Fresno State’s road to a third consecutive Mountain West title features eight straight games without a bye — concluded by a road test at Boise State and kicked off by three straight BCS opponents.

The Mountain West released its 2014 conference schedule on Thursday, and the Bulldogs face a demanding set of games to start both the season and conference play. Five of the Bulldogs’ first eight games are on the road; so are three of their first four Mountain West games.

Fresno State opens conference play at New Mexico on Sept. 27. The Bulldogs play at Boise State on Oct. 18 before receiving their first bye of the season.

Fresno State will host Nebraska (Sept. 13), Southern Utah (Sept. 20), San Diego State (Oct. 4), Wyoming (Nov. 1), San Jose State (Nov. 8) and Hawaii (Nov. 29) at Bulldog Stadium this season.

So far, all of Fresno State’s 12 games have been scheduled on Saturdays, though that could change as the conference and its TV partners — CBS Sports Network and ESPN — decide which games to shift to Thursdays and Fridays for the broadcast schedule.

“Our program is excited to see our full 2014 schedule come out today, and we know the Red Wave, too, will be excited to see the lineup of teams coming to Bulldog Stadium,” Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter said. “We look forward to the challenge of defending our Mountain West championship.”

The Bulldogs open the season in back-to-back road games against Pac-12 competition — at USC (Aug. 30) and at Utah (Sept. 6).