He Thinks the Valley Has Plenty of Peaks

Fresno State football Coach Pat Hill, who spoke at Friday’s Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon, was asked about the green V that Bulldog players have on the back of their helmets.

Hill, 53, explained the V stands for the San Joaquin Valley. He said his team represents the entire valley, not just Fresno.

The color green among all the red is also significant.

Claiming he doesn’t plan to coach anywhere else, Hill said: “They say the grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but my philosophy is, make your grass greener.”

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Trivia time: Hill attended Encino Crespi High and graduated from Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World. He was an all-conference center at UC Riverside and started his coaching career at Los Angeles Valley College. When he was an assistant coach at Nevada Las Vegas in 1981, who was the head coach?

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More valley hype: Hill, who is attempting to make Fresno State football a big-time program, said, “By drawing from the entire valley, our market is 5 million rather than 500,000.”

Also, of the agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, Hill said: “Without us, you people wouldn’t have much to eat.”

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Impressive record: Hill is the third college coach to speak at a Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon this season. The other two are Pete Carroll and Karl Dorrell. Chuck Hayes, who lines up the speakers, pointed out the combined record of the three is 27-2.

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Another impressive record: Hill, who has been Fresno State’s coach for nine seasons, said his goal from the start was to play big-time schools from outside the Western Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs have played 28 -- 25 on the road.

“We were 0-9 against those kind of opponents my first three years,” Hill said. “Since then, we’re 10-7.”

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The right approach: Calling this USC team one of the best in the history of college football, Hill said the Trojans’ 32-game winning streak is particularly impressive because opponents come in so fired up.

“Nobody brings their B game to play USC,” he said. “At least they shouldn’t.”

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Setting the record straight: “Reporters keep telling me, ‘You have nothing to lose playing USC,’ ” said Hill, who disagrees. “We have a lot to lose. We’re trying to establish ourselves.”

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Looking back: On this day in 1966, No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State played to a 10-10 tie.

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Trivia answer: Harvey Hyde, who teams with Mark Willard on radio station 1540’s USC pregame coverage.

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And finally: Thoroughbred horse owners often look to parentage when naming offspring. Some creativity was shown in coming up with a campy name for Englishman Anthony Speelman’s unbeaten 2-year-old colt who will race in today’s Hollywood Prevue Stakes at Hollywood Park. The Kentucky-bred son of Forest Camp and She’s Got The Look was christened Your Tent Or Mine.

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.