Old rivals Fresno State and Bowling Green meet today in what will be the last California Bowl football game in its present format and could be the last ever.
The Bulldogs have beaten Bowling Green twice in previous California Bowls - in 1982 and 1985. Fresno also defeated Bowling Green in the 1961 Mercy Bowl, a benefit for families of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo players killed in a plane crash.The only time the Falcons beat Fresno State was in a 1983 regular-season game.
The California Bowl's current matchup between champions of the Mid-American and Big West conferences ends after this season.
Local officials are trying to attract a sponsor or enough donations from the community to provide $750,000 for an open game. If that happens, one team likely will come from the Western Athletic Conference, which Fresno State will join next season.
But if California Bowl officials can't come up with the needed money within a month, it could be dropped from the nation's college bowl schedule or moved.
"It's an extremely important thing to keep the Cal Bowl in Fresno," Bulldogs coach Jim Sweeney said. "The bowl game has significantly grown. It's too bad at this stage to think this might be the last one."
The Mid-American and Big West may contract to play in a new game at Las Vegas that would be called the Silver Bowl.
Meanwhile, this year's game features a Fresno State team that was expected to challenge for the Big West title and a Bowling Green team that wasn't supposed to be in the Mid-American race. But both are 10-1, which is a sharp turnaround for the Falcons under new coach Gary Blackney from last year's 3-5-2 record.
The Falcons did it with defense, allowing only 13.4 points per game. Now, they're facing the nation's most potent offense. Fresno State averaged 44.2 points and 541.9 yards per game, both tops in NCAA Division 1-A.
Fresno State is strong on the ground and in the air. Tailback Ron Rivers has run for 984 yards and fullback Lorenzo Neal for 759 yards.
Quarterback Mark Barsotti is returning after being out five weeks with a broken leg. If the usually mobile Barsotti can't avoid tacklers, Sweeney will play Trent Dilfer.
That would offer little solace to the Falcons, as both Fresno quarterbacks have completion percentages above 63 percent.
Bowling Green's offense is led by quarterback Erik White, who threw for 2,204 yards and 17 touchdowns, and receiver Mark Szlachcic, who had 65 receptions for 943 yards.