The 1985 11-0-1 Bulldogs will be honored this Saturday at Bulldog Stadium for their amazing accomplishment twenty years ago. Fresno State's only blemish was to none other than Dick Tomey's Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on a hot afternoon at Bulldog Stadium.
The 24-24 tie prevented Fresno State from being the only Bulldog team since the school went Division I-A to have a perfect record. As it stood, the Bulldogs were the only unbeaten in all of college football that year and finished 16th in the UPI Coaches Poll. Fresno State even received a number one vote from Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, the only other school to get one besides the No. 1 ranked Sooners.
1985 Fresno State Schedule *-denotes PCAA game
9/14 vs. *Nevada-Las Vegas (5-5-1) 26-6
9/21 @ Oregon State (3-8) 33-24
9/28 @ Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo(non I-A) 59-10
10/5 vs. Hawaii (4-6-2) 24-24
10/12 vs. *San Jose State (2-8-1) 37-17
10/19 @ *New Mexico State (1-10) 48-21
10/26 @ *Utah State (3-8) 38-19
11/2 vs *Fullerton State (6-5) 42-7
11/9 @ *Pacific (5-7) 43-37
11/16 @ *Long Beach State (6-6) 33-31
11/21 vs. Wichita State (3-8) 47-6
12/14 vs. Bowling Green State (11-1) 51-7 California Bowl
Final Record 11-0-1 PF481 PA 209
Some notes on the 1985 season:
The season opener was against the defending PCAA Champs UNLV, but the Rebels were minus all-American quarterback Randall Cunningham. The 33, 754 crowd was the largest ever to see a home opener in the program's history.
The win at Oregon State was the first for the Bulldogs in Corvallis.
The game against Cal-Poly was the last in the series
1985 was Hawaii's first visit to Bulldog Stadium, and the only game that season that drew less than 30,000 fans. 29, 676 showed up for the rare afternoon kickoff.
1985 was the last time San Jose State had a losing record in the decade, and despite the losing record it still was the largest crowd of year, 34,004.
NMSU hosted Fresno State for the first time as a member of the PCAA.
Only 10,702 fans showed up see Utah State play Fresno State. It was the smallest crowd Fresno State would play in front of all year.
The game against Fullerton State was the first of three straight in Fresno, and another afternoon kickoff. It was the second lowest turnout of the season, 30,514 came out. After that game there was not another afternoon kickoff during the Sweeney era.
Only 14,000 fans turned out see a great shootout against Pacific at Amos Alonzo Stagg Memorial Stadium.
The two best quarterbacks in the PCAA aired it out in Long Beach. The 49ers' Doug Gaynor came up short against Kevin Sweeney.
The first ever ESPN Thursday night game at Bulldog Stadium was played in front 30, 904 fans, as the Bulldogs capped their unbeaten season with a romp over the Wheat Shockers.
The 1985 Cal Bowl was the only bowl game that featured two unbeaten teams. Bowling Green was favored in what was dubbed the "Blowout Bowl" by Sports Illustrated after it was all said and done. Fresno State beat up all-American quarterback Brian McClure and the Falcons in front of 32,554 fans on that foggy December day.
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