1994_08 The Daily Collegian August 1994

              SPORTS
Monday, August 29,1994
Pigskin Classic kicks off new season
"^ Bulldogs rank 4th in first
WAC Media/SID poll
>
Sweeney wish¬
ing for victory
in Anaheim
By. Robbie Miner
.  ? '■ ; —
The last time Jim Sweeney vis-
^ , ited Disneyland's Magical King¬
dom all of his dreams did come
true. ^V
20 m on ths a go-to the day, The
Fresno State football team
marched into Anaheim Stadium
and trounced USC 24-7 in the
Freedom Bowl More than 30,000
Red Wave fans traveled down
south then to witness the Bull-
dogs humiliate the Trojans in their
first-ever meeting with USC
The stakes may nqt be as high
but tonight's 6 pjn. showdown
with Ohio State could be twice
the challenge for Sweeney, now
in his 17th year as head coach at
Fresno State.
Similar to the atmosphere of
theFreedom Bowl, tonighf s Ana¬
heim crowd will be flowing with
red, but (his time the majority of
it may be draped with Ohio State
insignia.
TheBuckeyescomeoff of a 10-
1-1 season in which they cap-
. hired a share of the Big Ten title.
John Cooper's troops polished
off a successful 1993 campaign
by defeating Brigham Young 28-
21 in tie Thrifty Gar Rental Holi¬
day Bowl. Ohio State's only loss
came at the hands of Michigan,
and sole tie to Rose Bowl champs
Wisconsin
Fresno State's offense must
pick apart one of the country's
stingiest defenses without their
1993 Most Valuable Player Trent
Dilfer in order to win. The Buck¬
eyes must stopa Bulldog offense
that year-in-and-year-out ranks
among the top of the NCAA in
total yards and points scored. Likr
_ Sweeney, though. Cooper enters
the new season without his best
player of a year ago.
v  Remember that gargantuan of
anmwhotheQncinnatiBengals
^selected as the first overall pidrof
the 1994 NFL draft? Defensive
tackle Dan Wilkinson played the
main role in a defense that al-
1
By Robbie Miner
Trent Dilfer, but if J know Jim
Sweeney, he will have someone
to step in and play Monday
After capturing a share of the --night," said Cooper. "I have a
lag two Western Athletic Con-    g^t respect for the job he has
Sports Information/File Photo
Senior David Dunn was named the fourth most-
underrated player in college football by Lindy's
Football Annual,
lowed only 16.2points/game last
season, but as long as if s a squad
coached by Cooper ifs sure to be
a dominant one. Over the last
threeyears, the Buckeyes' defense
has given up only 14.9 points and
317.6 total yards/game. Also
during that 36-game span, 16
opponents have been held under
100 yards rushing. That statistic
doesn't look promising for a Bull¬
dog offense that lost two school
record-holders in the backfield.
''Defensively, we don't have a
Dan Wilkinson, but this is the.
quickest unit we have had since I
have been here," said Cooper.
Junior outside linebacker
Craig Powell may be the fastest
linebacker in the country. The 6-
4,227-pounder has been clocked
at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.
The big name on defense,
though, is junior middle line¬
backer Lorenzo Styles. The pre¬
season Butkus Award candidate *** *   f    See Pigskin, Page 7
led the Buckeyes with 117 tackles
last year and captured last
season's Defensive MVP at the
Holiday BowL>_^
On offense, Ohio State returns
two 1993 All-Big Ten first-team
players in tackle.-Korey Stringer
and wide receiver Joey Galloway.
Just as All-American candi¬
date Jason James will he the only
returning lineman on the FSU
offense in 1994, Stringer, a 6-5,
315-pound junior, will be the sole
returning starter to the Ohio State
offensive line. The Qutland Tro¬
phy and Lombardi award nomi¬
nee this season joined Wilkinson
last'year as the first sophomores
to earn AlkAmerican honors at
Ohio State since 1979.
The brightest of Ohio State's
stars is Heisman Trophy candi¬
date Galloway. The 5-11 wide
out blends speed and strength
ference championships, you'd
think the Fresno State football
teamwouldhavereceivedatleast
one of the 48 first place votes
chosen by the preseason WAC
Media/STDpoll.
The Bulldogs enter the season
ranked fourth in the WAC with
324 points. Brigham Young (465
pts, 341st place votes), Utah (394,
12) and Colorado State (373, 2)
precede FSU in the polls.
The result shouldn't come as
too much of a shock for BulldHg
fans since five players from a year
ago were lost to theTMFL draft,
including Mr. Fresno State him¬
self , Trent Dilfer.
Despite the loss of many key
players, FSU still will have .three
returning starters on offense and
six returning starters on defense.
Neither Ohio State coach Jphn
^ Cooper or Jim Sweeney see 1994
as a rebuilding year for the Bull¬
dogs. *   c
"They lost a great player in
done at Fresno State."
toiughfsbattle with the Buck¬
eyes will be an important test for
sophomore Adrian Claiborne.
How the southpaw can operate
against Ohio State's iron wall
defense will give Red Wave fans
an idea of how sorely the Bull¬
dogs will miss Dilfer at quarter¬
back.
Fresno State has always had
ah offensive tmit that could light
up the score board, but ifs the
Bulldog T> thaf s raising eyelids
in the preseason.
"Wfc expect great things from
, our defense," said Sweeney. "I
wouldn't be surprised if we cut
our points allowed total in half
LtefensiveerKiCxuisRockwell,
nose guard Demetrius Edwards,
linebackers Gene Smith and Ron
Papazian and defensive backs
Lance   Thomas   and   Omar
Sat Bulldogs, Page 7
Ohio State Notes
1.) OhioState is ranked 16th ihjhe CNN/USA Today coaches'
presestson poll and Js 20th by the Associated Press. OSU finished
1993 ranked 10m% CNN/USA Today andilthbyAP.
2.) In seven years at Ohio State, head coach John Cooper is 45-22-
4. In 1986 with Arizona State, Cooper won National Coach of the
Yea^whenheled ASU to a 10-1-1 record and the school's first-ever
Pac-lOtitle. Last year hewas one oiiourfiriatbsts forme l^ul''Bear"
Bryant Award, and was selected by his peers in the American
Football Coaches Association as District Coach of the Year.
3.) OSU returns nine starters from last year, four on offenseand
five on defense.
4-)LastyearuSeBudceyesaveraged
game. They allowed 311.0 yards and 16.1 points/game.
5.) Ohio State has the sixth highest aU-time Division 1 winning I
percentage in college football (.702). In its 105th season, the Buck- '
eyes an?659-265-53L Their 659 wins ranks seventn aU-time
6.)OruoStatehashad38pkyeredra [
NFL Draft\There have been 31 players named to the AP/AB- |
American first team. Four Budceyeslvrve won me Heisman Tro¬
phy (JLes Horvath* 1944, VTc Janowicz; 1950, Howard ''HopaJong''
Cassady and Archie Griffin; 1974 and 1975).
FSU soccer dominates in season opener
^
-i
By Robbie Miner
The Fresno State soccer team
played the typical season opener
Saturday night af Bulldog Sta¬
dium in an easy 2-0 victory over
Fresno Pacific
In what's become a tradition at
Fresno, the Bulldogs started the
new year off against Pacific in the
Rotary Cup, a game conceived by
former Rotary Qub president of
Fresno, Dick Johanson, in 1986. A
Bulldog soccer clinic ruis also been
a tradition for this event, and that s
notareferencetotretwo-dayccech-
ing clinic conducted by the FSU
coaching staff prior to the game..
In the two teams' 21 matches
since 1970, Fresno State has
posted a 18-1-1 record, including
a 4-0 record in Ihe Rotary Cup,
outscoring Fresno Pacific 13-0.
•Saturday was the same old story
for the Sunbirds.
Despite playing with just four
available substitutes, the Bulldogs
spent the majority of the night
inside the Sunbirds' 18-yard box.
It was what they d id with the ball
once they got inside the box that
troubled FSU &-.'urday night.
"The good thing is that we
created a lot of chances and that
gives us something to build on,"
said coach John Bluem. "Overall,
I was satisfied with the way we
played tonight."
Two players who created
many of the opportunmes were
returning starting midfielders
Mario Sanchez" and Brian
Johnson, who scored the firstgoal
against Fresno Pacific.
Bluem plans to use both play¬
ers in the center this year, Sanchez
as an attacking midfielder and
Johnson as more of a defensive
midfielder.
Johnson, a co-captain, earned
second team All IvfPSF Mountain
Division honors last year as a
sophomore. To the casual ob¬
server, it's sometimes hard to tell
the 5-7 junior is even on the field,
but while he's not flashy,
Johnson's steady play and reli¬
ability makes him one of the mos$
valuable players in the league.
In 1992 JohnscjTi played for the
US. Under-20NationalTeamand
last year was a member of the
West team at the 1993 US. Olym-"
pic Festival in San Antonio. This
summer,   the   junior   from
Liverpool traveled to Holland
with the U.S. Under-23 team to
compete in tema tionally after rest¬
ing two months with an injury.
"At the beginning of the sum¬
mer I had a bad ankle so I took
two entire months off, but Bluem
suggested I go to Holland and I
played four games there and still
got back four days before pre¬
season, so it was a good trip,"
said Johnson.
In front of Johnson will be
Sanchez, a member of the 1992
Western Regional US. soccerteam,
who scored two goals and assisted
on four others as just a freshman
last year. Sanchez started the first
18 games until he suffered an in¬
jury near the end of the season
Sanchez will replace two-time
FSU Most Valuable Player Ster¬
ling Wescott as attacking central
midfielder.
Some of the other players cre-
ahng chances Saturday were new
faces to Fresno Stele fans. Eresh-
menRyanRobson and Bryan Tay¬
lor, as well as junior walk-on Eric
Farfan all saw substantial time in
the field, and that may not be just
a one-time occasion.
'They'll (newcomers) get a lot of
p^ayingtirrethisyear/'sakljohnscrt
"There's a lot of talent there"
The Bulldogs scored their sec¬
ond goal in similar fashion as the
first, byaheaderoffforwardMark
Foster at the 17:23 mark in the
secondhalf. While Bluem's troops
blasted shots off like a rapid-fire
shotgun, the Sunbirds' closest
shot was a desparation boot from
30 yards out in the first half.
: ■- Cj :—i£&   _
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