BOWL MIXING HELPS FRESNO STATE'S HILL GETS HIS SHOT AT UCLA.

Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer

Fresno State coach Pat Hill can check UCLA off his Christmas wish list.

The Fresno State football coach wants the same gift every year: USC and UCLA on the schedule. But that's never going to happen unless Fresno State manages to join the Pacific-10 Conference.

But Hill, who went to Crespi High of Encino, will get the matchup he desires when Fresno State (8-5) plays UCLA (6-6) in the Silicon Valley Classic. It might not have been because of his relentless requests to play the Bruins - it was a bowl committee that created the matchup - but that's just fine by Hill.

``Any time you can play a Pac-10 school from California, it's big,'' Hill said. ``It's so hard for us to get these games. USC decided not to play us (next season). They were supposed to play us on the 11th and took us off their schedule. We've been asking to go to USC for years. We can't get a game with UCLA. Cal and Stanford won't play us. It's great to get UCLA in a bowl game.''

UCLA might not share the same feelings. The Bulldogs are a pesky team, and that's why Hill has such a hard time scheduling games - and not just against L.A.'s finest. Many teams don't want to play the Bulldogs because there's a legitimate risk of losing.

USC was throttled by Fresno State 24-7 in the 1992 Freedom Bowl. The Trojans' faithful considered it one of the most embarrassing losses, and Larry Smith was fired as USC's coach not long after.

Fresno State, which is making its school-record fifth consecutive bowl appearance, is 0-6 against UCLA. But it has come close to pulling off an upset, most notably in the regular season in 2000, when it a heartbreaking fumble late in the game was the difference in a 24-21 loss. UCLA won 35-21 in 1999.

``It's a hidden rivalry between Fresno State and all the California schools, for whatever reason,'' said UCLA offensive lineman Eyoseph Efseaff, who is from Porterville. ``Maybe some of their guys wanted to get in here and didn't. There's a little bad blood.''

Fresno State and its fans always travel well; fickle UCLA fans might not. Hill expects 20,000 or so Bulldogs faithful at Spartan Stadium but believes the game is marketable outside the state, too.

``I think it's great for TV,'' Hill said. ``It's a traditionally rich school against an upstart. It's the big guy on the block and the little guy trying to prove himself. It's the story of the blue-chip recruits and the team that doesn't get those guys. There's a lot of things to be excited about.''

The Bruins have an opportunity to finish the season on a positive note after an ugly November. Quarterback Matt Moore (Hart High of Newhall) was granted his release to transfer and UCLA lost its final four games of the regular season.

UCLA's three-point victory three years ago wasn't impressive. Fresno State had the momentum and was driving before a fumbled snap by David Carr ended the upset bid.

Hill has since spoken to Carr, the Houston Texans' quarterback.

``Dave's excited about it,'' Hill said. ``He just said, 'Don't blow this one.' ''

UCLA doesn't want that to happen, either, which is why the Bruins are saying all the right things this week about injury-plagued Fresno State.

If everyone likes Fresno State, nobody seems to want them on the schedule. Hill can and will complain about what he said is the arduous task of putting together a schedule, especially against the Trojans and Bruins.

The former Valley College assistant forever has claimed many teams won't play the Bulldogs. Last week, Colorado State got out of its contract to play Fresno State next year and instead added a game Sept. 11 at USC. Not only did Hill lose the game, he lost it to USC, a team he'd been trying to schedule himself.

``I promise you, if Fresno State was 3-8 or 4-7, they'd all want to play us,'' Hill said.

Hill has had success scheduling top-notch teams away from the West Coast and has made a habit of playing a grueling nonconference schedule: two of Fresno State's losses this year are to Oklahoma and Tennessee. In 2001, the Bulldogs won at Colorado and Wisconsin and were 6-0.

Fresno State has won five of its past six games. It scored 28 points against Oklahoma in the Bulldogs' 52-28 loss, the biggest offensive output against the previously top-ranked Sooners before Kansas State's 34-7 blowout victory Saturday in the Big 12 Conference championship game.

For Fresno State, nothing would top a victory over UCLA - save for seeing the Bruins on the schedule more often.

``To me, it's a home game for our fans,'' Hill said. ``We'd go there to USC and UCLA every year. ... I'm telling the community it's a chance for us to be the home team. I see us having over 20,000 for this game. Hopefully, UCLA will show up. Hopefully, we'll have 30,000 and a full house. It'll be a lot of fun.''

Jill Painter, [phone]

jill.painter(at)dailynews.com