Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/41058
COACHES BIOS COACHES BIOS FRESNO STATE FOOTBALL YEAR-BY-YEAR ............................................................................................................................................................. PAT HILL 1997 (6-6, 5-3 WAC) • • • • • Guided the Bulldogs to a 6-6 record after a 2-4 start to the season, the first non-losing season in four years. Fresno State gained attention for an impressive 20-17 win at No. 17 Air Force. The Bulldogs capped the year with a commanding 24-7 victory over Wyoming in the season finale, knocking the Cowboys out of bowl consideration. Had a then-Fresno State record five Academic All-WAC selections. Three first-team All-WAC selections (Chris Conrad, Michael Pittman and A.J. Gass) all went on to professional football careers. 1998 (5-6, 5-3 WAC) • • • • 1999 (8-5, 6-2 WAC) • WAC Co-Champions • • • • • • • Running back Jamie Kimbrough was selected the WAC Offensive Player of the Year. Set another school record for Academic All-WAC selections with six. Produced four first-team All-WAC players (Kimbrough, Tim Skipper, Ken Foersch, Jeff Roberts). Had a dominating 44-13 win over Mountain West Conference champion Colorado State. • • • • • Beat rival San Jose State 63-12 to earn a bowl berth in the Las Vegas Bowl. Finished the season strong, winning four of its final five games, with the lone loss a 31-24 double-overtime heartbreaker at Hawaii. Lost to Utah 17-16 in the EA Sports Las Vegas Bowl, their first bowl appearance since 1993. Quarterback Billy Volek was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for more than 2,700 yards, 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Produced nine Academic All-WAC selections, second- most in the WAC, and most at the time in Fresno State history. 2000 (7-5, 6-2 WAC) • • • • • • Six Bulldogs (Rodney Wright, Billy Volek, Jeff Hanna, Alan Harper, Orlando Huff, Anthony Limbrick) were named first- team All-WAC, the most players selected in a single season in school history. Payton Williams became the first Bulldog football player to be named Academic All-American. Each loss in 2000 was to a team that participated in a bowl game. • • • Made seven national television appearances. Had nine Academic All-WAC selections, most in the WAC. David Carr (offensive) and Alan Harper (defense) were named WAC Players of the Year. Produced a school-record nine All-WAC selections. (Bernard Berrian, Mike Stovall, David Carr, Asen Aspruhov, Jason Simpson, Alan Harper, Nick Burley, Vernon Fox). David Carr won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award as the nation's top senior quarterback and was selected the nation's offensive player of the year by the College Football News. Four Bulldogs were selected in the NFL Draft. 2002 (9-5, 6-2 WAC) • • • • • • • 2005 (8-5, 6-2 WAC) • • • Carr was the No. 1 player selected in the 2002 NFL draft by the expansion Houston Texans. Vernon Fox was selected for a National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholarship, the first winner in school history. Three of the five losses were on the road at BCS schools (Wisconsin, Oregon and Oregon State). • • • • The Bulldogs won eight of their last 10 games, including a 32-30 win over nationally-ranked Colorado State. Soundly defeated Georgia Tech 30-21 in the Silicon Valley Football Classic, the first bowl win in a decade. Five players were selected first-team All-WAC. Made nine national TV appearances. Started the season with road losses at nationally-ranked opponents Ohio State and UCLA. Shattered their single-game home attendance record on Sept. 23 as they defeated Cal 17-3 in front of 42,265 fans and a national television audience on Fox Sports Net. Despite facing a 34-point deficit in the third quarter to Air Force, the Bulldogs did not back down, rallying to within striking distance when Hill made the gutsy call for a fake field goal. • • • • Hill was selected the 2000 Bowl Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated, which wrote: "Fresno State's Pat Hill kept his players focused after they fell behind Air Force 34-7 in the Silicon Valley Bowl, and when the Bulldogs pulled to within 37-34 he disdained a 33-yard field goal attempt with 14 seconds to go and called for a fake kick. The ensuing pass fell incomplete, but what kid wouldn't want to play for a coach like that?" Made six national TV appearances. 2001 (11-3, 6-2 WAC) • • • • • 2003 (9-5, 6-2 WAC) • • • The Bulldogs finished the season strong, winning four of their final five games, including a lopsided 37-6 win at San Jose State to earn a second consecutive bowl berth. • • Hill was selected as the head coach of the West team for the East-West Shrine All-Star Classic. Fresno State's pre-WAC schedule was again rigorous, with games at No. 12 Tennessee and No. 1 Oklahoma. Upset Oregon State on ESPN, the second win in three games over the Beavers. Defeated UCLA 17-9 in their fifth consecutive bowl appearance, the longest streak in school history. • Went 2-0 vs. Pac-10 teams during the year. • • • • Made four national TV appearances. Produced three All-WAC selections. Produced three first-team All-WAC selections (Alan Harper, Vernon Fox and Orlando Huff). Had nine Academic All-WAC selections, tied for the most in school history. Orlando Huff was selected in the fourth round (104th selection) of the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Defeated three BCS nationally-ranked schools, Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin to start the season. The wins over Colorado and Wisconsin both came on the road. Defeated Oregon State, the No. 1 ranked team by Sports Illustrated and the highest-ranked team ever to play in Fresno, by a resounding score of 44-24. Raced to a No. 8 ranking in the nation. Graced the cover of Sports Illustrated (Sept. 17, 2001). • Went to a third straight bowl game, longest streak in school history, losing to Michigan State in the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic. Achieved the highest national ranking ever for a California State University school and WAC school since 1996. 2004 (9-3, 5-3 WAC) • • • • • • • • With six wins in their final seven games, Fresno State continued a trend of being a championship caliber team deep into the season. Fresno State's win over UCLA marked the first win over the Bruins in the seven games in the series, and again placed the Bulldogs among the nation's elite programs. Produced eight Academic All-WAC selections. Bernard Berrian selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Defeated 18th-ranked Virginia in the MPC Computers Bowl, the team's third bowl win in a row. Fresno State opened the season with road wins at Washington (35-16) and No. 13 Kansas State 45-21 Produced a league-best 12 Academic All-WAC selections, most in school history. • • Earned a school-record seventh consecutive bowl invitation (AutoZone Liberty Bowl). • Reached No. 16 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll • Ranked No. 23 in the national pre-season polls Took No. 1 USC to the wire in a thrilling 50-42 game at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum The 42 points vs. USC were the most scored on the Trojans at the Coliseum since 1976 and the most scored against a Pete Carroll coached team. • Won at Hawaii 27-13 for just the second win there since 1965. Defeated defending MAC Champion Toledo 44-14. Defeated defending WAC Champion Boise State 27-7. Fresno State's offense has been ranked in the nation's top five for scoring offense at better than 40 points per game. Two of the Dogs' losses were to teams ranked in the BCS top 8. Three 'Dogs were selected in the NFL Draft, led by Richard Marshall in the second round to Carolina. Bulldog defense was ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation in scoring (14.8 ppg). 2006 (4-8, 4-4 WAC) • • • • • • • • • • • • Opened the season with a nationally televised win over WAC rival Nevada Had six games nationally televised Produced 14 Academic All-WAC selections Two of the Dogs' losses were to teams that finished ranked in the Top 5 in the nation (LSU and Boise State). Four 'Dogs were selected in the NFL Draft (Marcus McCauley, Paul Williams, Dwayne Wright and Chris Denman). Running back Dwayne Wright finished No. 6 in the NCAA in rushing. Fresno State set a school record for fewest quarterback sacks in a season with 12. Three others (Joe Fernandez, Roshon Vercher and Louis Leonard) signed NFL free agents contracts. Graduated 15 of 17 seniors. Played five ranked teams, including two teams that finished the season ranked in the Top 5 (No. 3 LSU and No. 5 Boise State). Hill was selected head coach of the Aina (West) team in the Hula Bowl. 2007 (9-4, 6-2 WAC) • • Finished the year ranked 22nd in the nation, the first time Fresno State ended the season in the polls since 1993. Fresno State's win at Kansas State was most the worst defeat by the Wildcats at home in the Bill Snyder era. The Bulldogs rose to No. 17 in the national polls. Fresno State finished the season winning six straight games by a scoring average of 52-19. The Bulldogs scored more than 50 points in each of their final four regular season games, becoming the sixth school in NCAA history to accomplish that feat. • Went 3-0 vs. BCS teams during the year. • • • Made five national TV appearances. • • Fresno State averaged 40.2 points per game, the fifth- highest total in the nation. Produced three first-team All-WAC selections. A total of 20 Bulldogs were honored by WAC coaches in All-WAC voting. Senior tackle Logan Mankins was selected to the Walter Camp second-team All-America football team. 2011 70 2012 71 Mankins was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.. • • • • • • • • • • • UCLA Suffered a three-points loss to then No. 10 Wisconsin 13- 10 Made eight national television appearances Six Bulldogs were picked either first or second team All- Western Athletic Conference 2009 (8-5, 6-2 WAC) • • • • • • • • • Bear Pascoe (San Francisco 49ers) and Tom Brandstater (Denver Broncos) were draft in the 20090 NFL draft. The combined record of the teams that beat Fresno State is 41-7, with two of those teams playing in a BCS bowl game Earned win at Illinois, 15th win over a BCS opponent this decade and the 100th victory of his career Moses Harris was selected a finalist for National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award Made nine national television appearances 10 Bulldogs were picked either first or second team All- Western Athletic Conference Produced an NCAA-best five Academic All-District Players, and two Academic All-Americans, second only to Penn State for most in the nation Ryan Mathews and Kevin Goessling named All-Americans. Mathews led the NCAA in rushing A school-record 18 Bulldogs were named Academic All- WAC 2010 (8-5, 5-3 WAC) • • • • • Senior lineman Kevin Cooper was selected with the winner of the President's Medal as the top graduate at Fresno State Fresno State made its 8th bowl appearance in the last nine years and won its fourth bowl game in the last five tries Senior linebacker Marcus Riley was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year, the third Bulldog honored in the last seven seasons Bulldog A.J. Jefferson led the NCAA in kickoff return average Fresno State had five games nationally televised in 2007 Fresno State's +5 win total over the 2006 season matched the best improvement of a team in the Hill era. Ryan Mathews ran for 14 touchdowns, the most in the nation by a freshman running back ..................................................................... PAT HILL YEAR-BY-YEAR Four losses were to teams that reach high national rankings (No.2 Oregon, No. 10 Hawaii, No. 15 Boise State, No. 19 Texas A&M) Senior Clint Stitser won the Dean's Medal for the Craig School of Business, was a semifinalist for the Draddy Award and a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy 2008 (7-6, 4-4 WAC) • • Received 11 votes for 30th place in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, the second highest ranked team in California behind No. 2 USC. Started the season ranked No. 24 in the national polls and reached as high as No. 21 Earned road wins over BCS conference foes Rutgers and TOTALS ....108-71 ........75-36 ......62-18 ......43-45 ......... 4-6 ..................................................................... YEAR ......OVERALL ...... WAC ......HOME ......ROAD ....... NEU 1997 ............6-6 .............5-3 .......... 4-2 ........ 2-4 ........... 0-0 1998 ...........5-6 .............5-3 ......... 4-1 ........ 1-5 .......... 0-0 1999 ...........8-5 .............5-2 ......... 6-0 ........ 2-4 .......... 0-1 2000 ............7-5 .............6-2 ......... 5-0 ........ 2-4 .......... 0-1 2001 ..........11-3 ............6-2 ......... 5-1 ........ 6-1 ........... 0-1 2002 ...........9-5 .............6-2 ......... 5-1 ......... 3-4 .......... 1-0 2003 ...........9-5 .............6-2 ......... 5-1 ........ 3-4 .......... 1-0 2004 ...........9-3 .............5-3 ......... 4-1 ......... 4-1 .......... 1-0 2005 ...........8-5 .............6-2 ......... 5-1 ........ 3-3 ........... 0-1 2006 ...........4-8 .............4-4 .......... 3-3 ........ 1-5 ........... 0-0 2007 ............9-4 .............6-2 .......... 5-1 ......... 3-3 ........... 1-0 2008 ............7-6 .............4-4 .......... 2-3 ......... 5-2 ........... 0-1 2009 ............8-5 .............6-2 .......... 4-1 ......... 4-3 ........... 0-1 2010 ............8-5 .............5-3 .......... 5-2 ......... 3-2 ........... 0-0 • • Ryan Mathews was a first round NFL pick (No. 12 overall) by the San Diego Chargers Three of Fresno State's five losses were to teams ranked in the Top 25 at the end of the season and all three teams (Boise State, Nevada and Hawaii) won at least 10 games. The Dogs picked up impressive wins over defending Big East champions Cincinnati (28-14) and Big Ten bowl team Illinois (25-23). The Bearcats went on to lead the Big East Conference in both scoring and total offense. Made six national television appearances Senior class produced two Academic All-Americans (Andrew Jackson and Vince Pascoe) Three student-athletes earned Academic All-District honors and were eligible for Academic All-America consideration (Andrew Jackson, Ben Jacobs and Vince Pascoe) Four Bulldogs were named National Players of the Week: Logan Harrell, Chris Carter, Robbie Rouse and Kevin Goessling. Robbie Rouse rushed for 286 yards against Louisiana Tech, second most yards by a Bulldog in a game in school history.