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 upset Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin 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 Conference and wound up in the Silicon Valley Football Classic, which they lost to Michigan State.
Those late-season woes have continued 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 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 defensive back, Kendall Edwards, suffered a season-ending knee injury last weekend.
Redshirt freshman Paul Pinegar played well in Grady’s absence, completing 21-of-35 passes for 196 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions 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 provide 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 starting tailback.
“We’re still looking for answers,” Hill said Monday. “We’re still looking for the right combination, and that’s not taking anything away from Matt. We want to take a look at Rodney with the first group this week, but there are going to be plenty of reps for Matt also.”
Hill watched tape Sunday of Oregon’s 36-13 win over Mississippi State last weekend and said he was impressed with what he saw. In particular, Hill marveled about the play of Oregon junior quarterback Jason Fife, whom Hill recruited out of Lake Elsinore, Calif.
“(Oregon) might be the best football team we’ve played against since I’ve been here,” Hill told The Fresno Bee. “They’ve made the move to be a big-time college football team. They are spending money, and they have put a great product on the field.
“We are trying to be a lot like them,” he added. “I see a lot of similarities in the way the two of us play. But I want to make it clear that I don’t think we are at their level yet. They were No. 2 in the nation last year. I really think they are a top-5 team this year.”
Then again, the Bulldogs could quickly change that Saturday.