But before Friday\u2019s opener, let\u2019s revisit Fresno State\u2019s two epic showdowns against USC \u2014 one triumphant, one heartbreaking.<\/p>\n
Both remain sacred chapters of Bulldog lore, as detailed by The Fresno Bee.<\/p>\n
Original stories by Bryant-Jon Anteola and Robert Kuwada<\/p>\n This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresno State\u2019s football history against USC is short but unforgettable. In just a handful of meetings with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-452029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Los Angeles, CA 11\/19\/05 SPT DLW FSU USC REGGIE BUSH – USC’s Reggie Bush makes a move against Fresno State’s Awan Diles during their game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night November 19, 2005. Darrell Wong Fresno Bee Staff Photo Here are Fresno State\u2019s most memorable moments against USCFresno State-USC Round 1 was win that put Bulldogs on the map. Players relive \u201892 Freedom Bowl \u2014 Fresno State smacked USC 24-7 in the 1992 Freedom Bowl<\/a>, its first meeting with the Trojans and still its only win in the series. Coach Jim Sweeney convinced his players they were going to win, pushing the Bulldogs through 10 days of full-contact bowl prep in Los Angeles. USC\u2019s players and marching band openly disrespected the Bulldogs in the days leading up, fueling a group that had been passed over by big-name schools. Behind Ron Rivers, Lorenzo Neal and Anthony Daigle, Fresno State dominated both lines of scrimmage in a rain-soaked game, outgaining USC 405-183. The Trojans\u2019 iconic fight song eventually went silent as the Bulldogs pulled away, and USC coach Larry Smith was fired days later.20 years later, epic 2005 showdown with USC impacts Fresno State football legacy \u2014 On Nov. 19, 2005, No. 16 Fresno State came within a whisker of toppling No. 1 USC<\/a>, falling 50-42 before 90,007 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Coach Pat Hill\u2019s Bulldogs led 21-13 at halftime and briefly retook the lead 42-41 in the fourth quarter behind quarterback Paul Pinegar. But a torn ACL suffered by linebacker Marcus Riley helped unleash Reggie Bush, who piled up a Pac-10 record 513 all-purpose yards en route to the Heisman Trophy. Pinegar\u2019s final interception intended for Paul Williams remain the aching what-ifs of the night. \u201cWe were on the doorstep to beat the No. 1 team in the nation,\u201d Pinegar said afterward. \u201cToo many mistakes at costly times.\u201d Two decades later, Red Wave devotees still recount the loss with more pride than pain \u2014 a classic, as Riley put it, that college football has never forgotten.<\/p>\n