For Fresno's Pat Hill, Ryan Mathews: Will New Mexico Bowl Be Their Final Game?

Though it wasn't the bowl game Pat Hill and Fresno State were hoping for when the 2009 season began, it's a bowl game nonetheless and the Bulldogs will come to play.

On December 19th, the Bulldogs (8—4, 6—2) will travel to Albuquerque, NM to take on the Cowboys of Wyoming (6—4, 4—4) from the Mountain West Conference in the New Mexico Bowl.

But the biggest question won't be how both teams will match up, who will run away with the victory or even who needs it more. The biggest question will be concerning the futures of Fresno State head coach Pat Hill and running back Ryan Mathews.

Most fans might tell you that it's time for a change, it's time for new leadership and it's time for a new head coach. There are others who are staunch supporters of Hill, seeing not only the accomplishments on the football field, but also the accomplishments of the players in the classroom.

Hill has compiled a 100—65 record at Fresno State in 13 seasons, including a 70—33 record in conference play. Only two times in those 13 seasons has a Bulldog team finished with a losing record (1998, 2006).

Yet, the one glaring problem for this football program has been their lack of a conference championship. 

Only clinching a share of the title back in 1999 when the team finished at 5—2 in conference play (8—5 overall). Not only that, but Fresno State is 4—4 in bowl games under Hill and none of those eight bowl games have been what most would call "ratings getters."

Bryant Jon-Anteola of The Fresno Bee talked to Fresno State athletic director Thomas Beoh and asked him specifically about Hill.

"We'll meet at the conclusion of the season," Boeh told Anteola. "When it's appropriate and not cause a distraction for the student-athletes and the program."

Boeh was also asked if going to bowl games, but not winning WAC titles, was enough to save Hill's job. Boeh was hesitant to get into specific details, citing again that they would wait until the end of the season to re-evaluate where the program is headed.

"At the conclusion of the year, we'll look at the trends and what we've done, where we think we can go. The most important thing is to look at the big picture and the trend of a period of years. Everything needs to be put within context. The trending is most important because there's always going to be anomalies."

What happens next is anyone's guess. The Bulldogs have one more game to play and then play the waiting game to find out where two of their most notable faces will end up.

With the Kansas job being open, after Mangino stepped down, Hill could possibly throw his hat into the ring during the offseason. But with Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh possibly being interested as well, Kansas could very well opt for the more well-known name.

There are other jobs that are sure to come open by the end of the bowl season, possibly the Illinois job since Ron Zook hasn't exactly been the person the Illini were hoping for. Illinois is 21—38 under Zook (12—28 in conference) and the university could be looking for a change.

It might be the right opportunity for Hill to move on to a bigger conference and show that he can continue to win outside the Western Athletic Conference.

As for Mathews, the decision for him is to whether to return to Fresno State for his senior season or declare for the NFL draft.

The 5'11" 215 lbs junior from Bakersfield, Calif. has rushed for 3,136 total yards through his three years at Fresno State. He was having what most were considering a Heisman-worthy season through nine games, rushing for over 1,500 yards before suffering a concussion against Nevada on November 14th.

Mathews would miss the game against Louisiana Tech but came back, showing no ill effects, and proved that he hadn't lost a step. He tore up Illinois, carrying the ball 32 times and rushing for 173 yards and three scores, upping his touchdown totals to 17 on the year.

There's no question that Mathews is good enough to take the next step into the National Football League and most will tell you that he could be a late first- or early second round pick. That information alone could be all Mathews needs to make the leap.

What may solidify the decision is what happens to his head coach. If Hill ends up staying for the 2010 season, Mathews could be talked into coming back and giving it one last run, no pun intended. If Hill leaves, so will Mathews.

As of right now, Hill, Mathews and the Bulldogs have to focus on their final game of the year in the New Mexico Bowl and picking up their ninth win of the year.

That should be their only focus right now, because the futures of Hill and Mathews are completely out of the team's control.