After a season defined by highs and lows, the Mountain West Conference champions will conclude its season on Saturday against the Washington State Cougars in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.
Kickoff is 12:30 p.m at the SoFi Stadium. The game will also be televised on ABC.
Washington State leads the all-time series against Fresno State football at 3-1.
This is many Bulldogs’ first time visiting the stadium itself. Among the first-time visitors is Fresno State Head Coach Jeff Tedford. A native of Southern California, Tedford was blown away when he saw the stadium.
“It’s even better than I would’ve imagined,” Tedford said in a Q&A posted on social media by the LA Bowl.
The ‘Dogs come into the contest at 9-4, an eight game winning streak and a conference championship. The Cougars are 7-5.
Cougar Head Coach Jake Dickert took over mid-way through the 2021 season and has a record of 10-8 in his two seasons.
During the 2022 season, both Fresno State and Washington State faced both Oregon State and USC.
The Bulldogs fell to the Beavers 35-32 in a back-and-forth game on Sept. 10. The Cougars’ game was much more one sided. The Beavers beat the Cougars 24-10 on Oct. 15.
Both teams also were defeated by USC. Fresno State was soundly defeated 45-17. Washington State was able to keep the game close but couldn’t contain USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning QB Caleb Williams, as they lost 30-14.
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener was asked before the season what it would mean to close out his collegiate career playing in the LA Bowl.
“Just being able to go out and enjoy that would be awesome for the program and for our team,” Haener said.
Bulldog defensive back Evan Williams was asked the same question.
“It would be an awesome opportunity, I know how great that stadium is,” Williams said.
In his final season, Haener had his best season with Fresno State. In games where Haener played the entire game, Fresno State had a 7-1 record, with the only loss coming to Oregon State.
Haener led the entire nation in completion percentage at 72.6%. To go along with the high completion percentage, Haener limited turnovers with only three interceptions on the season.
Haener also set a Mountain West record with a touchdown pass in 28 consecutive games. Over the last five games, Haener has a TD/INT ratio of 11-0.
On the other side, Washington State received solid quarterback play from sophomore Cameron Ward. Ward threw 23 touchdowns and was only picked off eight times. Ward finished the season on a hot streak. Over his last five games, Ward completed 65.4% of his passes and had a 7-0 TD/INT ratio.
Over the season, the Bulldogs scored an average of 30.7 points per game and only gave up 20.5, which ranked 25th in the country. The ‘Dogs had a balanced offense; they averaged 33.6 passes per game and 33.4 rushes per game.
The Cougars scored 27.8 points per game and allowed 22.4. They featured a pass heavy offense, passing on nearly 58% of offensive snaps.
Wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper was Haener’s favorite target throughout the year. Moreno-Cropper led the team with 79 receptions and 1044 receiving yards, the first 1000-yard season by a Bulldog since KeeShawn Johnson totaled 1340 in 2018.
Washington State will be without three of its four most productive receivers. De’Zhaun Stribling, Donovan Ollie and Renard Bell will all miss the game.
Looking ahead, Moreno-Cropper and running back Jordan Mims will be participating in the Shrine Bowl Feb. 2 at Allegiant Stadium. Haener will play in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 4 in Mobile, Alabama. In the Senior Bowl, the two teams are coached by NFL head coaches. Players who are invited to the game are usually drafted by an NFL team.