Fresno State Is Awakened From Its BCS Dream

The people dressed in red who jam Bulldog Stadium, many coming from small farming communities that dot the San Joaquin Valley, love their Fresno State Bulldogs, the Valley’s only Division I team.

In the parking lot Friday night before the undefeated and No. 8 Bulldogs played Boise State in front of a record-tying sellout crowd of 42,881, you could talk to any of them and they’d tell you their Bulldogs were a bowl championship series team.

Well, Fresno State is not a BCS team. It lost to Boise State, 35-30.

“Our dream of a BCS is over,” Fresno State Coach Pat Hill said. “But we can still have a helluva season.”

The Bulldogs (6-1, 2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference) had numerous opportunities to keep their home winning streak--at 17, the second-longest in the nation behind Oregon’s 23--alive, but ran out of chances.

Boise State took a 35-28 lead with 7:12 left to play on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Dinwiddle to Jay Swillie.

The Broncos (4-3, 3-1), operating in the shadow of their end zone on their next possession, faced a third-down play from the one.

Dinwiddle went back to pass and was tackled for a safety by Fresno’s Nick Burley, cutting the margin to 35-30.

The Bulldogs, energized by Burley’s play, needed only a touchdown to keep their BCS hopes alive.

Quarterback David Carr started Fresno State’s last drive from its 43 with 3:59 left. He drove the Bulldogs to the Bronco 19 where he faced a fourth-and-eight situation.

After Boise State was called for illegal substitution, advancing the ball to the 14, Charles Smith caught a tipped pass for three yards and a first down at the 11.

A incomplete pass sandwiched by two runs by Paris Gaines moved the ball to the five, setting up a fourth and four from the five.

But Carr, facing a blitz from the Bronco defense, was sacked, ending Fresno’s hopes.

“We just didn’t execute,” Carr said. “We had it going early and we had our chances, we just couldn’t capitalize.”

It could prove to be a costly defeat for Fresno State. Two representatives from the Fiesta Bowl were in attendance. A berth to the Fiesta Bowl is worth $13 million.

It was a game the Bulldogs were not only supposed to win, but win big.

History was not on the Broncos’ side.

In previous games against top-25 teams, Boise State had been outscored, 184-27.

“I told out guys throughout my career, I’ve been involved in a lot of so-called upsets,” first-year Boise State Coach Dan Hawkins said. “Upsets really happen when guys don’t consider it an upset.”

Carr did his part, completing 30 of 50 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns. Where the Bulldogs fell short was on defense. Boise State rolled up 405 yards.

Fresno State also had its share of mistakes, the most notable of which came in the second quarter on a punt.

Bulldog cornerback Kendall Edwards smashed into return man Tim Gilligan before the ball was anywhere near Gilligan.

Edwards, a sophomore, jumped up and celebrated, but the celebration didn’t last long. He was ejected from the game.

Edwards did the same thing against Oregon State in a 44-24 victory on Sept. 2, only he didn’t get ejected for that infraction.

Later in the second quarter, Asen Asparuhov, a native of Bulgaria who came to Fresno from Grossmont College, missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt. It was his first miss in six attempts, although he earlier missed a conversion try when the ball hit the left upright.

He missed a 45-yard try early in the fourth quarter.

Asparuhov had four field goals in Fresno State’s improbable 25-22 overtime victory against Colorado State on Oct. 13.

Boise State trailed, 20-7, but scored before the first half ended on an 18-yard pass from Dinwiddle to Jeb Putzier.