2008 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

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.

2008 Fresno State Bulldogs football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record7–6 (4–4 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDoug Nussmeier (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorDan Brown (8th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBulldog 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

Preseason

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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

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Coaching staff

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Name Position Seasons at
Fresno State
Alma Mater
Pat Hill Head coach 12th as HC;
18th overall
UC Riverside (1973)
Doug Nussmeier Offensive coordinator 1st Idaho (1994)
Dan Brown Defensive coordinator 11th
Jeff Grady Tight Ends 2nd
John Baxter Special Teams/Wide Receivers/Assistant Head Coach 12th Loras College
Will Plemons Linebackers 1st
Kerry Locklin Defensive line 9th New Mexico State (1982)
Tim Skipper Running backs 3rd Fresno State (2001)
Randy Stewart Secondary 2nd
Derek Frazier Offensive line 2nd
Mike Kelly Graduate Assistant 1st
Mike Schepers Graduate Assistant 1st

Roster

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Depth chart

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Defensive starters
FS
Marvin Haynes
Jake Jorde
WLB MLB SLB
Qaadir Brown Ben Jacobs Nico Herron
Ricky Pemasa Nico Herron Nick Bates
SS
Mosses Harris
Lorne Bell
CB
Damion Owens
Will Harding
DE DT DT DE
Wilson Ramos, Jr Cornell Banks Jon Monga Ikenna Ike
Chris Carter Bryce Harris Mark Roberts Chris Lewis
CB
A.J. Jefferson
Sharrod Davis
Offensive starters
WR
Chastin West
Jason Crawley
LT LG C RG RT
Bobby Lepori Cole Popovich Joe Bernardi Andrew Jackson Kenny Avon
Kenny Wiggins Pierce Masse Richard Pacheco Adam McDowell Devan 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

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 11:30 pmat Rutgers*ESPNW 24–742,508
September 137:30 p.m.No. 10 Wisconsin*No. 21ESPN2L 10–1342,387
September 205:15 pmat Toledo*No. 25ESPNUW 55–54 2OT20,096
September 2712:30 pmat UCLA*No. 22ABCW 36–3173,963
October 47:00 pmHawaiiNo. 22
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA (rivalry)
L 29–32 OT40,572
October 117:00 pmIdaho 
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 45–3237,015
October 2512:00 pmat Utah StateW 30–2814,071
November 111:30 amat Louisiana TechL 35–3820,300
November 76:00 pmNevada
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
ESPN2L 28–4133,207
November 152:00 pmNew Mexico State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 24–1736,137
November 216:30 pmat San Jose StateESPN2W 24–1024,384
November 283:00 pmat No. 9 Boise StateESPN2L 10–6132,412
December 2011:30 amvs. Colorado StateESPNL 35–4024,735
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

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At Rutgers

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 25 Bulldogs 0 0 10 14 24
Scarlet Knights 0 0 0 7 7

No. 10 Wisconsin

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 10 Badgers 7 3 3 0 13
No. 21 Bulldogs 0 0 10 0 10

At Toledo

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1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Bulldogs 14 3 17 777 55
Rockets 7 14 3 1776 54

At UCLA

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Bulldogs 7 13 16 0 36
Bruins 7 12 5 7 31

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

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1 2 3 4OT Total
Warriors 9 10 10 03 32
No. 22 Bulldogs 3 6 13 70 29

Idaho

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1 2 3 4 Total
Vandals 3 7 7 15 32
Bulldogs 7 14 14 10 45

At Utah State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 7 9 30
Aggies 7 6 0 15 28

At Louisiana Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Fresno State Bulldogs 7 14 7 7 35
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 7 7 10 14 38

Nevada

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wolf Pack 7 10 14 10 41
Bulldogs 7 0 14 7 28

New Mexico State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Aggies 10 7 0 0 17
Bulldogs 3 14 0 7 24

At San Jose State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 0 7 14 24
Spartans 7 3 0 0 10

At No. 9 Boise State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 3 0 0 10
No. 9 Broncos 7 6 28 20 61

vs. Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 10 10 0 20 40
Bulldogs 14 7 7 7 35
2008 New Mexico Bowl
Bowl game
1234 Total
Colorado State 1010020 40
Fresno State 14777 35
DateDecember 20, 2008
Season2008
StadiumUniversity Stadium
LocationAlbuquerque, New Mexico
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersRod Gilmore, Joe Tessitore

Awards

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First Team All WAC

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Bobby Lepori- Sr. OL

Second Team All WAC

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Bear Pascoe- Sr. TE- 2007 1st team

Chris Carter- So. LB

Ben Jacobs-So. LB

Moses Harris- Jr. DB

References

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  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]