Fresno State coach Pat Hill pulled off his red, sweat-stained Bulldogs cap and swung it above his head like a cowboy in the fourth quarter of last year's San Jose State game.
Hill rode his offensive linemen to a bowl-clinching victory that night.
The trash talking flowed from one sideline to the other and back in what was an intense game decided by gritty fourth-quarter football.
The Bulldogs needed a win, and they clung to their strength -- the run game.
During tonight's homecoming game against the Spartans at 7 p.m. inside Bulldog Stadium, the Bulldogs will again look to the running attack.
The Fresno State Bulldogs take on the San Jose State Spartans October 17, 7 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
Ryan Mathews, the nation's top running back at 148 yards per game, provides the highlights but he is supported by the guys up front, whom he is quick to credit. It is those big boys who create the holes and creases through which Mathews jets and squeezes.
"Our linemen just worked hard," Mathews said after last week's win over Hawaii, crediting them for the run game's success.
"Our linemen did a good job keying their assignments and opening them holes," he added. "The linemen do the hard work, I just have to make the one dude miss."
The line hasn't played perfectly, but they've been effective enough to help the Bulldogs (2-3, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference) achieve a No. 5 ranking nationally among 120 teams in rushing offense. The line also has given up just five sacks to rank 16th. Its play will be one of the keys to turning this season around after a 1-3 start.
Hill said his linemen are still growing and though jelling well have yet to reach full potential.
"I think they've done well, but we haven't arrived yet to where we can be," Hill said. "They're learning to work together as a unit and each week we can get a little bit better. We haven't gone backward, that's for sure. We've kept moving forward steadily.
Comparing this line to last year's, Hill said that this group -- right tackle Kenny Wiggins, right guard Andrew Jackson, centers Richard Pacheco and Joe Bernardi, left guard Devan Cunningham and left tackle Bryce Harris -- is "catching them and getting ready to pass them."
Harris and Wiggins are first-time starters, replacing tackles Bobby Lepori and Kenny Avon. Bernardi started all but one game last season, Jackson started every game, and Cunningham and Pacheco started on occasion, as well.
It adds up to good news for this season -- which hasn't reached its midpoint -- and tonight's game, especially considering the hard labor the line and the rest of the team put in to defeat San Jose State in the fourth quarter last season.
The Bulldogs mustered just 29 yards in the first half against the Spartans in San Jose last November. The score was tied 10-10 into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs went hard to the run game, utilizing their goal-line personnel with two tight ends.
"It wasn't pretty but it was effective," Hill said.
As the Bulldogs' line picked up momentum, some on the line began repeating "I'm hungry, let's eat."
When it was over, the Bulldogs had run 41 times and passed 20.
It's a formula that could be dusted off and repeated today because the Spartans have failed to even hinder -- much less halt -- an opponent's run game this season. They rank 118th against the run, allowing 251 yards per game.
"We're just not stopping the run and not running the ball well at all," Spartans coach Dick Tomey said.
The Spartans also rank 118th in running the ball.
Hill said he thinks the Spartans may pack defenders near the line of scrimmage to discourage the run.
"If they do," he said, "we have to be effective throwing it, too. The last two games we've played we haven't had to throw the ball because the defenses haven't dictated it."
And if they pass, the offensive line will be involved in that, too, providing protection for quarterback Ryan Colburn.
Either way, Hill could be waving his red cap, this time riding his offensive line to the Bulldogs' 15th win in 16 tries over the Spartans.
The university reported that 33,368 tickets had been sold by 6 p.m. Friday. Bulldog Stadium capacity is 41,031.
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