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
2008 record7–6 (4–4 WAC)
Head coach
  • Pat Hill (12th as HC, 18th overall season)
Offensive coordinatorDoug Nussmeier (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorDan Brown (7th as DC, 12th overall season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBulldog Stadium
(Capacity: 41,031)
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

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

Coaching staff
NamePositionSeasons at
Fresno State		Alma Mater
Pat HillHead coach12th as HC;
18th overall		UC Riverside (1973)
Doug NussmeierOffensive coordinator1stIdaho (1994)
Dan BrownDefensive coordinator11th
Jeff GradyTight Ends2nd
John BaxterSpecial Teams/Wide Receivers/Assistant Head Coach12thLoras College
Will PlemonsLinebackers1st
Kerry LocklinDefensive Line9thNew Mexico State (1982)
Tim SkipperRunning Backs2nd
Randy StewartSecondary2nd
Derek FrazierOffensive Line2nd
Mike KellyGraduate Assistant1st
Mike SchepersGraduate Assistant1st

Depth chart
Defensive Starters
FS
Marvin Haynes
Jake Jorde
WLBMLBSLB
Qaadir BrownBen JacobsNico Herron
Ricky PemasaNico HerronNick Bates
SS
Mosses Harris
Lorne Bell
CB
Damion Owens
Will Harding
DEDTDTDE
Wilson Ramos, JrCornell BanksJon MongaIkenna Ike
Chris CarterBryce HarrisMark RobertsChris Lewis
CB
A.J. Jefferson
Sharrod Davis
Offensive Starters
WR
Chastin West
Jason Crawley
LTLGCRGRT
Bobby LeporiCole PopovichJoe BernardiAndrew JacksonKenny Avon
Kenny WigginsPierce MasseRichard PachecoAdam McDowellDevan 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
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
09/01/20081:30 pmat Rutgers*
ESPNW 24–742,508
09/13/20087:30 p.m.No. 10 Wisconsin*No. 21
ESPN2L 10–1342,387
09/20/20085:15 pmat Toledo*No. 25
ESPNUW 55–54 2OT20,096
09/27/200812:30 pmat UCLA*No. 22
ABCW 36–3173,963
10/04/20087:00 pmHawaiiNo. 22
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
L 29–32 OT40,572
10/11/20087:00 pmIdaho
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 45–3237,015
10/25/200812:00 pmat Utah State
W 30–2814,071
11/1/200811:30 amat Louisiana Tech
L 35–3820,300
11/07/20086:00 pmNevada
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
ESPN2L 28–4133,207
11/15/20082:00 pmNew Mexico State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
W 24–1736,137
11/21/20086:30 pmat San Jose State
ESPN2W 24–1024,384
11/28/20083:00 pmat No. 9 Boise State
ESPN2L 10–6132,412
12/20/200811:30 amvs. Colorado State
ESPNL 35–4024,735
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

at Rutgers
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 25 Bulldogs 0 0 10 14 24
Scarlet Knights 0 0 0 7 7
See also: 2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

No. 10 Wisconsin
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 10 Badgers 7 3 3 0 13
No. 21 Bulldogs 0 0 10 0 10
See also: 2008 Wisconsin Badgers football team

at Toledo
1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Bulldogs 14 3 17 777 55
Rockets 7 14 3 1776 54
See also: 2008 Toledo Rockets football team

at UCLA
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 24 Bulldogs 7 13 16 0 36
Bruins 7 12 5 7 31
See also: 2008 UCLA Bruins football team

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
1 2 3 4OT Total
Warriors 9 10 10 03 32
No. 22 Bulldogs 3 6 13 70 29
See also: 2008 Hawaii Warriors football team and Fresno State–Hawaii football rivalry

Idaho
1 2 3 4 Total
Vandals 3 7 7 15 32
Bulldogs 7 14 14 10 45
See also: 2008 Idaho Vandals football team

at Utah State
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 7 9 30
Aggies 7 6 0 15 28
See also: 2008 Utah State Aggies football team

at Louisiana Tech
1 2 3 4 Total
Fresno State Bulldogs 7 14 7 7 35
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 7 7 10 14 38
See also: 2008 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Nevada
1 2 3 4 Total
Wolf Pack 7 10 14 10 41
Bulldogs 7 0 14 7 28
See also: 2008 Nevada Wolf Pack football team

New Mexico State
1 2 3 4 Total
Aggies 10 7 0 0 17
Bulldogs 3 14 0 7 24
See also: 2008 New Mexico State Aggies football team

at San Jose State
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 3 0 7 14 24
Spartans 7 3 0 0 10
See also: 2008 San Jose State Spartans football team and Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry

at No. 9 Boise State
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 3 0 0 10
No. 9 Broncos 7 6 28 20 61
See also: 2008 Boise State Broncos football team and Milk Can (college football)

vs. Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 10 10 0 20 40
Bulldogs 14 7 7 7 35
See also: 2008 Colorado State Rams football team and 2008 New Mexico Bowl
2008 New Mexico Bowl
Bowl game
Colorado State Rams Fresno State Bulldogs
(6–6) (7–5)
40 35
Head coach: 
Steve Fairchild		 Head coach: 
Pat Hill
1234 Total
Colorado State 1010020 40
Fresno State 14777 35
Season2008
StadiumUniversity Stadium
LocationAlbuquerque, New Mexico
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersRod Gilmore, Joe Tessitore

Awards

First Team All WAC

Bobby Lepori- Sr. OL

Second Team All WAC

Bear Pascoe- Sr. TE- 2007 1st team

Chris Carter- So. LB

Ben Jacobs-So. LB

Moses Harris- Jr. DB

References
  1. "Pat Hill Gets Contract Extension to Stay at Fresno State". Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  2. "No. 25: Fresno State". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  3. "Stop us if you've heard this before: Buckeyes top Dawgs". Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  4. "Buckeyes rise to No. 1 in updated Top 25". Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  5. "Fresno State Hires New Offensive Coordinator". Retrieved 2008-05-14.
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