Fresno State Bulldogs
Barring a late-season meltdown last year, the Bulldogs were one of the conference’s top contenders. They started the season with five straight wins on the way to an 8-1 start before losing three in a row to close out the season. The Bulldogs should be looking to pick up where they left off (after nine games) and have another strong year.
The headlines about Fresno State are going to focus on the recent coaching change. In July, Jeff Medford stepped aside citing health concerns. Tim Skipper, the team’s assistant head coach and linebackers coach was put in charge on an interim basis.
While it seems like a big deal, it’s really a non-factor for two reasons, both of which have more to do with Tedford than the school.
The first is that Tedford, unfortunately, has been battling health issues for some time. He missed Fresno State’s bowl game last year due to health concerns — Skipper stepped in then too — and his retirement has probably been a topic of conversation behind closed doors for a while now. While disappointing, this likely did not come as a total surprise to those around the program.
The second is that Tedford is a really, really fantastic coach. He ran a great program and in his years at the helm, he built a program bigger than himself. He leaves the cupboard filled to the brim and the Bulldogs shouldn’t have a problem continuing the momentum that he built. This is evidenced, in part, by preseason All-Conference selections Mikey Keene, Malik Sherrod, and Mose Vavao headlining a star-studded offense installed by Tedford.
Hopefully stepping away from his coaching responsibilities allows Tedford to focus on his health. When he tunes in to games, which he probably will often, what he will see is a very successful team winning a fair amount.
The Bulldogs will have a great opportunity to prove themselves this year. They have a pair of huge matchups bookending their schedule as they open their season at Michigan and close it at UCLA. In conference play, Fresno State will control its own destiny. On paper, the only team that should be better than the Dogs is Boise State, and they avoid it. The Cowboys are solid and they dodge them too. Fresno State does play UNLV and Air Force and has to do so on the road in both cases, but should handle those, and all the other conference teams they play this year, including Washington State. Fresno State should go at least 9-3 but could climb as high as 11-1.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
He’s only going into his third year, but Timmy Chang has somehow become one of the conference’s most-tenured coaches.
Hawaii hasn’t seen the success that they would have wanted out of their quarterback-turned-coach, but they have been doing well all things considered.
Hawaii has the deck stacked against it; recruiting to the island can be difficult, scheduling can be tricky, and Aloha stadium is currently uninhabitable, leaving the ‘Bows to play at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex, a venue previously used for football practice and women’s soccer. Even still, Hawaii seems to be trending in the right direction under Chang.
The team has seen some success recently, mostly under Nick Rolovich, but Todd Graham resigned amid some controversy after his second year. So Chang was inheriting a program that needed some work (despite the middling record of 7-6). He posted a 3-10 record in his first year and improved to 5-8 in year two. He’s looking to add a few more wins to the record this year.
Senior quarterback Brayden Schager is going to be the key for Hawaii. Last year led the conference in completions, passing yards, total yards, and passing touchdowns. He notably threw for 3542 yards and 26 scores and was an All-Mountain West honorable mention. If he lives up to the high expectations this year, he could be the defibrillator to a program in need of resuscitation. Hawaii is just waiting to become one of the most exciting programs in the conference, and the nation, if things break just right.
It still might be a work in progress, but Timmy Chang should once again be leading his Rainbow Warriors to a bowl soon — this time as a coach. If things don’t come together, Hawaii could go 5-7 and come up just short of the postseason, but this team should be going bowling this year and could end up at 8-4.