BOISE, Idaho — A year ago, Pat Hill was sitting at home during bowl season wondering if his Fresno State program could be revitalized.

The fallout of a 4-8 season meant re-establishing the Bulldogs' identity. The task was placed before seniors like Tyler Clutts and Clifton Smith to make sure winning was again the norm in California's Central Valley.

"It was not an easy task," Hill said.

The Bulldogs responded, and capped their rebound season by adding Georgia Tech — again — to their list of conquests from BCS conferences.

Smith rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns, Tom Brandstater threw for a score and ran for another and the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech, 40-28, in the Humanitarian Bowl yesterday.

Fresno State finished the season 9-4, winning eight of its final 10 and thinking big about 2008, when a talented team will return with aspirations of following Western Athletic Conference brethren Boise State and Hawai'i into a BCS bowl game.

"We let it get away there one year and it just can't happen," Hill said. "We've got too much riding today in college football."

It's Fresno State's second bowl win over Georgia Tech, after beating the Yellow Jackets 30-21 in the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic, and it made the Bulldogs 3-0 against the ACC in bowls.

While Fresno State can use its surprising offensive eruption as a building block for next year, Georgia Tech will be starting from scratch.

While new coach Paul Johnson watched from the press box, the Tech defense, orchestrated by interim coach Jon Tenuta, was exposed after being one of the better units in the ACC.

Fresno State scored 27 consecutive points after Tech jumped ahead 7-0, and rolled up 571 yards of total offense.

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