that.

 

I'll say 28-21 University of Teflon at Knoxville

[goldenboy]

I say UT by 20, since their playing on my B-Day.

[smokeyvol1]

Its hard to believe people still refer to UT as teflon! The president has not been through a more rigorous investigation and we withstood two in two years!!!!! If you don't like UT stay away!

[WesVLT]

...34-17.

 

I don't care how many people Neyland Stadium "supposedly holds"

 

The score will be much closer than that.

 

I'll say 28-21 University of Teflon at Knoxville

splainshornet, according to the University of Tennessee 2003 Football Media Guide, Neyland Stadium has an official capacity of 104,079. However, the largest crowd ever at Neyland Stadium was 108,768 (Florida - Sept 16, 2000). The average attendance in 2002 was 106,705. Those statistics can be found on page 344 of the media guide. Now you know how many people Neyland Stadium "supposedly holds."

 

Any other questions?

[bud]

35-10 UT..................Fresno is a pretty good team that can pull some upsets, but they have been hyped up for a few years. Remember a couple of years ago at the beginning of the season when people thought they could make a BCS bowl? Remember soon after all the hype Fresno played Hawaii? Thats what I am talking about. That was humiliating for Hawaii to win something like 60 to 30. Fresno is still riding the tail of that magical first half of the 2001 season.

[WesVLT]

All right, how about some predictions??? We've already seen a few. Here's my official prediction:

 

Tennessee 34, Fresno State 14

 

The Vols are certainly more explosive now that the Bulldogs have lost starting QB Paul Pinegar for the game. Fresno's defense and offensive line are not good enough to thwart the Vols' plans. UT wins going away.