'Dogs Friday schedule not a huge concern for Coach Tim DeRuyter

There are two teams in the Mountain West Conference that do not spend the night before a home football game in a hotel, where, whether or not it eases a coach's paranoia, they can have dinner, hold position meetings, do walk-throughs, study film, grab a late snack, enforce a curfew.

One is Boise State. The other is Fresno State, which can argue it is an unnecessary expense for its cash-strapped athletic department as long as the Broncos continue to beat everyone at home.

The Bulldogs, though, were not good at Bulldog Stadium last year, losing four of six games. There's no telling whether there is any correlation, but the players obviously bear a lot of responsibility once they are sent home on Friday nights before Saturday football games.

Coach Tim DeRuyter said it was a bit unusual, not what teams he has coached in the past have done. But he had some fun with it. He ran down the Bulldogs' schedule for Friday before opening the season against Weber State - position meetings, special teams, walk-through, dinner, chapel ...

He then paused, smiled.

''And then it's Party Central,'' he joked.

The Bulldogs' coach isn't too worried, given the strength of the seniors and leadership on hand.

''Our guys will be on their own, but you talk to the players about focus and I think we've got a pretty good mature group. You try to eliminate as many distractions as you can. I'm not worried about our players as much as I worry about the environment they're in. But we've got good kids that I know this is an extremely important game to and they'll be focused and get a good night's rest.

''I've talked to some coaches that don't have their guys in a hotel where you have control, like for a road game, and there are positives to it. They going to be in an environment where they're comfortable, they're going to be sleeping in their own bed, they're going to be used to the routine.

''And when you have guys like Robbie Rouse and Derek Carr and Phillip Thomas and Jeremiah (Toma), guys who have been there setting the tone for, 'Hey, guys, this is the night before game day, we know we have a curfew, and this is what we do.' ''

Rouse, one of five players selected as a team captain for the season, said the Bulldogs have had no issues or problems with it in the past and doesn't expect they will.

''I think it's just about you as a player and what your commitment level is,'' he said. ''It just shows how accountable you are as a player. You should be getting ready for the game.

''Everybody is here for a reason. Everybody came to college to play football and it's a big commitment, so why work the whole offseason and not be ready for game day? You put all this time into the offseason, I'm sure everybody should be ready to go when it's time to play.''

Source: http://fresnobeehive.com/sportsbuzz/2012/08/dogs_friday_schedule_not_a_hug.html

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