Dogs playing poker? This isn't a bad painting. This is an analogy straight from the mouth of Fresno State coach Pat Hill, whose aggressive scheduling practices have afforded the Bulldogs an opportunity to compete for a Bowl Championship Series bowl game.

"We're all in every week and we just have to keep playing that way."

While it's obvious Hill, like many Americans in the past year, has become enthralled with poker, it's also apparent he has assembled the pieces for a run at a major bowl game. Fresno State defeated Washington and Kansas State on the road to open the season. The game Saturday against No. 13 Kansas State wasn't close, with the Bulldogs dominating in all phases in the 45-21 victory.

It's a non-conference scheduling philosophy Hill implemented when he took over as head coach in 1997. To get to the top you have to take chances, Hill said. In the early years, the Bulldogs were 0-9 against BCS conference opponents. Since 2000, they're 9-6.

"We understand that if you're all in and you lose, you're out of the race, as far as being at the main table goes," Hill said. "If you win, you're still in there. Our wins were decisive. We're striving to be in a BCS game. That's the goal. In 2002 and 2003, we were laughed at because we got beat pretty bad. We lost to Oklahoma and Tennessee. It's not a path a lot of people want to venture down. But sometimes the path less traveled has the most rewards."

All that stands between Fresno State and an unbeaten season and a probable berth in a BCS game is a non-conference game against Portland State this week and the eight conference games in the Western Athletic Conference.

Fresno State was in this same position three years ago when it opened the season with wins against Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin. Oregon State and Wisconsin were Top 25 teams. The Bulldogs started the season 6-0 and climbed to No. 8 in The Associated Press poll. Then they lost to Boise State and Hawaii in consecutive weeks and their dreams of breaking through the BCS barriers faded away.

Once again, Boise State is shaping up as the big test. Boise State, ranked 23rd in the AP poll, will play host to Fresno State Oct. 23.

The 2001 team had the first overall NFL draft pick in quarterback David Carr, but Hill said this team is deeper and has more confidence.

"That team didn't have the expectations that this team has," Hill said. "That team had a great quarterback. That team was built to throw and score points. I don't think we had the defense to complement it. I think this team is a more solid football team in that it has more depth. That team had a lot of great individuals, and it was a shame that we didn't finish the job. This team has a long way to go to meet the expectations that we have for it.

"We built this team like a team from the Big Ten, the Big 12 or the SEC. We run it and play physical defense. It was a very balanced attack on Saturday. This team has a lot of great potential to make some noise."

Now, like all poker players, all the Bulldogs have to do is avoid the bad losses.

Remember him?

Dustin Picciotti, the highly touted fullback who had to leave Pitt because of a series of concussions, made a big impact in Division I-AA Rhode Island's win against Central Connecticut State last week, but it didn't come on offense. Picciotti, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior, in his second game as a defensive end, had nine tackles and had a sack in the Rams' 39-7 victory. Picciotti played fullback for the Rams last season, but a hip pointer cut short his season after a few games.

"He came to us and wanted to make the move," Rhode Island coach Tim Stowers said. "We thought about playing him at defensive tackle, but he's really started to blossom as a defensive end. He's possibly an all-league performer, with some of the plays he's been making the first two weeks. He's a guy, if he wanted to, who could play in the NFL. He runs a 4.65 and he has great athletic ability. He's got a good attitude right now and he's playing really well."

Picciotti, one of the top recruits in the country in 2000 out of Central Bucks West High School, left Pitt in August 2002.

Hurricanes in control

There's not an Atlantic Coast Conference championship game until next season, so Miami, for all intents and purposes, has a two-game lead over Florida State after defeating the Seminoles, 16-10, in overtime victory last week.

The Hurricanes would need to lose two of their remaining seven ACC games and the Seminoles would have to win the rest of their league games to have a shot at the title. Florida State has won or shared 11 of the previous 12 ACC titles.

Useless lists

Heisman lists, especially this early in the season, are pretty useless. Once a favorite for the award, Kansas State senior Darren Sproles fell off some Heisman hopeful lists this week after a 37-yard performance against Fresno State.

It's one week, folks.

Let's judge the player and not the team. That's the reason Jason White of Oklahoma won last year and not the best player in the country, Larry Fitzgerald.

Armchair quarterback

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's play-calling against Notre Dame was so conservative that he could have been mistaken for Pat Buchanan. The only time Carr allowed freshman quarterback Chad Henne to stretch the field, he completed a 45-yard pass to Braylon Edwards that set up a field goal at the end of the first half. Otherwise, it was short pass after short pass.

"Every game is a learning process for a kid that young," Carr said. "You can't learn this position in three weeks."

Certainly not, but with receivers such as Edwards and North Braddock's Steve Breaston, sometimes you just have to throw it up and let them go get it.

Quick hits

The Big 12 Conference standings don't look right. Kansas and Colorado are 2-0 with Nebraska, Kansas State and Missouri behind, each with one loss. ... With its last-second 24-21 victory against Marshall, Ohio State improved to 16-5 in games decided by seven points or fewer under Jim Tressel. Only two of those losses have come since 2002. ... Only Rutgers would go and lose to Division I-AA New Hampshire after beating Michigan State the week before. ... Marshall travels to No. 3 Georgia with a bad disposition after dropping its first two games by a combined five points. ... Where are all the instant replays in the Big Ten?