Fresno State 2005 Season | Team Page	Select Conference ACC Big East Big Ten Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Select Team

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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Pat Hill (10th year, 72-43) 2005 record: 8-5 (Lost to Tulsa 31-24 in the Liberty Bowl) WAC finish: 6-2 (t-2nd) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 41st (164.6 ypg) Passing: 25th (260.3 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 60th (148.5 ypg) Passing: 38th (346.9 ypg) Date Opponent Sept. 1 Nevada Sept. 9 Oregon Sept. 16 at Washington Sept. 30 Colorado State Oct. 7 at Utah State Oct. 14 Hawaii Oct. 21 at LSU Nov. 1 at Boise State Nov. 11 New Mexico State Nov. 18 Idaho Nov. 24 at Louisiana Tech Dec. 2 at San Jose State Depth Chart: Offense 8 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 1 Paul Williams Sr. 18 Jaron Fairman Sr. WR 84 Joe Fernandez Sr. 87 Kevin Ciccone So. LT 72 Bobby Lepori So. 71 James Paulk Jr. LG 77 Ryan Wendell Jr. 66 Robin Kezirian Sr. C 59 Kyle Young Sr. 66 Robin Kezirian Sr. RG 62 Cole Popovich So. 52 Richard Pacheco So. RT 79 Chris Denman Sr. 54 John Guevara So. TE 85 Bear Pascoe So. 88 Jesus Tapia Jr. QB 7 Tom Brandstater So. 3 Sean Norton So. FB 46 Roshon Vercher Sr. 40 Nate Adams Jr. RB 32 Dwayne Wright Jr. 25 Shannon Dorsey Jr. Depth Chart: Defense 8 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 11 Tyler Clutts Jr. 99 Jason Roberts So. DT 98 Louis Leonard Sr. 94 Jon Monga So. NT 97 Jason Shirley Jr. 42 Charles Tolbert Jr. DE 92 Marlon Brisco Sr. 41 Ikenna Ike So. SLB 10 Alan Goodwin Sr. 43 Ahijah Lane Jr. MLB 51 Dwayne Andrews Sr. 57 Christian Carlson Jr. WLB 31 Marcus Riley Jr. 32 Quaadir Brown So. CB 17 Marcus McCauley Sr. 25 Damon Jenkins Jr. CB 30 Elgin Simmons Sr. - Damion Owens Fr. SS 15 Josh Sherley Sr. 19 Marvin Haynes Fr. FS 4 Vincent Mays Sr. 23 Jake Jorde So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 39 Clint Stitser Jr. KR 84 Joe Fernandez Sr. P 37 Mike Lingua Sr. PR 84 Joe Fernandez Sr.

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For all their successes under 10th-year coach Pat Hill, Fresno State always seems to fall short of expectations, and 2005 was no exception. That won't be the case this year, if only because expectations have been tempered.

The Bulldogs enter fall camp with two inexperienced quarterbacks, no proven pass rusher and a sizable hole at cornerback. Neither of the quarterback hopefuls, Tom Brandstater or Sean Norton, impressed enough during spring practice to seize the job. Until one of them emerges, look for opponents to key on a strong ground game led by a strong offensive line and healthy tailback Dwayne Wright. The Bulldogs will need to be stronger defensively. Coordinator Dan Brown must find a way to replace his two most productive players, All-WAC picks Garrett McIntyre and Richard Marshall, while hoping weak-side linebacker Marcus Riley (knee) regains his pre-injury form.

Not even special teams, a traditional area of strength, are a slam-dunk.

Offense

New offensive coordinator Steve Hagen, who last coached in the NFL, has a reputation for molding quarterbacks. Good thing, because the two guys vying to replace four-year starter Paul Pinegar are as raw as blocks of clay.

Whoever wins the job will have the luxury of handing off to a healthy Dwayne Wright. The junior tailback looked great in the spring, showing no sign of the knee injury that caused him to miss all of last season and most of 2004. Look for him to duplicate his 1,038-yard, three-touchdown 2003 campaign. Wright's good health is paramount because there's no proven backup. The Bulldogs, however, do have an impact lead blocker in fullback Roshon Vercher.

Fresno State is deep and talented at offensive line and receiver. Senior center Kyle Young (6-5, 335 pounds) has the NFL scouts drooling with his rare combination of size, flexibility and quickness. Young is one of four veterans up front. Paul Williams and Joe Fernandez lead a senior-laden receiving corps. Williams does most of his damage on deep balls.

Defense

The Bulldogs don't have anyone who can replicate Garrett McIntyre's disruptive abilities on the line and lack a proven replacement for cornerback Richard Marshall. That's the bad news. The good news is there's no lack of battle-tested veterans, starting with middle linebacker Dwayne Andrews and cornerback Marcus McCauley.

Senior Louis Leonard (6'4", 320) and junior Jason Shirley (6'5", 330) anchor the line. Both are stout against the run and have shown the ability to make plays in the backfield. Returning ends Marlon Brisco and Tyler Clutts benefited from all the attention paid to McIntyre. The team needs one of them or junior college transfer Mike Stuart to step up as a pass rusher.

McCauley, a second-team All-WAC pick, leads the secondary. In fact, opposing teams probably will avoid his side of the field altogether. The other corner spot is up for grabs among a junior who was injured during spring practice, a senior looking for his first extended playing time and two incoming freshmen.

Specialists

If Clifton Smith returns 100 percent from a knee injury, the Bulldogs have someone capable of replacing All-WAC return specialist Adam Jennings. If not, this is an unproven area. Health is also a concern at kicker. Clint Stitser missed last season's final seven games with a hip injury and was limited in the spring.

Punting should not be a problem. Senior Mike Lingua is adept at hang time and pinning the ball inside the 20. Under special teams coach John Baxter, blocks and kick coverage are always areas of strength.

Final Analysis

The way last season ended, with four straight losses, it's easy to forget that Fresno State spent 13 weeks ranked in the top 25. That feat will be tough to repeat.

Even though the Bulldogs list 16 returning starters, the ones they lost were all impact performers. Spring practice provided few answers, in particular at quarterback.

Despite some question marks at key positions, the Bulldogs have enough returning talent and depth to challenge for the WAC title and earn an eighth straight berth in a lower-tier bowl. But crashing the Bowl Championship Series - Hill's stated goal in previous seasons - is at least a year off.