Football inks deal with A&M, UCLA

Staff Reports
The Collegian

Two more perennial powers have been added to the Fresno State football schedule, continuing the Bulldogs trend of having one of the nation’s most difficult non-conference schedules.

The Big 12 Conference’s Texas A&M will replace Cincinnati on the 2007 schedule, which originally had the Bulldogs traveling to Ohio to take on the Bearcats. Instead, the Bulldogs will now travel to College Station, Texas to play the Aggies, while the Bearcats will now take on Oregon State.

The home-and-home series between Fresno State and Cincinnati will begin in 2009, when the Bulldogs will travel to take on the Bearcats.

Widely considered as having the best gameday experience in college football, the Aggies "12th man" should present multiple problems for the Bulldogs. Kyle Field plays home to Texas A&M and seats 82,600 for the Aggies, who finished No. 21 in the final BCS standings last season.

Also turning heads was the announcement of the 2008 season opener, which has the Bulldogs driving down south to Los Angeles to take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Fresno State last played the Bruins in the 2003 Silicon Valley Football Classic, won by the Bulldogs 17-9.

“Getting Texas A&M and UCLA on the schedule is great for our program,” said Fresno State head coach Pat Hill. “We are always looking to schedule an in-state Pac-10 school, and playing at the Rose Bowl is a special treat for our players and fans.”

“We brought 30,000 fans to the Coliseum to play USC in 2005 and I bet we’ll bring similar numbers to the Rose Bowl.”

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