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| San Jose State's Deonce Whitaker ran for 1,577 yards in 2000. Harry How/Allsport |
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Fresno State
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UTEP
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San Jose State
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Hawaii
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Tulsa
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Boise State
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Rice
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SMU
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Louisiana Tech
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Nevada
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| 27 |
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Number of kicks that Fresno State has blocked in the past four years. |
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"I'll admit my optimism was probably somewhat fake during a couple of those years when I was telling everybody we would be OK. But this is the first time that I can say it sincerely and genuinely that we have gotten over the top."
-- WAC commissioner Karl Benson on the conference's chances for survival
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By Tim Griffin, Special to CNNSI.com
Some college coaches would steer away from challenging their teams too early in the season.
But not Fresno State head coach Pat Hill, who believes a tough schedule will pay dividends in the Western Athletic Conference race along with possibly building some notoriety for his program.
The Bulldogs will travel to Colorado for their Aug. 25 season opener in the Jim Thorpe Classic. They also will play host to Oregon State and travel to Wisconsin before conference play begins and face Mountain West power Colorado State later in the season.
"When I took the job, the first thing we needed to do was to bring Fresno State to where it was in the past," Hill said. "The next thing was that we had to play a tough non-conference schedule if we were to be considered a major college team.
"People ask me if we are nervous about the season. Shoot, that's what you play for is the chance to play somebody like Colorado, Oregon State, Wisconsin or Colorado State. I refuse to play a weak schedule. I would rather play a tough game on the road rather than a weak team at home."
Hill's confidence is boosted by a strong returning nucleus of 15 starters headed by quarterback David Carr, who passed for 2,729 yards and 23 touchdowns last year. The Bulldogs also return three of their four leading 2000 rushers and three wide receivers who have made first- or second-team All-WAC in the past two years.
The defense is keyed by 285-pound defensive tackle Alan Harper and five other starters, The Bulldogs also expect the return of senior safety Anthony Limbrick, who suffered a season-ending thumb injury in the first game last year.
"We've got 12 fifth-year seniors this season and most of them have been playing since they were freshmen," Hill said. "On paper, we should have an excellent team. I'm not afraid to pick us to win the WAC. I've done it the last three years."
Fresno State fans have responded by purchasing more than 30,000 season tickets. The school is expecting sellouts throughout the season at 41,031-seat Bulldog Stadium with plans in the works to expand seating capacity to 60,000 in the future.
"We've always been labeled as a mid-major team and we aren't," Hill said. "We may be a mid-major in the public mindset but we aren't. Those first three games we are playing are as tough as anybody in the country will be playing. We've got the table set to make some noise if we can win some games."
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It's understandable that UTEP wide receiver Lee Mays' favorite super hero is "The Flash."
The speedy Mays, who earned All-America honors in track and led all the nation's wide receivers with 15 touchdown receptions, has been zipping through WAC pass defenses for three years.
Mays produced 70 receptions for 1,098 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, providing the Miners with explosiveness that led to their first bowl berth and winning record in 12 years. He scored a touchdown in a school-record 10 consecutive games last season and led all wide receivers in the country with 15 touchdown receptions.
"Lee has got as much athletic ability as anybody I've ever coached," UTEP head coach Gary Nord said. "He's just a big, tall, tough receiver. I think he's a first-round NFL draft choice waiting to happen."
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HOT: Tulsa RB Eric Richardson
Rushed for 400 yards in the Golden Hurricane's last two games of 2000.
NOT: The Nevada offensive line
Allowed 48 sacks and averaged 67.7 yards rushing per game in 2000.
HOT: San Jose State RB Deonce Whitaker
Led the nation with a 7.0 yards-per-carry average.
NOT: Louisiana Tech's special teams
Ranked 112th in the country in net punting in 2000, allowing more than 15 yards per return.
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Former San Jose State head coach Dave Baldwin learned a tough lesson about gratitude after leading the Spartans to a 7-5 record in 2000 -- their best mark in eight years.
After upset victories against TCU and Stanford earlier in the season, the Spartans looked like a bowl lock late last season. But two losses to finish the regular season cost Baldwin leverage and ultimately his job after a bitter feud with athletic director Chuck Bell.
The school offered Baldwin a modest raise with contract terms that would have gotten shorter if the Spartans
finished .500 or worse in the WAC.
Baldwin balked at those terms and was out of his job less than 36 hours after the 2000 season ended.
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UTEP coach Gary Nord
Led the Miners to a share of their first WAC title and a school-record seven-game winning streak in 2000.
Louisiana Tech RB John Simon
Paced all running backs in the nation in receptions for the second consecutive season with 72 catches for 711 yards and four TDs.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson
Negotiated a new contract with ESPN which will result in unprecedented national exposure for his conference.
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Fresno State avoids UTEP in the WAC's unbalanced 2001 schedule. The most important game for the preseason favorites could come Nov. 24, when they meet San Jose State.
The Broncos rudely ended the Spartans' bowl hopes last year with an embarrassing 37-6 blowout victory in San Jose. Their players haven't forgotten that game, even if their coach is new.
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Boise State and UTEP met in the Humanitarian Bowl and will renew their rivalry Sept. 29 in the Broncos' first WAC game. "It's kind of weird we just played them in a bowl and then start our conference race against them this year," UTEP's Nord said. ... Hawaii will attempt to build statewide awareness in its program by moving its season opener Sept. 8 against Montana to Oahu. ... Tulsa head coach Keith Burns trimmed nearly 40 pounds during the past six months by running 25 to 30 miles per week and limiting himself to two meals. The hardest part for Burns? Limiting himself to only two Dr. Pepper soft drinks per day, after earlier drinking two six-packs per day ... Nord and Fresno State coach Hill are the only WAC coaches with above-.500 records at their current schools heading into the 2001 season. ... The transfer of former SMU QB Josh McCown to Sam Houston State will keep an anticipated battle with his younger brother, Louisiana Tech starting QB Luke McCown, from materializing this year. Their oldest brother, Randy, started at quarterback for Texas A&M in 1998-99. ... Heading into fall practice, UTEP's projected starting quarterback is Wesley Phillips, son of former NFL head coach Wade Phillips and grandson of former NFL head coach Bum Phillips ... Fresno State enters the season with a 15-game home-winning streak, ranking only behind Florida State (36 games) and Oregon (20). Boise State is tied for fourth nationally with a 14-game home-winning streak. ... Hawaii head coach June Jones feels fortunate to still be alive after recovering from a near-fatal automobile accident earlier this year. "It just wasn't my number to go," Jones told the Los Angeles Times. "I feel lucky I didn't, so I'm going to enjoy the reprieve that I have."
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