Tag: Fresno State Bulldogs

What they said: Fresno State offensive players plan to show out vs. Michigan defense

Well, they’re certainly a confident bunch. #GoBlue

It makes sense that Fresno State players would be confident in opening the season with a Big Ten team, especially one that had performed well the previous year.

Michigan football won the national championship last year but had a coaching change and lost a lot of personnel. Likewise, the Bulldogs’ season-opening opponent last year was a Purdue team that won its division but likewise had a new coach and a lot of new personnel. Fresno State upset the Boilermakers, 38-35, upending Purdue’s season right out of the gates. The hope in Fresno is that they can repeat history.

Last year, wide receiver Jalen Moss had five catches for 38 yards and a touchdown against Purdue, but he has a greater challenge likely matching up against Will Johnson (thought to be, at worst, the second-best cornerback in the country) on the other side of the line of scrimmage. He’s entering this contest brimming with confidence and ready to showcase what he can do on the biggest stage he’s played on thus far.

“My confidence is through the roof,” Moss said. “I played a season last year and I feel more comfortable in what I’m able to do with the ball in my hands, running my routes, my trust in Mikey (Keene) that he’ll get the ball to me. I’m confident in what my offense has to do and myself against him. I wouldn’t knock anything he’s done, he’s a good player for sure, but I know I’ll win some, compete, and put up a good fight for him to be like, ‘OK, who is this guy?'”

But Moss getting the ball will be reliant heavily on quarterback Mikey Keene having enough time to find him downfield. And that will be hampered by Michigan’s stellar pass rush, led by defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant — arguably the best duo in the country.

It will be the first start of Campbell McHarg’s career on the offensive line, and he’s looking at Saturday’s contest as a showcase that he and his squad may be better than people give them credit for.

“They are definitely really good players,” McHarg said. “I’ve been looking at film. Definitely really good guys and I’m excited to get to go against them — I try not to make it more than it is. At the end of the day, it’s just football. I worked really hard the same way everyone else is. It just happens to be in The Big House. I’m looking at it as an opportunity to show what I can do.”

Michigan enters the contest ranked No. 8 according to the US LBM Coaches Poll but also has a lot to prove after not being given much of a chance to repeat as national champions, let alone the Big Ten.

Kickoff is slated for 7:34 p.m. EDT at The Big House and the game will be nationally broadcast on NBC.

What Fresno State head coach Tim Skipper said about Michigan football

The Bulldogs’ head coach is expecting a physical football game.

It’s one thing to leave the West Coast to play a ranked team when you’re a Group of Five program. It’s another to go and face not only the defending national champion, but a team that’s hungry to prove the year before wasn’t a one-off.

Fresno State isn’t scared to play anyone, as evidenced by the Bulldogs’ upset win at Purdue last year. But new head coach Tim Skipper is excited about the challenge of facing Michigan football at The Big House. And with it being a night game on the road to open up the season, he’s expecting it to be a raucous atmosphere.

“I love hostile environments, to be honest with you,” Skipper said. “I think that’s the magic of college football. You get 110 (thousand) in a stadium. It’s loud, it’s rocking, you can’t hear. You want it to be as hard as it could possibly be — that’s at least the way how I think about it.

“We did a lot with noise, we played noise over the speakers and things like that. And with the coaches having to communicate with the players with the new technology we have in the helmets and things like that. But we definitely have a lot of tools we can use. We’ll see how loud it is and when it gets loud, we’ll go to the tools that we need. But we’ve definitely been practicing it.”

Of course, one thing about Michigan the past few seasons is that it has overpowered lesser teams. Even Alabama had its struggles on the line of scrimmage in the Rose Bowl last season.

Skipper expects more of the same from the Wolverines, but as he notes, his team strives to be physical, too.

“They’re a physical football team,” Skipper said. “They put it on film. they’re fundamentally sound. so — hey, we got this. We have the same model. Let’s go out there and see who has it, who’s going to take it. and I’m excited for it. I think our guys play physical. We have a lot of full pad practices. We did a lot of live tackle-to-the-ground stuff. So it’s time to go, let the chips out there and see how they fall.”

One thing that makes it extra hard to prepare for Michigan this year is that there is no returning quarterback and the competition continues to be ongoing between Alex Orji and Davis Warren. A starter won’t likely be revealed until kickoff on Saturday evening.

“We’re anticipating seeing both, and we’re ready to see both, but they’re going to do however they’re going to do it, and then we’re going to have to adjust,” Skipper said. “You get ready, you see all the stuff they did last year, and then you get in the first game, and then there’s going to be new wrinkles, because they obviously have good coaching staff also.

“So they’re going to do things that are good for their quarterback, their O-line, and their running backs and all that type of stuff, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s a game of adjustments. It really is. And it’s not halftime adjustments. This is going to be series-to-series adjustments. If we wait till halftime, this game will be over. So, we’ll be adjusting as we go.”

Michigan and Fresno State are set to kick off at 7:34 p.m. EDT at The Big House. The season opener will be broadcast live on NBC.

Sherrone Moore preparing for the unknown with Fresno State in Week 1

Don’t want to end up like Florida State did in Week 0. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At long last, it’s game week and the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines will start what they call ‘the road to Atlanta’ on Saturday when they host Fresno State for the season opener at The Big House.

One not-so-different thing between the two teams is that both will have first-year head coaches — Michigan with Sherrone Moore and Fresno State with Tim Skipper. Skipper served as the team’s linebackers coach before he was the acting head coach for the team’s bowl game. Incumbent head coach Jeff Tedford eventually stepped down from the program over the summer due to health concerns.

For Moore and the Wolverines, especially with Skipper having a defensive background compared to Tedford’s offensive bona fides, the maize and blue have to be prepared for anything and everything come Saturday.

“I think, first of all, whenever you have a new coach, obviously being a new coach, but whenever you have a new coach, there’s the unknown,” Moore said. “There’s the not really sure. Coach Skipper has been in the system. He’s been there. He’s been with them, so he’s evolved in the culture. It’s something that’s been very successful, so I don’t see him diverging too much from what they’ve done.

“I know he was a defensive coordinator, so I don’t know how much evolved he will be with the defense or not, but I can see that there’s definitely going to be some wrinkles and things that we’ve got to be prepared for, but they’re a good football team. They went 9-4 last year. They’re tough. They’re blue-collar. They play extremely hard, so it’s going to be a challenge for us to make sure we do the same thing.”

The biggest concern when it comes to defending the Bulldogs comes in the way of junior quarterback Mikey Keene.

In 2023, Keene completed 67.1% of his passes for 2,976 yards, with 24 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Moore says that the biggest key to the game, at least defensively, is to get Keene off-balance and work to force him into some mistakes.

“Yeah, I think it starts, No. 1, with their quarterback, Mikey Keene,” Moore said. “He’s not as big as a lot of quarterbacks, but he gets the ball out quick. He’s mobile. The offense all goes through him, so for us to be successful against him, it’s about how we stop him, how we contain him. He’s going to make his throws. He’s going to do some really good things. He’s going to be able to scramble outside the box, so we’ve got to keep him contained and confuse him a little bit with coverages and things we do and make it messy for him because it really goes through him. When he’s healthy for them, he does a really good job of ball control and controlling the offense, and you can see that the offense has a lot more confidence with him in the game.”

Fresno State wasn’t a slouch defensively last year, either, ranking 48th in yards per play allowed in 2023. Michigan’s goal, of course, will be to show that it can move the ball, complete drives and score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

Fresno State football coach Jeff Tedford steps down amidst health concerns

The Fresno State Bulldogs open the season Aug. 31 at Michigan, but will be without head coach Jeff Tedford after he stepped down on Monday.

The Fresno State Bulldogs will kick off the 2024 college football season in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines without legendary head coach Jeff Tedford after the 62-year-old announced on Monday he is stepping down for health reasons.

This is the second time Tedford has stepped down at Fresno State due to his health, first doing so in 2019 before he was rehired three seasons later after his replacement, Kalen DeBoer, went to Washington.

Tedford went 45-22 across five seasons at Fresno State, including 19-8 the past two years. The Bulldogs were picked third in a Mountain West preseason poll, and are searching their fourth consecutive nine-win season – which has not happened since the team’s memorable run from 2001-2004.

Known as a quarterback guru, Tedford coached Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller at Cal during an excellent 11-season run which included a Pac-10 Championship in 2004. He also worked as an assistant coach at Oregon and Fresno State, working with quarterbacks David Carr, Joey Harrington, Trent Dilfer, and Akili Smith among others.

Tedford will be replaced on an interim basis by Tim Skipper, the team’s current assistant head coach and linebackers coach. Skipper played for the Bulldogs from 1997-2000 and has been in multiple roles as an assistant coach for over 20 years.

Michigan football Week 1 opponent Fresno State loses head coach

We wish you better health, Coach Tedford.

In just a month and a half, Michigan football will take the field for the first time in defense of its national championship. However, the opposing team will not have its legendary head coach roaming its sideline.

Jeff Tedford has long been known as an offensive guru dating back to his days as the Oregon offensive coordinator starting in 1998. He was then the head coach of Cal before becoming the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one year. After bouncing around in the CFL and becoming an analyst for Washington, Tedford eventually became the head coach of Fresno State in 2017. But due to health issues, Tedford announced he’s stepping down from being the Bulldogs’ head coach, effective immediately.

It’s unclear as of this writing as to who will take over for Tedford and if they will change any of the philosophies of Fresno State.

Michigan is still slated to face off against the Bulldogs at night on August 31.

Could Fresno State land more notable USC transfers in the portal?

Will more Trojans follow Korey Foreman to Fresno?

Former five-star recuit Korey Foreman transferred to the Fresno State Bulldogs earlier this week, but that might not be the only USC player who moves to the Valley and plays for Jeff Tedford.

Foreman, out of Corona Centennial High School, was ranked as the No. 3 recruit in the country during his cycle. The industry-generated 247 Composite rated him as a five-star prospect and the 12th-best player in the history of the composite.

In 2021, he played in 11 games as a true freshman, totaling 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Foreman appeared in 12 games in 2022, but he posted only 13 tackles, one TFL, and an interception.

This past season in 2023, he appeared in the first three games, made one tackle, and then opted to save the year as a redshirt.

The question has to be asked: Could Foreman bring more of his Trojan teammates with him to play for Jeff Tedford?

Former Arizona and USC junior wide receiver Dorian Singer and junior offensive lineman Andres Dewerk are also Fresno State targets in 2024 as well. Keep an eye on them.

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Fresno State head coach stepping away for ‘personal health concerns,’ will not coach bowl game

The school announced the Bulldogs head coach has stepped away effective immediately and will not coach the bowl game as he addresses “personal health concerns.”

Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford has stepped away from his role effective immediately and will not coach the Bulldogs in their bowl game as he deals with “personal health concerns,” the school athletic director Terry Tumey announced on Friday.

Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Tim Skipper will be the acting head coach for the school during their bowl appearance, the university announced in the same statement.

“The entire Fresno State community sends its thoughts and prayers to Coach Tedford and wish him a speedy recovery,” Tumey wrote in his statement.

Tedford, 62, coached the California Golden Bears from 2002-2012. He first coached Fresno State, his alma mater, from 2017-19 before he resigned, saying he wanted to focus on his health and family. He returned to coach the program ahead of the 2022 season.

Across Tedford’s five seasons at the helm, the Bulldogs have three 10-win seasons and a combined record of 44-22.

 

USA TODAY Sports releases updated bowl projections after Week 3

USA TODAY Sports has released its updated bowl projections after an interesting week of college football.

USA TODAY Sports has released its updated bowl projections after an interesting week of college football. This week brought some crazy upsets as Florida knocked off Tennessee in the swamp, Missouri beat Kansas State on a 61-yard field goal and BYU beat Arkansas in Fayetteville.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers had a great week as they traveled to Starkville, Mississippi, and put a 41-14 beatdown on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] had generational games in the win. How would that affect where the Tigers stand in the bowl projections?

USA TODAY Sports has LSU playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game. They have the Tigers playing the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30.

Fresno State is 3-0 so far and beat Arizona State 29-0 on the road last week. They are a good football team that plays in a sub-par conference. They should be able to run the table in the Mountain West. Their biggest remaining hurdles will be Wyoming and Boise State.

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Vikings 2023 NFL draft scouting report: Fresno State QB Jake Haener

The Fresno State quarterback was a fantastic player for the Bulldogs the last three years. How does he stack up as a prospect?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2023 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at wide receiver, running back, cornerback and both interior and edge pass rusher.

The Vikings are slated to have five picks going into the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.

Vikings 2023 NFL draft scouting report: Fresno State WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper

The Fresno State star wide receiver was a favorite target of Jake Haener. How does Jalen Moreno-Cropper stack up as a draft prospect?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2023 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at wide receiver, running back, cornerback and both interior and edge pass rusher.

The Vikings are slated to have five picks in the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.