Cal Poly vs. Fresno State: Game Preview, How to Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Bulldogs begin their 2022 football season at home against the Big Sky’s Mustangs. Here’s how to tune in and what to watch for.

Cal Poly vs. Fresno State: Game Preview, How to Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Bulldogs begin their 2022 football season at home against the Big Sky’s Mustangs. Here’s how to tune in and what to watch for.

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The Bulldogs get their season going.

WEEK 1: Cal Poly Mustangs vs. Fresno State Bulldogs

WHEN: Thursday, September 1 — 7:30 PM PT/8:30 PM MT

WHERE: Valley Children’s Stadium; Fresno, CA

WEATHER: Sunny, high of 105 degrees

TV: FS1

STREAMING: Fans can sign up to receive a free one-week trial of Fubo, which includes FS1, by following this link.

RADIO: Fox Sports AM 1340

SERIES RECORD: Fresno State leads the all-time series, 33-10-2. In the last meeting on September 11, 2021, the Bulldogs defeated the Mustangs, 63-10, in Fresno.

WEBSITES: GoPoly.com, the official Cal Poly athletics website | GoBulldogs.com, the official Fresno State athletics website

GAME NOTES (PDF): Cal Poly | Fresno State

ODDS: Fresno State -33.5

SP+ PROJECTION: Fresno State by 47.2

FEI PROJECTION: N/A

PARKER FLEMING PROJECTION: N/A

The excitement about Fresno State football’s 2022 season has been palpable all summer and now gameday is finally here, as the Bulldogs will host the Cal Poly Mustangs to kick off the campaign on Thursday night.

It’s going to be a scorcher at Bulldog Stadium, with the kickoff temperature likely to be in the triple digits, but a similar heat wave didn’t prevent the ‘Dogs from shutting out UConn in their season opener a year ago. Cal Poly has aspirations of making some headway in a competitive Big Sky Conference, but here’s what the home team can do to ensure the Mustangs will need to wait another week before that truly gets underway.

Coach Tedford and the Bulldogs are back for the 101st year of Fresno State Football. The last time we saw this team in action the Bulldogs had just brought back Jeff Tedford as Head Coach,  Jake Haener withdrew his name from the transfer portal, and the Bulldogs beat the UTEP Miners in the New Mexico Bowl.

Now looking into the 2022 season for the Bulldogs the hype is real around this team. With nearly 15 starters coming back including star players like Jake Haener, Jalen Cropper, Josh Kelly, Jordan Mims, David Perales, Levelle Bailey, and Evan Williams the Bulldogs look to accomplish something that they couldn’t quite do last season and that is to win a Mountain West Championship. The expectations are as high as it has ever been at Fresno State with eyes on a potential New Year’s Six Bowl game. The road to that path isn’t going to come easy as the Dogs face Oregon State at home, USC and Boise State on the Road, and have a matchup with the San Diego State Aztecs at home late in the season. But first comes the Cal Poly Mustangs Thursday night.

Fresno State Football: First Look At The Cal Poly Mustangs

Key 1: Take care of Business

Cal Poly is coming off a (2-9) season and one of those 9 losses came at Fresno State last year in a 63-10 loss. The Mustangs are predicted to finish 10th in both the media and coach’s Big sky preseason poll. So for the Bulldogs, they have to come out and put this game away fast! This game is on National TV and a lot of eyes will be on Fresno State. If the Bulldogs can create some early turnovers and don’t hurt themselves then this game should be over by halftime. 

Key 2: Bulldog Depth

A lot of this ties into a key one. This game will give us a good glimpse of how deep the Bulldogs are and a little QB battle for the backup job. It will be interesting to see the depth of the Bulldog’s D-line and the depth of the running back group.

Key 3: A Focus Group 

This is a good time to watch how the Dogs can stay locked into one game at a time. We all know Cal Poly shouldn’t be any problem for Fresno State but we do know it could be easy to overlook your opponent and look ahead.  After the Mustangs the Bulldogs host the Oregon State Beavers, one of the more appealing games on the Bulldog’s schedule. Going back to my first key if the Bulldogs Take Care of Business then they will get an extra couple of days to look at that week 2 matchup.

Prediction:

Football is back in the Valley! A lot of high expectations for this group. I believe the Bulldogs know how talented this team is and how much is at stake this season. Newly named Valley Children’s Stadium will see a hungry and energized team. The Bulldogs put this game away early

Score: Cal Poly 10, Bulldogs 52

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