Fresno State head coach Pat Hill, in an interview with ESPN.com, revealed how he uses his team’s schedule as a recruiting tool to help him compete for players in the PAC-10 controlled state of California. Hill says that he tries to stack his team’s out-of-conference schedule with plenty of games against BCS teams. This gives his players national exposure by increasing the number of their games that are televised. The players also enjoy the opportunity to play in front of large crowds and perhaps be a spoiler.
Since 2000, Fresno State is 12-14 against BCS teams, giving the Bulldogs the second highest win total by a non-BCS program in that time frame (Utah has 13).
The Fresno State 2008 non-conference schedule includes games against Rutgers, Wisconsin, Toledo, and UCLA. From 2010 to 2015, the Bulldogs have at least one BCS team coming to Fresno each year. Cincinnati is on the schedule for 2010, and they will play Colorado in 2011, ’12, and ’13.