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GAME NOTES: The 23rd-ranked Fresno State Bulldogs will look to claim a share of the Western Athletic Conference title when they host the Louisiana State Bulldogs Friday night at Bulldog Stadium. Fresno State accepted an invitation to play in the 47th annual Liberty Bowl on December 31st. The Bulldogs, who will be going to their seventh consecutive bowl contest, will face the Conference-USA champion in the matchup. In 19 overall bowl games for the Bulldogs, the team has a 12-7 ledger and has won three straight postseason matchups, including a thrilling 37-34 overtime victory over Virginia last season in the MPC Computer Bowl. After starting the season with eight wins in its first nine games, Fresno State has hit a bump in the road, dropping its last two contests to top-ranked USC, 50-42, and last week to Nevada, 38-35. On the year, Fresno State has been dominant at home, winning all five of its contests at Bulldog Stadium by double-digits. As for Louisiana Tech, the team is currently 6-4 and eligible for a bowl bid, however a victory over Fresno State would surely help La Tech receive a postseason invitation. Tech, had its four-game winning streak snapped this past weekend with a tough 30-13 setback to Boise State in Ruston. While La Tech has played well for the majority of the season, the team has struggled on the road, posting just a 2-3 mark away from Joe Aillet Stadium. In regards to the all-time series between the two schools, Fresno State won the first five meetings of the series before Louisiana Tech posted a 28-21 win over Fresno last season in Ruston. The win over Fresno, which was ranked 17th at the time last season, was the highest ranked team Tech has ever beaten.

After tossing four interceptions in the setback to USC, quarterback Paul Pinegar was back on track last week against Nevada, throwing for 405 yards and four scores. Unfortunately Pinegar's performance was not enough to get FSU a victory against the Wolf Pack. On the ground the Bulldogs racked up 133 yards and were led by Wendell Mathis who collected 86 yards on 17 carries. Wideout Joe Fernandez had a busy contest for Fresno, grabbing nine passes for 150 yards and one score. Paul Williams also had a strong outing for the Bulldogs, collecting 80 yards and one score on six receptions. FSU has been one of the more dominant offensive units in the nation and the team's 35 points last week fell just short of its season average of 39.9 ppg. On the year, Pinegar has been one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,764 yards and has thrown 26 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. Because of the success of the passing attack, the ground game has had the ability to find plenty of openings and Mathis has done just that. In 11 contest, Mathis is leading the Bulldogs with 1,127 yards and 14 scores on 200 carries (5.6 ypc).

Normally FSU's defensive unit plays extremely well, however in the past two weeks the Bulldogs' defense has been embarrassed. After allowing 508 yards and 50 points in the loss to USC, Fresno's defense struggled again this past weekend against Nevada permitting the Wolf Pack to collect 424 total yards en route to 38 points. For the second straight contest, FSU allowed its opponent to rack up over 200 yards on the ground, which is surprising considering teams are only rushing for 144.4 ypg against Fresno. Despite the lackluster performance against USC and Nevada, the Bulldogs' defensive unit is still only allowing a paltry 20.1 ppg behind just 334.7 yards of total offense. The unit has made big plays throughout the season, forcing 18 turnovers, while recording an impressive 32 sacks. Rich Marshall, who leads the defense with 65 tackles, recorded a team-high 10 stops in the loss last week. Tyler Clutts added seven tackles and tallied two sacks, raising his number to seven on the season.

As for the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech, they do not have as much offensive punch as their counterpart. However with that said, Tech has been efficient enough to wins ball games this season. Unfortunately that was not the case last weekend in the 17-point loss to Boise State, as Tech collected just 236 total yards, including just 56 yards on 25 carries. The ineffectiveness on the ground is a bit surprising considering the Bulldogs are averaging 147.6 ypg with the run. Mark Dillard and Patrick Jackson have formed a nice tandem out of the backfield for Tech, combining for 1,013 yards and 13 scores. However in the loss to Boise State, neither back performed well as Dillard finished with just 41 yards on 13 attempts and Jackson recorded just 23 yards on six totes. Quarterback Matt Kubik, who has done a solid job under center for Tech, put forth a mediocre effort against Boise State, completing 17-of-32 pass attempts for 180 yards and one score. On the year, the signal caller has thrown for 1,951 yards, while tossing 15 touchdowns versus seven interceptions.

For the better part of the season Tech's defense has been solid, allowing just 25.8 ppg, but in the loss to Boise State last week, the unit was abused for 397 total yards, including a robust 260 yards on the ground. The rushing yards permitted by the Bulldogs' defense is a bit surprising considering the team is allowing just 137.9 ypg against the run. The team only recorded one turnover in the contest and once again struggled with its pass rush, collecting just two sacks in the loss. The defense has been able to produce 26 turnovers on the season, however at the same time the unit has only recorded 22 sacks. Barry Robertson, who leads Tech with 93 stops on the year, had a busy outing against Boise State, racking up 14 tackles in the loss, while Byron Santiago contributed with 13 stops, giving him 74 tackles thus far.

Fresno State does not want a three-game losing skid heading into the Liberty Bowl, so you can definitely expect Pinegar and his gang to go full throttle early on in the contest en route to the victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Fresno State 41, Louisiana Tech 24