LA Bowl blowout makes a statement. Fresno State merits invitation from Pac-12

All Fresno State wants for Christmas is an invitation to the Pac-12. Gift wrapped and placed under the tree.

C’mon, Santa. Let’s do this. Don’t be a scrooge.

Saturday’s LA Bowl at sparkling SoFi Stadium served as a declaration. The Bulldogs put their best foot forward on the field, squashing Pac-12 member Washington State 29-6, while the Red Wave made up roughly two-thirds of the 32,405 announced attendance.

Even in a stadium as cavernous as SoFi, which seats 72,240 for football, there were times when it sounded like a Fresno State home game. Never more so than when the Bulldogs defense stuffed a fourth-and-1 deep in Cougars territory early in the second quarter. Or late in the third when Nikko Remigio caught a swing pass from Jake Haener and raced around the left end for an 11-yard touchdown.

For Fresno State fans who braved the early morning drive through dense San Joaquin Valley fog, it was an opportunity to exercise their vocal cords and show a nationally televised audience the Bulldogs are indeed ready for prime time.

Opinion

By prime time, I mean the Pac-12. Or some other Power 5 league — we’re looking at you, Big 12 — to come along and elevate the Bulldogs to the conference where they belong.

“I hope that happens one day because I think our program deserves to be at that level,” coach Jeff Tedford said.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Fresno State “deserves” a Pac-12 invite. As a memorable Clint Eastwood character once put it, “Deserves got nothing to do with it.” But as the years go by and the tectonic plates beneath college athletics continue to shift, there are fewer reasons to keep the Bulldogs out.

From a competitive standpoint, Fresno State is already there. As Saturday’s bowl game proved — albeit against a Washington State squad missing several key players who entered the transfer portal.

“I think it speaks for itself,” said Remigio, who played four seasons at Cal before joining the Bulldogs. “After the performance we put on today, without a doubt.”

Pac-12 exits boost Bulldogs’ hopes

If the only measuring stick was football success, Fresno State would’ve been a Pac-12 expansion candidate decades ago. Unfortunately it’s not. Television market size, fan support, facilities and academic fit are just as important.

Yes, the Bulldogs would be in a better position if Fresno was a larger TV market. (I don’t count Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto; that’s silly.) Yes, the facilities are subpar for a Power 5 program. And, no, Fresno State doesn’t offer enough doctorate degrees to be considered a “research institution.”

For a long time, those deficiencies were held against the Bulldogs. Held against them, I believe, by the California Pac-12 schools that didn’t want the likes of Fresno State and San Diego State to be part of their exclusive club.

But guess what? That voting block of four is no more.

In 2024, USC and UCLA are exiting the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, leaving a Southern California-sized hole in the conference’s footprint. And as much as Cal and Stanford might prefer otherwise, they may no longer have the votes necessary to keep the barbarians at the gate.

That’s my theory, at least. Fresno State Athletic Director Terry Tumey is buying it, too.

“Texas and Oklahoma prevented the University of Houston from having a seat at the Big 12 table,” Tumey said. “But now that those programs have moved on (to the SEC), it opened up a path for Houston.

“The same thing could happen to us.”

Yes, it can. For the first time, I believe Fresno State’s Pac-12 chances are realistic. More than just a pie-in-the-sky aspiration.

The Bulldogs certainly have the fan support. College football, in general, has experienced an attendance downturn in recent years.

Just not at Fresno State, where the average attendance of 39,067 represented a 28% increase over the last five seasons.

The 39,067 figure not only led the Mountain West but was higher than the average attendance of four Pac-12 schools (Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State). That says something.

Red Wave makes a statement, too

So does Fresno State’s fan turnout for the LA Bowl. One half of SoFi’s lower bowl was filled with bright Bulldogs red – easily distinguishable from Washington State’s crimson.

“If college football is to remain represented in this region, the Southern California market could do a lot worse than having us represent it,” Tumey said. “I mean, just look at our turnout today.”

San Diego State is the obvious pick to give the Pac-12 a Southern California presence once USC and UCLA exit. The Aztecs, according to media reports, will get the first expansion bid.

Fresno State should be next on the list. Not UNLV and its decades of losing and fan apathy. Not Boise State and its small TV market. And not SMU, which hardly makes a dent in the Dallas metroplex.

The Bulldogs are the clear choice to make the Pac-12 whole again. Let’s hope the conference’s presidents and athletic directors weren’t too busy doing last-minute Christmas shopping to tune in Saturday.

If so, they had to come away impressed by what they saw and heard.

“We’ve had introductions but no substantive conversations (with the Pac-12),” Tumey said. “I’d like to think after today they’d at least give us a shot.”

Fresno State has earned its shot.

This season proves it. This game proves it. Bulldogs fans have proven it.

There would be no better Christmas present.

Even if it arrives after the holidays.