The Fresno State Bulldogs started the season with ambitious goals of competing for the Mountain West Conference Championship and resetting the narrative on the coaching staff fresh off a firing in Lubbock, Texas.
With only (1) potential game remaining in the regular season, depending on whether the Colorado State vacancy is filled, the Bulldogs have already accomplished something rare at the program. The program has only eclipsed 8 wins in 25% of their NDL seasons dating back to the very beginning. The icing on the cake would be competing in the Conference Championship game but with Boise State taking care of business against Nevada and San Jose State, the Bulldogs will be on the outside looking in as their best-case scenario is a 5-2 conference record tie with the Broncos. Boise holds the tiebreaking wins vs UNLV and Nevada which Fresno lost to.
The Bulldogs had a successful Beefy Cup run this year as well going 3-1 in pool play before losing a nailbiter to Kentucky 38-42 in the eliminations round. Coach AUChase has been known to lack confidence at times but he told us confidentially (not so confidentially now) that he feels like the team was in the driver’s seat to win this game up 28-21 but internet connection issues on the Kentucky sideline resetting his player’s hard work really hurt the team’s momentum when play resumed after the delay. The result would likely be losing in the next round, but it was still a game well within reach for the Bulldogs which would have put them 2-0 vs the SEC this season. Speaking of storylines: Coach AUChase was recently fired from Texas Tech for failure to perform in the Big 12 but at a lesser school managed to go 2-0 vs the Big 12 with Beefy and regular season schedules combined.
Fresno’s philosophy this off season was to schedule primarily road games against comparable teams and well-respected coaches to give the team the best chance to develop in tough environments without the stress of worrying about any drama. This strategy worked out well as the Bulldogs opened 4-0 with all road wins but failure to execute in some impactful games in conference hurt the team’s chances in the MWC.
At this point, Fresno is hoping to secure a decent bowl trip for the team against a quality OOC foe and a win vs. CSU could push the team to win over 9 wins and make that more likely. Let’s take a look back at the season:
Week 1 at Ohio W 22-20
---- A multiple OT game with doinked field goals, 2 point conversions, etc. A tough and gritty road W.
Week 2 at BYU W 30-28
--- Traveled on the road to a former Big 12 foe from the past and secured a win. The Bulldogs dominated the majority of the game but late game heroics from BYU in the 4th quarter made the game closer than it had to be.
Week 3 at Jacksonville State W 38-21
--- Impressive performance on the road at JSU in what has turned into an annual matchup between AUChase and Justgiver. These games have been really competitive.
Week 4 at New Mexico W 21-16.
--- A defensive struggle or an offensive slog? Who knows but Coach Bearass had the defense tuned up and it took a lot of effort to get out of there with a win.
Week 5 at UNLV L 24-30
--- A could have, would have, and should have game. Mikey Keene threw way too many interceptions in this game which ultimately doomed the Bulldogs on the road.
Week 6 vs UMASS
--- Another close win. Coach AUChase and UF squared off in the Big 12 last year and the Bulldogs were looking for redemption for their coach. They got it but it was a struggle.
Week 7 vs Wazzu L 37-38
--- Fresno’s defense created multiple turnovers that put them in the driver’s seat to win this game but the team collapsed late in the third quarter and heading into the 4th quarter. An unfortunate late game poorly officiated fumble call was the final nail in the coffin.
Week 8 at Nevada L 23-28
---- Another game Fresno wishes they had to play again. The lack of execution combined with some bad turnovers squandered any chance of winning this game.
Week 9 vs SJSU W 34-13
--- A strong defensive performance propelled the Bulldogs to victory at home vs a sneaky good SJSU squad. The 3/0 turnover battle was the biggest difference in the game.
Week 10 vs Hawaii W 42-28
--- This was likely Fresno’s best game of the year as far as offensive gameplan execution goes. Luckily this game was at home because Hawaii upended Nevada later this day.
Week 11 at Air Force W 24-14
--- Fresno took a 21-0 lead in this game before throwing (2) pick sixes that put them in a terrible position on the road but were lucky to survive and get out of Colorado with a win.
With one remaining game against Colorado State, the Bulldogs look forward to whatever Bowl Season provides and then it will be decision time for Coach AUChase. Having exceeded this season’s win goal, won all rivalry games, hopefully finishing Top 4 in the conference, securing a bowl game, etc.. there will be some hard decisions that have to be made after the season concludes. That’s for us to speculate on though because when speaking to Coach his focus is on the Colorado State game and the post season. The Bulldogs have plenty of room to continue to make history this season. A 9 or 10 win season would be very historic.
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