2020 Fresno State Bulldogs football
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record3–3 (3–3 MW)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRyan Grubb (2nd season)
Offensive schemeAir raid
Defensive coordinatorWilliam Inge (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple 4–2–5
Home stadiumBulldog Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 San Jose State y$   7 – 0     7 – 1  
Boise State y   5 – 0     5 – 2  
Nevada   6 – 2     7 – 2  
San Diego State   4 – 2     4 – 4  
Hawaii   4 – 4     5 – 4  
Fresno State   3 – 3     3 – 3  
Air Force   2 – 2     3 – 3  
Wyoming   2 – 4     2 – 4  
New Mexico   2 – 5     2 – 5  
Colorado State   1 – 3     1 – 3  
Utah State   1 – 5     1 – 5  
UNLV   0 – 6     0 – 6  
Championship: San Jose State 34, Boise State 20
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mountain West suspended the season, but later decided to begin play on October 24.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2020 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs were led by first–year head coach Kalen DeBoer and played their games at Bulldog Stadium as a member of the Mountain West Conference.

On August 10, 2020, the Mountain West Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

On September 24, 2020, the Mountain West Conference resumed all fall sports competitions.

Schedule

Fresno State had non-conference games scheduled against Colorado and Texas A&M. They were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]

On November 19, the game vs. San Jose State scheduled for November 21 was canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test and contact tracing within the Fresno State program.[5]

On November 22, the game vs. San Diego State scheduled for November 27 was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Fresno State football program.[6]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
October 244:30 p.m.Hawaiidagger
KSEEL 19–340
October 297:00 p.m.Colorado State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA
CBSSNW 38–170
November 712:30 p.m.at UNLV
CBSSNW 40–272,000
November 1411:30 a.m.at Utah State
FS2W 35–160
November 214:00 p.m.San Jose State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA (rivalry)
CBSSNNo Contest[5]
November 276:00 p.m.San Diego State
  • Bulldog Stadium
  • Fresno, CA (rivalry)
FS1No Contest
December 56:00 p.m.at Nevada
FS2L 26–3750
December 127:30 p.m.at New Mexico
FS1L 39–49250

[7]

Game summaries

Hawaii

See also: 2020 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team and Fresno State–Hawaii football rivalry
Game One – Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (0–0) at Fresno State Bulldogs (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rainbow Warriors 7 10 71034
Bulldogs 7 6 3319

at Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California

  • Date: Saturday, October 24, 2020
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Wind: NW 6 mph
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV announcers (KSEE): Mark Demsky (play-by-play), Andrew Marden (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Fresno State –2.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (11:34) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 7-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 5 plays, 26 yards, 3:22; Fresno State 7–0)
  • (4:00) HAW – Chevan Cordeiro 20-yard run, Matthew Shipley kick (Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 1:50; Tied 7–7)
Second quarter
  • (7:12) HAW – Matthew Shipley 34-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 5:37; Hawaii 10–7)
  • (1:50) FRES – Juan Rodriguez 18-yard pass from Jake Haener, kick missed (Drive: 2 plays, 33 yards, 0:11; Fresno State 13–10)
  • (0:27) HAW – Chevan Cordeiro 3-yard run, Matthew Shipley kick (Drive: 6 plays, 72 yards, 1:17; Hawaii 17–13)
Third quarter
  • (6:18) HAW – Calvin Turner 2-yard run, Matthew Shipley kick (Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards, 6:31; Hawaii 24–13)
  • (3:41) FRES – Cesar Silva 22-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:37; Hawaii 24–16)
Fourth quarter
  • (12:08) HAW – Matthew Shipley 24-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 2:53; Hawaii 27–16)
  • (10:13) FRES – Cesar Silva 25-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 1:55; Hawaii 27–19)
  • (4:52) HAW – Calvin Turner 4-yard run, Matthew Shipley kick (Drive: 12 plays, 70 yards, 5:15; Hawaii 34–19)
Statistics HAW FRES
First downs 27 22
Plays–yards 87–552 70–409
Rushes–yards 53–323 37–120
Passing yards 229 289
Passing: comp–att–int 20–30–0 17–31–3
Time of possession 32:56 27:04
Team Category Player Statistics
Hawaii Passing Chevan Cordeiro 20/30, 239 yards
Rushing Chevan Cordeiro 13 carries, 116 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Jared Smart 7 receptions, 89 yards
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 17/31, 289 yards TD, 3 INT
Rushing Ronnie Rivers 18 carries, 79 yards, TD
Receiving Keric Wheatfall 3 receptions, 73 yards

Colorado State

See also: 2020 Colorado State Rams football team
Game Two – Colorado State Rams (0–0) at Fresno State Bulldogs (0–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 3 7 0717
Bulldogs 7 17 7738

at Bulldog Stadium • Fresno, California

  • Date: Thursday, October 26, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind: WNW 5 mph
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV announcers (CBSSN): Ben Holden (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Colorado State –2.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (6:44) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 13-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 12 plays, 86 yards, 6:26; Fresno State 7–0)
  • (4:07) CSU – Robert Liss 24-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 2:32; Fresno State 7–3)
Second quarter
  • (13:57) CSU – Marcus McElroy Jr. 15-yard run, Robert Liss kick (Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 3:24; Colorado State 10–7)
  • (11:00) FRES – Cesar Silva 34-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 60 yards, 2:50; Tied 10–10)
  • (6:32) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 32-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 6 plays, 68 yards, 2:38; Fresno State 17–10)
  • (1:03) FRES – Jordan Mims 15-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 10 plays, 91 yards, 3:14; Fresno State 24–10)
Third quarter
  • (2:43) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 1-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 4:56; Fresno State 31–10)
Fourth quarter
  • (7:58) FRES – Jalen Moreno-Cropper 6-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, 2:41; Fresno State 38–10)
  • (0:41) CSU – Trey McBride 20-yard pass from Patrick O'Brien, Robert Liss kick (Drive: 5 plays, 36 yards, 1:15; Fresno State 38–17)
Statistics CSU FRES
First downs 21 24
Plays–yards 73–381 80–432
Rushes–yards 39–158 43–84
Passing yards 223 348
Passing: comp–att–int 17–33–0 25–36–0
Time of possession 24:10 35:50
Team Category Player Statistics
Colorado State Passing Todd Centeio 10/23, 141 yards
Rushing Todd Centeio 12 carries, 89 yards
Receiving Trey McBride 8 receptions, 130 yards, TD
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 22/32, 311 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Ronnie Rivers 23 carries, 95 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Keric Wheatfall 5 receptions, 87 yards

UNLV

See also: 2020 UNLV Rebels football team
Game Three – Fresno State Bulldogs (1–1) at UNLV Rebels (0–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 6 14 71340
Rebels 7 10 10027

at Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, Nevada

  • Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Windy • Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind: SW 25 mph
  • Game attendance: 2,000
  • TV announcers (CBSSN): Ben Holden (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Fresno State –11.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (10:20) FRES – Jake Haener 54-yard run, kick failed (Drive: 5 plays, 78 yards, 2:16; Fresno State 6–0)
  • (6:11) UNLV – Charles Williams 2-yard run, Daniel Gutierrez kick (Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 4:05; UNLV 7–6)
Second quarter
  • (11:39) UNLV – Daniel Gutierrez 28-yard field goal (Drive: 18 plays, 74 yards, 6:13; UNLV 10–6)
  • (9:34) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 5-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 1:58; Fresno State 13–10)
  • (6:12) UNLV – Tyleek Collins 43-yard pass from Max Gilliam, Daniel Gutierrez kick (Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 3:13; UNLV 17–13)
  • (1:25) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 33-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards, 0:42; Fresno State 20–17)
Third quarter
  • (13:24) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 16-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 3 plays, 25 yards, 0:25; Fresno State 27–17)
  • (6:35) UNLV – Daniel Gutierrez 20-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 6:33; Fresno State 27–20)
  • (3:41) UNLV – Max Gilliam 71-yard run, Daniel Gutierrez kick (Drive: 2 plays, 71 yards, 0:17; Tied 27–27)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:55) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 10-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 11 plays, 79 yards, 3:35; Fresno State 34–27)
  • (7:14) FRES – Cesar Silva 35-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 1:43; Fresno State 37–27)
  • (1:51) FRES – Cesar Silva 31-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:56; Fresno State 40–27)
Statistics FRES UNLV
First downs 22 19
Plays–yards 73–487 79–402
Rushes–yards 36–243 46–242
Passing yards 244 160
Passing: comp–att–int 20–35–0 15–31–2
Time of possession 29:35 30:25
Team Category Player Statistics
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 15/23, 164 yards, TD
Rushing Ronnie Rivers 19 carries, 133 yards, 3 TD
Receiving Ronnie Rivers 6 receptions, 99 yards, TD
UNLV Passing Max Gilliam 15/31, 160 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing Max Gilliam 16 carries, 139 yards, TD
Receiving Kyle Williams 5 receptions, 52 yards

Utah State

See also: 2020 Utah State Aggies football team
Game Four – Fresno State Bulldogs (2–1) at Utah State Aggies (0–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 21 0735
Aggies 13 3 0016

at Maverik Stadium • Logan, Utah

  • Date: Saturday, November 14, 2020
  • Game time: 11:30 a.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 37 °F (3 °C) • Wind: W 14 mph
  • Game attendance: 0
  • TV announcers (FS2): Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play), Evan Moore (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Fresno State –10.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (11:02) USU – Jaylen Warren 86-yard run, kick failed (Drive: 1 plays, 86 yards, 0:13; Utah State 6–0)
  • (4:46) FRES – Jalen Moreno-Cropper 9-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:10; Fresno State 7–6)
  • (4:43) USU – Savon Scarver 94-yard kick return, Connor Coles kick (Utah State 13–7)
Second quarter
  • (12:27) FRES – Jalen Moreno-Cropper 59-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 4 plays, 96 yards, 1:27; Fresno State 14–13)
  • (5:41) FRES – Josh Kelly 71-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 4 plays, 85 yards, 1:20; Fresno State 21–13)
  • (1:59) USU – Connor Coles 38-yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 44 yards, 3:35; Fresno State 21–16)
  • (0:34) FRES – Ronnie Rivers 4-yard run, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 7 plays, 74 yards, 1:25; Fresno State 28–16)
Third quarter
  • No scoring plays
Fourth quarter
  • (5:21) FRES – Jalen Moreno-Cropper 44-yard pass from Jake Haener, Cesar Silva kick (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 3:12; Fresno State 35–16)
Statistics FRES USU
First downs 25 12
Plays–yards 75–541 60–343
Rushes–yards 37–119 35–199
Passing yards 422 144
Passing: comp–att–int 29–38–1 9–24–0
Time of possession 33:49 26:11
Team Category Player Statistics
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 29/38, 422 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing Ronnie Rivers 25 carries 132 yards, TD
Receiving Jalen Moreno-Cropper 10 receptions, 202 yards, 3 TD
Utah State Passing Jason Shelley 9/24, 144 yards
Rushing Jaylen Warren 9 carries, 136 yards, TD
Receiving Deven Thompkins 3 receptions, 92 yards

Nevada

See also: 2020 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
Game Five – Fresno State Bulldogs (3–1) at Nevada Wolfpack (5–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 13 0626
Wolf Pack 17 7 01337

at Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada

  • Date: Saturday, December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 44 °F (7 °C) • Wind: WNW 4 mph
  • Game attendance: 50
  • TV announcers (FS2): Anthony LaPanta (play-by-play), Ron Johnson (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Nevada –6.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (11:34) NEV – Brandon Talton 49-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, 3:26; Nevada 3–0)
  • (8:05) FRES – Josh Kelly 9-yard run, Mac Delena kick (Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:23; Fresno State 7–3)
  • (5:12) NEV – Cole Turner 5-yard pass from Carson Strong, Brandon Talton kick (Drive: 4 plays, 40 yards, 1:00; Nevada 10–7)
  • (3:30) NEV – Cole Turner 2-yard pass from Carson Strong, Brandon Talton kick (Drive: 3 plays, 21 yards, 1:19; Nevada 17–7)
Second quarter
  • (12:03) FRES – Jake Haener 3-yard run, Mac Delena kick (Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 6:27; Nevada 17–14)
  • (9:14) NEV – Tory Horton 17-yard pass from Carson Strong, Brandon Talton kick (Drive: 6 plays, 59 yards, 2:43; Nevada 24–14)
  • (1:32) FRES – Keric Wheatfall 19-yard pass from Jake Haener, kick missed (Drive: 4 plays, 58 yards, 1:00; Nevada 24–20)
Third quarter
  • No scoring plays
Fourth quarter
  • (13:42) NEV – Tory Horton 85-yard pass from Carson Strong, kick missed (Drive: 3 plays, 85 yards, 0:53; Nevada 30–20)
  • (5:32) NEV – Tory Horton 32-yard pass from Carson Strong, Brandon Talton kick (Drive: 5 plays, 65 yards, 2:40; Nevada 37–20)
  • (1:39) FRES – Zane Pope 21-yard pass from Jake Haener, kick missed (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 3:53; Nevada 37–26)
Statistics FRES NEV
First downs 30 14
Plays–yards 105–599 62–416
Rushes–yards 40–114 22–62
Passing yards 485 354
Passing: comp–att–int 41–65–0 23–39–2
Time of possession 35:01 24:59
Team Category Player Statistics
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 41/65, 485 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Ronnie Rivers 14 carries, 69 yards
Receiving Keric Wheatfall 6 receptions, 113 yards, TD
Nevada Passing Carson Strong 23/39 354 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Toa Taua 11 carries, 39 yards
Receiving Tory Horton 5 receptions, 148 yards, 3 TD

New Mexico

See also: 2020 New Mexico Lobos football team
Game Six – Fresno State Bulldogs (3–2) at New Mexico Lobos (1–5)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 17 7839
Lobos 7 14 72149

at Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, Nevada

  • Date: Saturday, December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind: N 7 mph
  • Game attendance: 250
  • TV announcers (FS1): Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (analyst)
  • Pregame line: Fresno State –14.5
Game information
First quarter
  • (11:28) FRES – Jalen Moreno-Cropper 10-yard pass from Jake Haener, Asa Fuller kick (Drive: 6 plays, 44 yards, 1:46; Fresno State 7–0)
  • (6:34) UNM – Isaiah Chavez 3-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:54; Tied 7–7)
Second quarter
  • (14:54) FRES – Zane Pope 16-yard pass from Jake Haener, Asa Fuller kick (Drive: 6 plays, 50 yards, 2:06; Fresno State 14–7)
  • (11:54) UNM – Nathaniel Jones 3-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:00; Tied 14–14)
  • (10:27) FRES – Asa Fuller 39-yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 1:22; Fresno State 17–14)
  • (8:47) FRES – Jordan Mims 84-yard run, Asa Fuller kick (Drive: 1 play, 84 yards, 0:15; Fresno State 24–14)
  • (8:47) UNM – Bobby Cole 74-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:20; Fresno State 24–21)
Third quarter
  • (6:53) FRES – Jake Haener 3-yard run, Asa Fuller kick (Drive: 16 plays, 70 yards, 7:59; Fresno State 31–21)
  • (4:49) UNM – Conner Kinslow 49-yard pass from Isaiah Chavez, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 5 plays, 77 yards, 1:58; Fresno State 31–28)
Fourth quarter
  • (10:20) UNM – Nathaniel Jones 10-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 14 plays, 85 yards, 7:33; New Mexico 35–31)
  • (7:26) UNM – Bobby Cole 35-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 1 play, 35 yards, 0:07; New Mexico 42–31)
  • (2:33) UNM – Bobby Cole 9-yard run, Donovan Murphree kick (Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 2:45; New Mexico 49–31)
  • (1:08) FRES – Mac Delena 24-yard pass from Jake Haener, Jake Haener–Zane Pope 2-pont pass kick (Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 1:18; New Mexico 49–39)
Statistics FRES UNM
First downs 23 24
Plays–yards 67–408 66–495
Rushes–yards 23–58 48–299
Passing yards 350 196
Passing: comp–att–int 26–43–1 14–18–0
Time of possession 28:27 31:33
Team Category Player Statistics
Fresno State Passing Jake Haener 26/43, 350 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing Jordan Mims 3 carries, 84 yards, TD
Receiving Jalen Moreno-Cropper 12 receptions, 134 yards, TD
New Mexico Passing Isaiah Chavez 14/18, 196 yards, TD
Rushing Bobby Cole 18 carries, 138 yards, 3 TD
Receiving Marcus Williams 3 receptions, 55 yards

References

  1. ^ "WE'RE BACK". twitter.com/MountainWest. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "Mountain West Postpones 2020 Fall Sports". TheMW.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Bromberg, Nick. "Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020". Yahoo News. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Kuwada, Robert (November 20, 2020). "Fresno State game against San Jose State canceled due to contact tracing among Bulldogs". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "San Diego State at Fresno State Football Game Canceled". themw.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Fresno State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
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