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2001 Fresno State

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2001, game by game: won vs. Colorado 24–22; won vs. No. 10 Oregon State 44–24; won at No. 23 Wisconsin 32–20; won at Tulsa 37–18; won vs. Louisiana Tech 38–28; won at Colorado State 25–22; lost vs. Boise State 30–35; lost at Hawai’i 34–38; won vs. Rice 52–24; won at SMU 38–13; won at Nevada 61–14; won vs. San José State 40–21; won vs. Utah State 70–21; lost vs. Michigan State 35–44+49−9Won 24–22 vs. Colorado+2ColoradoWon 44–24 vs. No. 10 Oregon State+20No. 10 Oregon StateWon 32–20 at No. 23 Wisconsin+12No. 23 WisconsinWon 37–18 at Tulsa+19TulsaWon 38–28 vs. Louisiana Tech+10Louisiana TechWon 25–22 at Colorado State+3Colorado StateLost 30–35 vs. Boise State-5Boise StateLost 34–38 at Hawai’i-4Hawai’iWon 52–24 vs. Rice+28RiceWon 38–13 at SMU+25SMUWon 61–14 at Nevada+47NevadaWon 40–21 vs. San José State+19San José StateWon 70–21 vs. Utah State+49Utah StateLost 35–44 vs. Michigan State-9Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsColoradoW 24–⁠2255%
Sep 2vs10Oregon StateW 44–⁠2443%
Sep 8at23WisconsinW 32–⁠2036%
Sep 22atTulsaW 37–⁠1866%
Sep 29vsLouisiana TechW 38–⁠2882%
Oct 13atColorado StateW 25–⁠2256%
Oct 19vsBoise StateL 30–⁠3572%
Oct 26atHawai’iL 34–⁠3864%
Nov 3vsRiceW 52–⁠2471%
Nov 10atSMUW 38–⁠1379%
Nov 17atNevadaW 61–⁠1482%
Nov 23vsSan José StateW 40–⁠2185%
Dec 1vsUtah StateW 70–⁠2185%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsMichigan StateSilicon Valley Football ClassicL 35–⁠4467%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan State 44–⁠35 in the Silicon Valley Football Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 19
  2. Wk 6: 10
  3. Wk 7: 10
  4. Wk 8: 8
  5. Wk 10: 18
  6. Wk 14: 23
  7. Wk 15: 21
  8. Wk 16: 20

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2001.

Heisman voteDavid Carr, fifth

Led the nationDavid Carr: passing yards (4,839 yds), passing touchdowns (42 TD), total offense (4,906 yds); Rodney Wright: receptions (104 catches)

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardDavid Carr, QB

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 8
Points
560–⁠344
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1632 +98 this season
SP+ rating
13.3 No. 27 of 117; offense No. 6, defense No. 69
SRS
9.1 No. 31 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 51
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Defensive coordinator
Dan Brown
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 34— allowed
Defense-0.1own 28— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 1David Carr QBHouston Texans
Rd 4Alan Harper DENew York Jets
Rd 7Maurice Rodriguez LBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Rodney Wright WRBuffalo Bills

2001 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisiana Tech7–⁠17–⁠5
Fresno State6–⁠211–⁠3
Boise State6–⁠28–⁠4
Hawai’i5–⁠39–⁠3
Rice5–⁠38–⁠4
SMU4–⁠44–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠8
San José State3–⁠53–⁠9
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠9
Tulsa0–⁠81–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.