Fresno State

Oct. 24, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. - With less than 48 hours before one of the biggest WAC games ever in Bulldog Stadium, the Fresno State Bulldogs and head coach Pat Hill went through their final preparations on Wednesday afternoon.

The Dogs will have a light walk-through practice session Thursday evening in preparation for the arrival of the five-time defending WAC Champion Boise State Broncos.

Boise State, at 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the WAC, is coming off an historic season in which it went undefeated (13-0) and defeated Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in overtime in one of the greatest bowl games ever played. Under head coach Chris Peterson, the Broncos are 19-1 overall and have won 42 of their last 43 WAC games. The only loss was in 2005 to Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium.

"We have been looking forward to this game for a while," said head coach Pat Hill. "We've had a great week of practice. It's a short week to prepare, but the guys are focused and working hard. We are looking forward to a sea of red when we take the field on Friday night against a program that's won the last five WAC championships. As I've said, the WAC title goes through Boise State and we get our chance this week. It's a great opportunity."

To accommodate fans, Fresno State's ticket office will extend office hours on Thursday, October 25, to 8 p.m. for walk-up customers only.

The ticket office opens on Thursday at 9 a.m. and will open at 7 a.m. on Friday (gameday) if tickets remain. Tickets are available via phone beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and are available 24/7 online (by clicking the tickets icon at the top of this page). Print-at-Home technology will be available through kickoff of the game.

"Ticket sales this week have been very brisk and we expect that to continue while tickets last," said Associate Athletics Director Paul Ladwig. "At this time, we have approximately 4,000 tickets remaining for the game and of those only 900 student tickets are available. We are expecting a lot of activity the next two days so we are extending our hours and recommending folks use the print at home technology that we unveiled this week. It's working well and very convenient."

Print at Home
Customers purchasing single game tickets online, now have the option of choosing a Print-At-Home delivery method. This eliminates any standing in line at Will-Call. The tickets can be printed on standard 8.5x11-inch paper. The Print-At-Home ticket will include a unique barcode, which is scanned upon stadium entry. For security purposes, the barcode allows only one scan per entry, eliminating any attempts to duplicate, alter or sell copies of the Print-At-Home ticket.

Ticket Transfer
The ticket transfer option is also unique to Fresno State fans. Ticket Transfer allows season ticket holders to transfer tickets to friends and family electronically via e-mail. No longer do season ticket holders have to drive across town to deliver tickets or stand in long Will Call lines to leave tickets for their guests. The recipients of transferred tickets can then print their tickets using the Print-at-Home technology, providing a bar-coded ticket that can be validated at any Bulldog Stadium entrance.

What to Watch For
The teams are battling for a traveling trophy, a silver Milk Can, that represents the dairy industry in both California's Central Valley and the state of Idaho. The Milk Can Trophy began in 2005 and is presented to the winner of the game. It's the only traveling trophy among WAC schools ... the two teams enter the game with a combined record of 11-3 and neither has lost a WAC game ... Boise State was won 42 of its last 43 WAC games, with the lone loss coming in its last trip to Bulldog Stadium, a 27-7 Fresno State win ... the Dogs have won seven of their last eight WAC games dating back to the 2006 season ... with a win, the Bulldogs can become bowl eligible for the eighth time in the last nine seasons ... Boise State and Fresno State are ranked 18th and 19th, respectively, in rushing yards. Only seven yards separate the two schools ... Fresno State's last Friday night game was Nov. 26, 2006, a 34-27 win at Louisiana Tech. The last home Friday game was Sept. 1, 2006, a 28-19 win over Nevada ... the Dogs are facing the WAC's top passer, BSU quarterback Tyler Tharp, who ranks No. 11 in the nation in pass efficiency (157.3) ... Fresno State and Boise State are the best teams in the WAC at protecting the passer, each allowing just nine sacks through seven games ... kicker Clint Stitser can move into sole possession of sixth place on the career scoring list with one point in tonight's game. He's currently tied with his predecessor Brett Visintainer with 181 points ... Fresno State and Boise State are two of the top four programs in wins on the west coast this decade. The Bulldogs and Broncos join USC and Oregon as the programs with the most wins ... the national media has picked up on the importance of this game. ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel wrote a column today on the resurrection of the Bulldog program this season under Pat Hill.

"Join the State - Fresno State!" - Fresno State football continues play at Bulldog Stadium on Friday, October 26 at 6 p.m. against 2006 Fiesta Bowl Champion Boise State. It's Turn Out the Lights on Boise State night with special black game day t-shirts that can be purchased at the Bulldog Shop or Fresno area Gottschalks locations. For tickets, go to the ticket page at www.gobulldogs.com, call 559-278-DOGS or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office.