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The Buckeye Battle Cry

Here's a feel of how some ohio state bloggers think about Fresno State and the New Mexico Bowl...

http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=4067&cpage=1#comment-4193

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The day Graham Watson drops knowledge on me will be the day that Peter Gammons changes his name to Graham Watson

If you don't know who Graham Watson is, consider yourself lucky. Or, at least you were until I decided to write a Graham Watson blog, which, thanks to it containing her name, now has an unfortunate side effect similar to the one you get when reading her blogs.

Watson -- unbeknownst to many of the people that actually do read what she writes out of boredom -- is in fact a female and non-BCS blogger for espn.com. That wasn't meant as an insult, but actually a real did-you-know, as more than a few message board-ers have dropped a "he" when referencing Graham. Don't worry though, plenty of insults still to come.

Graham Watson's job is to know non-BCS football (unless she has a second job, in which case only one of her jobs is to know non-BCS football). She is paid to watch them, write about them, read about them and even go to some of the games and cover them in person.

Needless to say, I don't find Graham Watson to be a particularly entertaining writer, or to generally have an informed opinion about non-BCS teams. Count me in as one out of nine Americans who agree with that statement (fine print: who knows if that's true, but I'd like to think it is). Sure, it's hard to mess up links to local newspaper Web sites and a list of players who have won awards (although it's happened). That stuff is generally tolerable. I've got no beef there, plus, beggars can't be choosers.

Rather, it is the lack of pure knowledge of teams, the head-shaking predictions, the perceived arrogance, etc., that make her a villain for college football fans. Her opinion-including blogs are daily evidence of that. She's consistent at least, I'll give her that.

So why do a blog now? Well, for one, I had the time. And then there's, well ... read on.

What if I told you that today, as I half-heartedly browsed through the BulldogBounce twitter feed, I ran across a Graham Watson tweet that provided me great entertainment and a lengthy laugh?

See the evidence below:

As you may have figured out, the "allow me to drop some knowledge" portion of the tweet was the part that did it for me. At this point, I was willing to be suckered, hoping to continue my streak of Graham-provided hilarity's. So I suckered myself into clicking the provided link, only to become utterly disappointed (but not surprised) with the vagueness, cluelessness and general ineptitude that followed.

BUT, for at least a brief segment in time, albeit unintentionally, Graham Watson brought a smile to my face, and now, to yours. That has to mean something. Could it be, that after we've grown apart from her for so long, that we've now learned to love each other. I only thought it fair to capture this event with its due diligence -- a sentimental Graham Watson tribute blog (which you've been reading) and a letter to her (which you will now read).

So to you, Graham, on behalf of the readers and myself, I say this:

Graham, I know we've had our ups and downs in the past, and we readers realize that it was unreasonable for us to expect us to see eye-to-eye on everything, but it became impossible for us grow together once you showed us your wealth of a lack of knowledge on college football. In the beginning, we showed an undying commitment to you, only to feel turned away by your insulting lack of knowledge of our programs.

I'll never forget the time I saw you remind about/request an interview on Facebook for Fresno State running backs Lonyae Miller and Ryan "Matthews." But that's OK, spelling isn't important for a paid non-BCS blogger, nor is knowing how to spell the name of arguably the best running back in the country, who just so happens to play for a non-BCS team.

Still, regardless of our rocky start, stars aligned and brought us back together, for what could only be described as us having a moment that we shall never forget.

Actually, on second thought, you got lucky this one time. Continue to take espn's money and "drop knowledge" on those suckers who can't get their cheek off the hook, and we'll all go our way and continue to know libraries of information more than you about non-BCS and BCS football alike.

Man, what a moment though ...

The end.

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Fresno State and coach Pat Hill reach contract extension for "years" beyond 2010

Fresno State coach Pat Hill and the rock 'n' roll fu manchu will remain at the helm of the Bulldogs for an undetermined number of years, as reported by The Fresno Bee last night.

Contract details between Hill and the University are yet to be made official, and will be worked out following Fresno State's New Mexico Bowl *edit loss over wyoming this weekend.

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A round of belly slaps for left guard No. 79

Devan Cunningham is three years into his career as a Bulldog, and for two and a half years, I couldn't put my finger on why he looked so familiar.

And then, one day this summer ...

The man on top is our guy Devan, while the guy immediately above is either WWE legend Kamala, or a never-before-seen photo of Cunningham at this year's Halloween bash.

For those interested (which by now should be at least 37% of you), Cunningham stands at 6-foot-6, weighs 350 pounds and is anywhere from 20 to 46 years old. Kamala stands at 6-foot-7, checks in at 375 pounds and is 59 years old. I know.

Our boy Devan has been in the news of late (see video refresher below) and thanks to the journalistic rule of timeliness, we can now make this blog relevant.

But there's also another aspect to this play (and most plays of any game) that goes unseen by almost everyone after every game -- the box score's play-by-play. It looks like this:

Two-point conversion attempt, Ryan Colburn pass to Devan Cunningham GOOD.

If you look closely between the words "to" and "Devan," there are about 13 points of action left out of the play that are clearly visible in the video. Nice try Mr. play-by-play typer guy. Nobody expected you to get the entire played in there, but one of these (...) would have sufficed. Let's try it again:

Two-point conversion attempt, Ryan Colburn pass to ... Devan Cunningham GOOD.

You'll also notice the word "GOOD" is in all caps. I'm guessing he was typing the word while this call -- made by Fresno State's own play-by-play man Paul Loeffler -- was being made right next to him. Can't fault him there. Not every day when you get to hear a voice so high it makes Alvin and the Chipmunks sound like this guy by comparison.

And to think, none of this would have been possible without a giant left guard catching a ball and teeter-tottering into the endzone. The only thing missing was the appropriate celebration.

Yes, the bar does get lower. Start the video at 2:20 and feel free to slap along at will.

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What's it take for Fresno State to be ranked?

Don't dismiss the idea so quickly. Keep reading, 'cause you'll want to see this comparison between two teams with eerily similar resumes. One is in the top 25. One is Fresno State. (Shout out to "grantstomb" of BarkBoard fame for bringing this to my attention).

See how long it takes you to figure out which mystery team we're comparing the 'Dogs to?

--This team has a 6-2 conference record.
--Fresno State has a 6-2 conference record.

--This team has 1 win against a team with a winning record.
--Fresno State has 1 win against a team with a winning record.

--This team has 1 win against an AQ (Automatic Qualifier) school (a 4-8 Big East team at home).
--Fresno State has 1 win against an AQ school (a 3-9 Big 10 team on the road).

--This team played 2 AQ schools on the road.
--Fresno State played 3 AQ schools on the road.

--This team has two losses to teams that are going to BCS bowls this year.
--Fresno State has two losses to teams going to BCS bowls this year.

--This team beat San Jose State by 10 points.
--Fresno State beat San Jose State by 20 points.

--This team beat Utah State by 17 points.
--Fresno State beat Utah State by 4 points.

--This team lost at TCU by 28 points.
--Fresno State lost at home to Boise State by 17 points.

--This team lost at Oregon by 7 points.
--Fresno State lost at Cincinnati by 8 points.

--This team's opponents are a combined 48-48.
--Fresno State's opponenets are a combined 47-52.

--This team finished third in the Mountain West Conference.
--Fresno State finished third in the Western Athletic Conference.

--This team is 9-3, ranked No. 23 in the nation and headed to the Poinsettia Bowl to play Cal.
--Fresno State is 8-4, unranked and headed to the New Mexico Bowl to play Wyoming.

One could argue that if Fresno State replaced its non-conference game at Wisconsin with a game against 4-8 San Diego State, the Bulldogs would also be 9-3. But would the Bulldogs be ranked in the top 25? What do you say?

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Comment Please!

Hey I just want to get a pulse on what Bulldog fans think about the future of Fresno State football. I am interested in what people have to say so please leave a comment!!

What should expectations be for our program on a yearly basis?

What type of personality would you like to see our team take on?

Do we need a new coach?

Do we need an overhaul of our offensive and defensive schemes?

Did we peak in 2001 when we hit #8 in the nation?

How do we spark more fan interest?

What needs to be done to build our program into a perennial power?

These are just a few of the questions you could comment on or add your own flavor!!

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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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