BOISE, Idaho >> Fresno State seems to be becoming a victim of its own success. Like Hawaii, the Bulldogs are beginning to have a hard time scheduling the kind of teams it would like to play out of conference. Scheduling issues
hurt Fresno StateBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBeating Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin last year put FSU on the national map and the cover of Sports Illustrated. But it also made some big-name schools decide to back out of future encounters and possible losses.
A game at Oregon State replaced suddenly reluctant Michigan on this fall's schedule, but coach Pat Hill is more upset about Oklahoma State pulling out of its visit to Fresno next year as the return end of a home-and-home series.
"When people are supposed to come back I expect them too. That's wrong," Hill said. "I guess it's like the Christians and the lions. That's (not a) show until you give the Christians a sword, and then the lions don't want to do it."
Fresno State still has a pretty impressive nonconference lineup, visiting Wisconsin in the Kickoff Classic Aug. 23, hosting San Diego State, going to Oregon and then visiting Oregon State, all before opening conference play.
The Bulldogs are just one of several WAC teams that have made massive upgrades to their schedules. They mean big payouts and big prestige if the team from the "midmajor" conference wins.
"Everyone's starting to figure it out," Hill said. "Why not play a great nonconference schedule?"
Where are the QBs?: Southern Methodist's new coach Phil Bennett is trying not to take it personally. But his quarterbacks keep disappearing.
First, returning starter David Page left the program early after graduating and joining Ernst and Young.
"I was kidding him and told him too bad it wasn't Arthur Andersen instead," Bennett quipped. "I might have got him back."
Then there's Kelan Luker, who started four games at QB last year.
Luker told Bennett on Monday that he is leaving school for a career as a bass player in the rock band Submerged, which just signed a record deal with the same label as Creed.
"Now he doesn't have to hear me tell him he needs a haircut," Bennett joked.
Redshirt freshmen Richard Bartel and Tate Wallis will try to fill the void.
Wags flexes legs: Texas-El Paso coach Gary Nord never quite adjusted to former defensive coordinator Bob Wagner's flex defense, but Nord will miss him anyway. Wagner, the former Hawaii coach, left UTEP two weeks ago to become the athletics director at Kamehameha's Big Island campus.
"I think I'm the oldest guy on the staff now. I'm upset with him about that," Nord said. "Actually I'm real happy for him. You could see it in his face that he was real glad to be going back."
What the halo?: A rule change making violation of the 2-yard "halo" around a punt returner a 10-yard penalty instead of a 5-yard infraction was met with mixed reviews, at best, by WAC coaches.
Boise State coach Dan Hawkins has especially strong feelings, though, because two violent hits to his punt returner, Tim Gilligan, spurred discussion about the rule.
"In a sense it's an increased penalty. But what happened last year would probably be the same (a 15-yard penalty, ejection and one-game suspension for a flagrant hit)," Hawkins said. "It was a violent, brutal thing. He psychologically broke down and had breathing issues in the locker room. He was fearing for his life. Football takes on a menial term when that happens.
Getting noticed: UH's Vince Manuwai will be among Mel Kiper Jr.'s Top 30 NFL prospect list going into the season, according to Warriors offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh.
Cavanaugh, who sent Kiper a game-tape of Manuwai, spoke with the draft guru yesterday.
Bowled over: Although it's no guarantee the WAC will get the bid instead of a Mid-American Conference team, the league's coaches welcomed yesterday's announcement that the conference now has a tie-in with the GMAC Bowl.
Hawaii, Boise State and Rice were left out of the bowl mix last year despite qualifying records. League champion Louisiana Tech played in Boise's Humanitarian Bowl and Fresno State played in the Silicon Valley Bowl.
"When we saw those Louisiana Tech trucks roll up and dump their equipment in our locker room, we tend to remember that," Hawkins said. "But we really tried to use that as a lesson in life, to take bad things and use them as a positive force. Otherwise you'll burn an ulcer or have nightmares.
"I'm very proud about how our guys have reacted to that. That's when 'Leave No Doubt' became (the 2002 theme). ... Our guys subscribe to that, they say it was our fault, didn't complain or whine. We went down to Rice and were not ready to play.
Run 'em Cowboy: Nevada's Chance Kretschmer, the nation's leading rusher as a freshman last year, figures to again be the focal point of the Wolf Pack offense. He carried the ball an NCAA freshman record 302 times last year, and coach Chris Tormey is not afraid of wearing down his workhorse.
"Chance is not afraid of contact," Tormey said of the former rodeo star. "He can tackle steers in the open field and runs with a real low pad level. He probably gives more shots than he takes."
Tormey said he doesn't disallow Kretschmer from rodeo activity.
"I don't have any hard and fast rules, but I did tell him jumping off those horses and roping cattle could hurt his ankles," the coach said.
Here and there: SMU plans to use cornerback Jonas Rutledge at running back sometimes. ... San Jose State has only three home games and 62 players on scholarship right now, but coach Fitz Hill said he'd rather focus on the program's new $4 million weightroom and a recent $6 million donation for an academic center. ... Pat Hill mentioned "speed at linebacker" eight times in a 45 second span when describing what Fresno State needs to improve. ... Rice lost 25 seniors from last year's team, but coach Ken Hatfield said he was thrilled that 31 players and former players graduated last spring, including NFL players Larry Izzo and Trevor Cobb, the 1991 Doak Walker Award winner.