Game Day
The (little) big box
of football
Tasty morsel No. 1
Four meetings between Oregon
and Fresno State
have been decided by
a total of 19 points.
Rank me
Oregon and Fresno State in the
2002 national rankings.
Scoring offense
Oregon...38
Fresno State...80
Scoring defense
Oregon....30
Fresno State...43
Turnover margin
Oregon..11
Fresno State...69
Tasty morsel No. 2
Aaron Gipson, who solidified
one of Oregon's two starting
cornerback positions last week,
is the first true freshman to
start for the Ducks in five years.
The Alta Loma, Calif., native
hasn't even taken a college
class yet, but he will start for
the Ducks on Saturday.
Another Bulldog comes to town
Fresno State has gone from
a title contender to a bowl
has-been in less than a year, but
the Bulldogs remain dangerous
Adam Jude
Senior Sports Reporter
Oh, how quickly things have
changed for Fresno State.
Gone is quarterback David Carr,
the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NFL draft.
Gone is offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig, who now quacks plays
for the Ducks.
Gone, too, is any realistic hope of
a trip to a Bowl Championship Series
game in January.
A year ago, after the Bulldogs up
set Colorado, Oregon State and Wis
consin to start the 2001 campaign,
the national buzz featured a rosy
bowl season for Fresno State, which
was ranked as high as No. 8. Those
whispers soon dissipated when the
Bulldogs ended the regular season
second in the Western Athletic Con
ference and wound up in the Silicon
Valley Football Classic, which they
lost to Michigan State.
Those late-season woes have con
tinued this season. Fresno State (1
1 overall) lost its opener Aug. 23 at
Wisconsin, 23-21, and needed a last
second field goal block to pull off a
16-14 win over lowly San Diego
State last week.
“We will have to play better and
get better to beat Oregon next
week,” Fresno State head coach Pat
Hill said.
To make things worse, Fresno
Justin Case Conder Fresno State Media Services
Fresno State safety Bryce McGill finished second on the team with 95 tackles last season, and now he leads a quick Bulldog defense.
State is coping with injuries to three
key players. Star receiver Bernard
Berrian, who led the nation last year
with 2,776 all-purpose yards, and
starting quarterback Jeff Grady both
went down against Wisconsin. Both
are questionable for this Saturday’s
game against the 13th-ranked Ducks
(1-0 overall). Fresno State’s best de
fensive back, Kendall Edwards, suf
fered a season-ending knee injury
last weekend.
Redshirt freshman Paul Pinegar
played well in Grady’s absence, com
pleting 21-of-35 passes for 196
yards, one touchdown and no inter
ceptions against San Diego State.
“I was definitely ready,” Pinegar
said of his first career start. “I knew
it would happen sometime because
of the way Grady and I have battled
back and forth.”
The running game does not pro
vide much relief for the Bulldogs. Hill
announced this week that Rodney
Davis, a 5-foot-8, 210-pound junior,
has replaced Matt Rivera as the start
ing tailback.
“We’re still looking for answers,”
Hill said Monday. “We’re still looking
for the right combination, and that’s
Turn to Fresno State, page 8
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