Fresno State Football

Fresno State head coach Pat Hill's motto is "Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere."

The Bulldogs are a non-BCS conference team, so Hill's thinking seems to be that this is the best shot at any type of BCS love. Local and national media has argued this point over the past ten years or so, if not longer.

I will break it down into three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good: The Bulldogs have used this formula in the past and it has paid off. In 2001, a fast start against three non-conference BCS opponents in Colorado, top 10 Oregon State and  Wisconsin propelled them into a top 10 ranking. From there, they went on to win three more in a row, moving up to number eight. The Dogs were rolling and with an upcoming Western Athletic Conference matchup against unknown Boise State, things were good in Bulldog country.

Then the wheels came off with a stunning loss to Boise State, and another defeat to Hawaii crushed any dreams of a BCS berth. Although it was a great start, the tough schedule seemed to catch up with them over the long haul.

The Bad: In 2002, losses to 25th-ranked Wisconsin, 13th-ranked Oregon and Oregon State set the stage for another season without BCS hopes. In 2004, big wins against 13th-ranked Kansas State and Portland State were followed by losses to Louisiana Tech and UTEP. They ended the season with a 10-3 record and beat 18th-ranked Virginia in the MPC Computers Bowl. The two losses against Louisiana Tech and UTEP hurt, and makes one think about that long trip to Kansas.

For The Ugly, I will fast forward to 2005. A loss to 24th-ranked Oregon propelled the Bulldogs to a seven-game win streak and an 8-1 record with a road game against the top-ranked USC Trojans on the horizon. The Bulldogs came up short in an outstanding effort losing 50-42. The loss gave the team national respect, but the hangover would prove to be a factor with losses at Nevada and home against Louisiana Tech, both games they probably should have won. The team seems to get up for the big games and has letdowns for the games they are supposed to win.

A tough non-conference schedule can go either way in helping or hurting a program's chances at BCS hopes. Although I only used a few seasons to make my point, I feel they were the seasons a lot of fans look back on and ask, "what if?"

Fresno State seems to suffer from the tough schedule in the long run. Some argue it creates a lose two to play one situation, meaning they are so beat up from the travel and the opponent it usually costs them in the long run. The 2001 and 2005 seasons might be proof to that theory.

Good, bad or ugly, Pat Hill will always live and die by the big game.

The question I pose to Bulldog fans is this: should Hill and Fresno State concentrate on their own conference and winning a WAC title? The Dogs have only one under Hill and it is a co-championship.

Putting an emphasis on winning a conference title has seemed to work for other non-BCS teams. Boise State, TCU and Utah come to mind. Even Hawaii has succeeded with that formula.

It’s Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl intel. Here is the official college football betting preview. Sportsbooks have the odds for this game at Northern Illinois -2 with a total of 58.

NIU enters with a 10-3 straight up, 9-3 against the spread mark. Fresno State is 8-4 outright, but just 5-6 in the back pocket.

Northern Illinois is spectacular running the ball, getting 6.2 yards per rush versus teams that normally allow just 4.6. They are solid in the air, averaging 7.8 passing yards per attempt to defenses that permit just 7.4. Overall, they get a full 1.0 more yards per play than their opponent normally allows.

NIU allows 4.0 yards per carry to offenses getting an average of 3.8. They permit 6.4 yards per pass to squads that normally accumulate 6.5 and 5.2 yards per play to 5.1.

Fresno State averages just 4.1 yards per rush to defenses that permit 4.5, but 7.9 yards per pass to 7.5. Overall, they get just 5.7 yards per play to squads usually permitting 5.9.

On defense, they permit 4.4 yards per carry to teams normally getting 4.5, also holding teams to 0.4 passing yards per attempt below their normal average. Overall, they allow 5.5 yards per play to 5.7. 

Spread betting trends (all records are against the spread): Northern Illinois is 9-1 in their last 10, but 0-6 on neutral fields. Fresno is 5-16 after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.

Over/under trends:  Bulldogs have gone over 8-1 off straight up win.

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Northern Illinois brings its 10-3 record from the MAC to Boise’s smurf turf to face 8-4 Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 18.

These two teams haven’t played each other since 1991, so there is no meaningful past history on which to rely for our predictions.

The big story in this game is coaching—or, rather, Northern Illinois’ shocking lack of it. After the Huskies lost in the MAC Championship Game, Jerry Kill took the head coaching job at Minnesota and won’t be coaching the bowl game.

That’s bad enough, but he has also taken his offensive and defensive coordinators with him. The linebackers coach is taking over head coaching duties—before he likely follows Kill after the bowl game.

Things are so bleak that the school has resorted to bringing back a couple of former players to help with coaching. Obviously, this situation is far from ideal. Given that Fresno State’s Pat Hill is such a strong coach, the mismatch here on the sidelines is glaring.

The Huskies don’t have a coach, but they do have one heck of a running game. Senior Chad Spann amassed 1,293 yards for his second straight 100-yard season, and he scored 20 times as well. He was held scoreless just twice all year.

Spann runs behind a strong offensive line, and that unit will have to have a big game—Fresno State’s best quality is its defensive line. Led by senior DE Chris Carter and junior DT Logan Harrell, the D-line has made for some rough days for a lot of opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks. Whichever team wins the battle of these behemoth lines is going to have a very good chance of coming out on top in the end.

Turnovers could be a major factor in the outcome of this contest. Northern Illinois does a great job of protecting the ball. In 13 games they turned it over just 14 times and forced 10 more turnovers from their opponents. That’s the 18th best turnover margin in the country.

Fresno State also had a turnover margin of 10, but unfortunately it was negative—they turned it over 23 times and forced just 13. Fresno State has to have an uncharacteristically strong day on this front.

The biggest thing the Bulldogs need to remember is that bowl games are four quarters long. The last two years—both times in the New Mexico Bowl—they have looked strong early on and opened up a solid lead only to throw it away in the fourth and come out with two losses.

Humanitarian Bowl Odds: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

Northern Illinois opened as three-point favorites, according to college football point spreads, but has since fallen widely to one and can even be found at +1 at some betting shops. A small majority of bets have been made on Fresno State. The total opened at 60 and can be found as low as 58.5.

Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State Betting Trends

Northern Illinois is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games but just 2-9 ATS in its last 11 against teams with winning records.

Fresno State is 5-2 ATS in its last seven nonconference games.

Humanitarian Bowl Predictions and Betting Picks

On paper I like the Huskies. I would certainly be on them if Jerry Kill were still around. The coaching upheaval is a whole lot for a team to overcome, though—too much. That makes Fresno State look attractive as small underdogs. I’d be especially happy to take them at +3, which you can find in some places as of this writing.

BYU vs. UTEP, New Mexico Bowl

Both BYU and UTEP failed to be ranked in the regular season  but will go head-to-head in the New Mexico Bowl this Saturday in the first bowl game to be played.

BYU finished just 6-6 but finished the season strong winning four of their last five. UTEP struggled down the stretch losing five of their last six.

I am taking the team who finished up strong. BYU's momentum should help them in the New Mexico Bowl.

Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State, Humanitarian Bowl

Again, neither school was ranked but both Northern Illinois and Fresno state did have successful winning seasons. Northern Illinois went 10-3 and finished 8-0 within the MAC.

Running back had 20 rushing touchdowns during the season for Northern Illinois so look for their seventh ranked rushing attack to play a key factor.

Look for Northern Illinois to win a close one against Fresno State.

Ohio vs. Troy, New Orleans Bowl

Ohio and Troy will participate in the New Orleans bowl after the two schools had winning seasons. Both teams were 6-2 within their conference.

Troy's 12th ranked passing attack will play a key factor in the New Orleans Bowl.

Troy quarterback Corey Robinson should lead Troy to victory.

Fresno State quarterback Ryan Colburn has just two games left in his career as a Bulldog before he either goes on to the NFL or wherever his path takes him.

On Friday night, he'll play his final game in front of the home fans at Bulldog Stadium. The final time he'll get to see the Red Wave, and the last time he'll get to walk down the ramp into the stadium.

It's been an up and down career for Colburn since he became the quarterback at Fresno State. He's been beloved by some and questioned by others. He's had his great moments and he's had moments that make you shake your head and wonder what he's thinking.

I will admit that I haven't been his biggest fan. In fact, I've probably knocked on him more than I've supported him. Not saying it's right, but I never believed he was the right guy for Fresno State. Here are some of his numbers to show you a few of the reasons why I wasn't ever sold on him as a starter.

Two years as a starter (2009-2010)

Games: 24 (through 12/3/2010)

Overall Record: 15-9

Combined record against non-conference opponents: 4-4

Combined record against top teams in the WAC (Nevada, Hawaii, Boise State): 1-5

Touchdowns: 37

Interceptions: 20

The biggest stat that will, and should, stand out to Bulldog fans is Colburn's combined record against the top teams in the Western Athletic Conference. Through his two years as a starter, he is 0-4 against Nevada and Boise State and 1-1 against Hawaii.

Not that losing to those three teams is anything Fresno State hasn't gotten used to in the past, but it's the reason they haven't been able to get over the hump and keep themselves looking a little bit respectable.

I remember writing something about him some time last year for another site and getting raked over the coals for it. Apparently there are some people that don't want you to write, or say, what you believe. If it's not a popular opinion, they'll let you know about it.

When I returned back to my hometown this past Thanksgiving holiday, a family friend of mine told me that he didn't like how negative Fresno Bee columnist Matt James had been about the football program. While I know Bulldog fans get tired of seeing the same blasts against the program, it's hard to find anything positive after the 2001 season.

What do the Bulldogs have to hang their hat on? A shared conference title 11 years ago? Impressive wins and an eighth ranking in the national polls nine years ago?

Pat Hill has gained a lot of respect around the country because of his willingness to go anywhere and play anyone. He's well known for his "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime," mantra. However, that mantra seems to have gotten lost with fans as well as foes because they haven't exactly been winning a lot of those games.

So, no matter how positive you want to be, it's hard for me to sit back and tell people what they want to hear. It's hard to sit here and find any kind of silver lining, especially over the last two seasons.

The 2009 season could have gone a lot better. After a 51-0 win over UC Davis to start the season, the Bulldogs dropped each of the next three games against Wisconsin (34-31), Boise State (51-34) and Cincinnati (28-20).

The Wisconsin game was one that the Bulldogs looked like they were going to run away with. After jumping out to a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter, missed opportunities gave the Badgers all they needed to run off a 27-10 run to win, 34-31.

Colburn was intercepted three times including back-to-back possessions in the third quarter. The final interception led to Wisconsin's game-winning field goal in the second overtime.

Against Cincinnati, two games later, it was another missed opportunity deep in Bearcat territory that did the Bulldogs in again.

Fresno State trailed 21-17 in the fourth quarter and had driven inside the Cincinnati 10-yard line. The first play of the quarter, on a 4th-and-2, Colburn was intercepted. The Bearcats used that turnover to go more than 70 yards on just six plays to put the game away on a Tony Pike 23-yard touchdown pass.

It's been those missed opportunities that have cost Fresno State more than just those two games.

Nowhere was that more evident than their bowl game against a less than mediocre Wyoming team last year.

The Cowboys came into the game with a 6-6 record and were appearing in a bowl game for the first time in five years, while the Bulldogs were 8-4 and had won seven of their final eight games.

Not only did Fresno State give up an 11-point fourth quarter lead, but it was stopped on four straight running plays in the first overtime at the Wyoming one-yard line.

The Cowboys would take the lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels. The Bulldogs had their shot at tying the game but, after an incomplete pass on third down, Colburn was sacked on fourth down, giving Wyoming a win no one thought they would get.

So, with two games left, Colburn has a chance to go out as a winner. He may not have a conference championship to hang on his belt, but a win over Illinois on Friday night and a win in a bowl game to end the season is exactly how he would love to end his career at Fresno State.

While I may be hard on him and may not be his biggest fan, he still has a chance to lead the Bulldogs to a nine-win season. Something they couldn't get done last year.

That is definitely something he can hang his hat on.

It happened again late Saturday night. Fresno State had a six point lead with less than three minutes to go and, as they've been known to do before, couldn't hang on.

Nevada put together a fourth quarter drive that took more than six minutes and capped it off with a touchdown run from running back Vai Taua, escaping with a 35-34 win over Fresno State.

This has been the M.O. for Pat Hill's teams over his tenure. They have won just one conference title (1999) and even that one was shared between them, Hawaii and former WAC member TCU.

So are there changes in store? Not according to one source who, when I asked him what it would take for Fresno State to make a coaching change told me, "Uh, death."

The university and the football program need a change and they need one soon. There have been too many years and too many games lost due to bad play calling or the team just not being ready.

Too many years Fresno State fans have watched this team knock off the bad teams but unable to find a way to beat the good ones.

Regardless if it's Boise State, Hawaii or Nevada, the Bulldogs have gone from being in the top two with Boise to arguably being the fourth best team in the conference. It's not what Bulldog fans wanted and it's not what they want to go to Bulldog Stadium and watch.

But, it's starting to become the norm and fans are starting to get far too used to seeing games end like this one did tonight. A loss.

It's more of the same from a Fresno State team, and a head coach, that hasn't been able to put this team over the top.

Pat Hill prides himself on being able to put his team up against "anyone, anytime, anywhere." But that hasn't turned in to anything but tough losses and missed opportunities.

Sure they've beaten the likes of Wisconsin but the last few times have been missed by just that much. Three missed field goals in Fresno a few years ago and another tough loss in Madison last year.

Again, just more of the same.

The University needs to make a decision going forward. Whether it has something to do with money or they just have too much loyalty to Hill, it seems that we may not see a new regime for quite some time.

The Bulldog fans have waited a long time to see a team be as dominant as Boise State or make a BCS game like Hawaii has done.

It seems like everyone above them is pulling off those accomplishments except them. When are things going to change?

That's a question that's going to be asked around the Fresno airwaves tonight during the postgame shows and throughout the next week as they get ready for Boise State.

Things need to change in Fresno. Until they do, fans won't see anything different than what they've seen over the last several years.

Like I said, just more of the same.

Being a college football fan, there are a few things we look forward to during any given season. The rivalry games.

For Fresno State, you can always circle two or three games on the calendar year in and year out. One of those is the game against Western Athletic Conference powerhouse, Boise State.

There isn't a Fresno State fan anywhere, whether it be in California's central valley, southern California or in another state entirely, that won't circle this game and talk about the potential for a win. Finally.

Every year the debate begins and every year the result is normally the same. A loss.

Since the two teams moved into the Western Athletic Conference, Boise State has won eight of the nine match-ups including a streak of four straight dating back to 2006. That streak could become five straight when the two teams play each other next weekend in Boise.

The problem a lot of Bulldog fans have is, most seasons end up just like any other. A lot of promise at the start but it ends in disappointment.

I hate to use this season as an example, but it's been set up too perfectly for me not to. Heading in to 2010, the Bulldogs had non-conference games against Cincinnati, Ole Miss, Cal Poly and Illinois. It looked good before the season, but hasn't looked quite as good now.

Cincinnati would have been a good win last year, a win this year looks no better than their win over Cal Poly. However, getting a win over Ole Miss would have looked just a little more than lackluster at the time, especially since they were the same team that lost to Jacksonville State.

The Rebels had lost two of their first three games against the aforementioned Jacksonville State as well as losing to Vanderbilt. This looked like a game that the Bulldogs could actually go on the road and win. However, Fresno State went to Oxford and got run. Another loss to a good team despite their 4-5 record through nine games.

I'm not saying the Bulldogs don't have a respectable record so far because 6-2 is nothing to sneeze at. But here's the problem, five of their six wins have come against teams with losing records. Their only win against a team with an above-.500 record is Cal Poly, though I'm not sure that's saying much.

Their two losses on the season came against Ole Miss (4-5) and Hawaii (7-3). What comes next for this team will be two games that can prove there will be more of the same, or show that something is changing. Something that can show the fans that things are getting better.

First up this coming weekend will be a visit from the Nevada Wolfpack, who are ranked 21st in the BCS poll released last Sunday evening. This is the same Nevada team that ran over Fresno State with a steamroller and, just for good measure, backed over them with a dump truck.

The bad news, Nevada has only gotten better since last year. Not something that Bulldog fans want to hear.

It's not completely impossible for Fresno State to win this game on Saturday night; however, their defense has a hard time stopping the run. Guess what Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick can do, and do well? You guessed it. Run.

Growing up in Fresno I've wanted to see this team succeed year in and year out. But what I've seen from them, at least over the last three or four years, is picking up wins against bad teams and losing against the good teams.

It makes this football team nothing better than mediocre. Is it the talent? Is it the recruiting? Or is it the coaching?

I've never been a guy that has ever called for a coach to be fired and I won't do it this time around. I've been a fan of Pat Hill since he was hired by the university back in 1998. I respect that he makes his players focus on their performance in the classroom before they concentrate on their performance on the football field.

I respect that he holds his players accountable for their actions. His players are succeeding, but not on the field.

Bulldog fans are tired of watching their team finish 9-3 or even 8-4 only to lose against a 6-6 Wyoming team as they did last year in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl. Just going to a bowl game isn't good enough—they should be able to strive for more.

This team has four games left on their schedule: Nevada, Boise State, Idaho and Illinois. If their performance in past years holds true in 2010, another 8-4 finish to the year and "just another bowl game" is all this team has to look forward to.

While people know Fresno State and Pat Hill by their "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime," mantra, at the end of the year, what are they really known for?

For Fresno State, this will be the weekend they will need to prove something. This is the weekend they can prove they are a much different team that loses big games and forgets to show up. This can be the team that take down the mantra of a program full of letdowns.

For those of us that watched this game last season, it was one of the more painful games to watch.

All-American running back Ryan Mathews goes down with a concussion, and the flood gates got pushed wide open.

Nevada, led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick, ran all over Fresno State. They ran around them, through them and over them, and by the time the fourth quarter came to a close, the Bulldogs couldn't wait to return home.

The Wolfpack will be coming into Bulldog Stadium on Saturday—a game this Fresno State team would love to take. They want revenge, payback from a blowout.

Ryan Colburn, Robbie Rouse and company will have the huge tasks of staying on top of Nevada's offense and staying one play and one score ahead for four quarters.

But it won't be the offense that will need to prove themselves, though, don't get me wrong, the offense still has a lot of work to do.

This time, it's the defense that will need to step up and show that it's much improved from last season. It needs to show that it's not going to run over by every running quarterback and speed demon running back that walks through the stadium.

Home field is everything for Fresno State, as it is for every team in college football.

But there's one thing I can't help but wonder with a game like this. How much longer will the university watch an average Fresno State team lose games like this? Is there a time better than another to look for a change in leadership?

Though I've always been a fan of Pat Hill and I appreciate what he stands for, college football is about winning games, and Pat Hill's teams have done that only to a point over the last few years. Though last year couldn't have ended any worse than a loss to Wyoming in their bowl game.

They need to show they're a better team than they have been in recent years. They need to show they can finally step up and play up to their potential and do so for four quarters.

If they can hold down Colin Kaepernick and keep him from running amok around the football field, they might have a chance in this game.

But let him get out of hand and beat you not only with his legs but with his arm, then this could be a very long night at Bulldog Stadium.

They need this win, they want this win and they can get it in front of their home crowd. Leave them feeling like this is going to be a legit team and a legit start to what's to come.

Both of these teams have one more season, 2011, before they move on to the Mountain West Conference. If they want to leave some sort of legacy, there's no better time to do that than right now.

The Bulldogs are still growing and learning, but this is a team that's talented enough to get the win. It will come down to how much they want it.

If they can do all that, they should be celebrating a big win on Saturday night. If not, we could be talking about yet another Nevada blowout and an early exit for the Red Wave fans.

Growing up in Fresno, there were two things to do in town at two different times of year.

During the summer, I'd find my way over to Beiden Field to watch the Fresno State baseball team play. The stadium was hardly ever sold out and it was hardly ever half full, so good seats were never hard to come by.

During the fall, it was tailgate time with friends and family. After that, you'd extinguish the barbecue  and start the trek to Bulldog Stadium to watch the football team play. 

These were the two times a year that I looked forward to. Though summer meant being out of school for three months, so I guess that might have been the biggest reason to love summer.

I've seen some tremendous players through the years roll through Bulldog Stadium wearing the Bulldog red and white.

Mark Barsotti, Ron Cox, Ron Rivers, Lorenzo Neal, Trent Dilfer, Jesse Hardwick, Anthony Daigle, James Sanders, Billy Volek and Ryan Mathews...just to name just a few players that have worn the Bulldog uniform. But I've also gotten to watch opponents like Marshall Faulk come into Fresno as a member of the San Diego State Aztecs and make the Bulldog defense look foolish.

There were some fun memories growing up as a kid in that stadium. I can't tell you how many times we waited for the clock to run down to triple zeros and run out onto the field looking for autographs. The players are larger than life when you're eight and nine years old.

When I began to get older, my focus started coming off the players on the field and started on to how this team could finally break through their inability to win the big games.

A lot of Bulldog fans remember the 1992 Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California, where the Bulldogs took down heavily favored USC in their own backyard. Many fans also remember the 2001 team, led by David Carr, that obtained the highest ranking in school history (eighth).

They also remember the letdown and a loss to a team that put themselves on the map with that win. The Bulldogs were back home in Fresno, ranked eighth in the country, and they were taking on little known Boise State University.

That night, the Broncos put themselves on the map as they upset Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium.

It was the start of Boise's domination of the Bulldogs—a domination that has been lopsided in the eight years after that.

Fresno State hired head coach Pat Hill back in 1998. A coach that put out the mantra, "Anyone, anytime, anywhere."

Though the mantra has given Fresno State a lot of respect over the years, with such trips to Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee and Wisconsin, it has also brought losses to a lot of those schools as well.

Since Hill came on board, the Bulldogs have won just one conference title that came in 1999, a title they shared with both Hawaii and former WAC member TCU.

That leads me to wonder why Fresno State would keep him on as their head coach. Is it because they don't feel they can do any better or do they really feel like he's on the verge of greatness with this team?

From everything Fresno State fans have seen, it would lead them to believe that nothing will really change from one year to the next.

Sure, they'll have wins here or there, maybe knock off a big-name team one year or the next, but without a conference title or a legitimate bowl berth, what really does this mean?

There's always been a debate as to why the Bulldogs can't have the same success Boise State has had.

Is it the fact that the recruiting is better? As far as I'm concerned, I don't see where Boise is outrecruiting Pat Hill and his staff.

If there is a difference, it's because players want to go to Boise State because they know they'll be a part of what has been a winning tradition. They know they're going to be playing for a team and a coach that has had Top 5 rankings and two BCS bowl appearances.

Fresno State has yet to sniff their first. In fact, they haven't played in a big-time bowl game in quite some time.

While I'm not exactly advocating the firing of Pat Hill or that the university should look for a new head coach.

What I am saying is that Bulldog fans are tired of being okay with mediocrity. They're tired of seeing the same thing year in and year out. They're tired of playing in the MPC Computers Bowl or something equivalent to that.

They want to see success from this team and not just every 10-15 years. They want something to celebrate at Bulldog Stadium and they want something to get excited about.

Football season means a lot to the people in Fresno and the surrounding counties. Why? Because the Bulldogs are the only Division 1 school between San Jose and Los Angeles. That's a large chunk of area to have just one D1 school.

The school will make its change to the Mountain West Conference after the completion of the 2011 season. At that point, if no change is seen with this team, its record or its performance, it might be time to think about going in a new direction.

It's nothing against Pat Hill. But it's time Fresno State held themselves to a higher standard and expected more of its football program.

It's time that they believe in something more than just an average finish to the year and an average bowl game where they might get beaten—again—by a 6-6 Wyoming team that has no business even being within seven points of the Bulldogs.

Ask any Fresno State fan and they'll tell you they're ready to see drastic improvement in this team. They see it on paper and they hear it from Hill before every season. They hear how much they've improved in recruiting, they've heard all the anticipation.

But, so far, it's been just that. Talk.

The time for action is now. If they want to be where Boise State has already been, things will need to change and the mindset of the coaching staff will need to change right along with it.

If it doesn't change, Fresno State will be just another mediocre Mountain West team getting beaten by a much-improved San Diego State team.

They don't want to be left in the dust and they don't want to be looked at as a team that "could have gotten there."

This school deserves better and this fan base deserves better. They've waited far too long to see it happen and frankly a lot of them are done waiting.