What are you thankful for in Fresno State sports? Wishful for?

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers and your families! In the spirit of the holiday, what are you thankful for when it comes to Fresno State sports? (And go ahead and throw in what you are wishful for too)...


Thankful for ... Ryan Mathews, the nation's best running back, choosing to stay home and represent his Valley by playing for Fresno State instead of going to any of the other places he could have.
Wishful for ... Mathews to return for his senior season if he's not a first-round draft pick (because that's where he deserves to be picked), and heck, the Red Wave would LOVE seven more chances to see him play in person at Bulldog Stadium next year.

Thankful for ... Greg Smith's Bulldog spirit. The heralded recruit has been Fresno State's best basketball player the first four games this season. It's been a long time since the 'Dogs have had a player play with Smith's type of passion for his school -- a Chris Herren-esque on-court mentality.
Wishful for ... More tenacity from the rest of the team. Let out a yell after a big dunk or 3. Wave your arms to the Red Wave to get 'em loud. Smile. Win.

Thankful for ... Pat Hill's vision for the "sleeping giant" that is Fresno State football.
Wishful for ... A return to the no excuses, shutup & hit somebody, no-nonsense style that made Hill and Bulldog football known around the country.

And most of all, just thankful to enjoy games and tailgates with my closest family and friends, a culture I grew up in. No matter how many wins or losses, those moments with people close to you will always be the best memories.

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Time to talk Colburn

It was still the first quarter of Friday night's 51-34 loss to No. 10 Boise State when the Red Wave (which was mostly clad in white) made me cringe. Quarterback Ryan Colburn threw an incomplete pass and the fans, his own fans, Fresno State's own fans, booed. Not all of 'em, but dozens of them at least. And they should all be ashamed.

Colburn's not an NFL player making $2 million a game. He's a college kid, and he's playing his heart out for the Valley's team. And how can you not root for a guy who's hurt this much by a loss? If that doesn't show how much Colburn cares, I don't know what would?

Now that that's settled, let's analyze how he's doing (no boos allowed). After throwing for just 10 yards in the first half Friday, including two interceptions, Colburn finished 14 of 29 for 187 yards and two scores. Very underwhelming stats, but considering the poor first half he finished quite strong. Plus, he out-passed Boise State's Kellen Moore.

On the year now, Colburn is 41 of 74 (55.4%) with 637 yards, 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.

So you tell us Red Wave, has Colburn done enough to earn a stronghold on the starting quarterback job? Was it a mistake for coach Pat Hill not to play Derek Carr, or even Ebahn Feathers in passing situations?

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Week 2 game prep: Links and wisconsin film study

wisconsin week. Our annual week of embarrassment thanks to the jocking of the badgers' jump around (which makes The Bulldog Bounce guilty by association).

Now that the elephant has been spotted and kicked out of the room, let's prep for what will be a very physical, hard-hitting slugfest with a little bit of flare mixed in on Saturday. For those of you who like to put coaching staff-like hours into each game, let's get to work.

Below you will find various links providing info on the bad guys (wisconsin) and the good guys (Fresno State).

• Official Web site of wisconsin football

• Madison.com coverage of the badgers and their game against Fresno State

• The badgernation football message board

• wisconsin football twitter feeds: wisconsin football and head coach bret bielema

• Bucky's 5th Quarter -- fan blog and large community of the badgers

• Official Fresno State football media notes for week 2 vs wisconsin (including depth charts)

• Barkboard: message board community for Fresno State fans

• RedWavepodcast: Sports staff from the school's newspaper, The Collegian, gives their take on the Dogs.

• Dogbyte podcast: another fan's take on the Bulldogs football team.

When you're ready, bust out the notebook and make good use of the replay. Below is an abbreviated version of Fresno State's highlights from its 51-0 mauling of uc davis and 10 minutes worth of highlights for both northern illinois and wisconsin below that.

northern illinois @ wisconsin

I'm already spitting blood in anticipation.

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