Wednesday, Apr. 02, 2008

Switcharoo! Dogs to open at Rutgers

FRESNO -- Fresno State revamped its 2008 football schedule Tuesday, dropping one opponent from a Bowl Championship Series conference for another and changing its season opener.

Fresno State accepted a $250,000 buyout from Kansas State and also added Rutgers on Sept. 1 for its opener. The Monday afternoon game in Piscataway, N.J., will be televised as part of ESPN's special Labor Day coverage.

The Bulldogs originally had scheduled UCLA for the opener, but the trip to the Rose Bowl was moved back to Sept. 27 while gaining a guaranteed time slot to be on national TV.

"This is what we were looking for: a deal that would improve our situation if we lost the Kansas State game, and we've done that," Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh said. "We've got better a great opponent as a replacement with Rutgers. We're better off financially. We're getting more television exposure, so it'll be easier to see the Bulldogs' games.

"We're not losing our game at UCLA. This is a great arrangement. "In addition, Rutgers is scheduled to play at Bulldog Stadium in 2012, with a new Fresno State high of $1 million as the buyout for the Scarlet Knights to get out of the trip.

Fresno State has been searching for a replacement opponent the past five weeks since Kansas State officials expressed their desire to get out of the game.

-- The Fresno Bee