2011 Fresno State Bulldogs Football Preview

It was a season that seemed all too familiar to fans of Fresno State football.

Head coach Pat Hill’s desire to play “anybody, anywhere, anytime” has produced countless opportunities for the Bulldogs to score victories over BCS opponents. The program that almost toppled USC in 2005 and regularly flies across the country to tackle other BCS conference opponents is never shy in the realm of scheduling. The 2010 campaign was no different, as Fresno State defeated Cincinnati and Illinois while staying competitive with Mississippi in Oxford. That’s the side of Fresno football which draws admiration from the rest of the college football community.

However, that’s only half the story when discussing the Bulldogs. The other part of the Fresno State equation is that the Bulldogs can’t handle the opponents they always have to play. The world of compulsory competition, otherwise known as conference play, never agrees with the team that focuses beyond its borders.

Indeed, 2010 also marked another depressingly recognizable autumn in which the Bulldogs stumbled in their own conference, losing out on league hardware and diminishing their reputation in the process. Fresno failed to defeat the top-level teams in the WAC, losing to Boise State, Hawaii, and Nevada. With a new quarterback at the helm, the 2011 Bulldogs are hoping to right last year’s wrongs and win the WAC outright for the first time, but the very fact that this program hasn’t been able to close down its own conference is precisely why optimism can’t run too deep in the inland California valley. With respect to the WAC, this will be the Bulldogs’ last chance to capture the conference, as Fresno will be moving on to the Mountain West Conference in 2012.

The man who will lead the Bulldogs into the 2011 season has a familiar name. Derek Carr, younger brother of former number one NFL draft pick and Fresno State alum David Carr, is set to start at quarterback. Carr, a four-star recruit out of high school, possesses all the physical abilities to be a successful college quarterback. He has waiting patiently for his opportunity and Bulldog fans are excited to see him take the field. Yet, Carr’s going to need everyone around him to carry an equal share of weight; that’s the only way this season is going to soar whereas past journeys have failed to hit the mark.

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Fresno State again has an impressive slate on the docket, in keeping with Hill’s insistence on playing the big boys in college football. With trips to California ( Candlestick Park) and Nebraska to begin the season, and home contests against Mississippi and Boise State, the Bulldogs will know exactly what kind of ballclub they have by the beginning of October. Fresno State plays 13 football games in 2011. A non-conference scalp would be great, but the test this year is if the Bulldogs can clean up in their own WAC backyard before moving to the Mountain West Conference.