The Fresno State Bulldogs (6-3, 3-2) hit the home stretch of the 2025 regular season by hosting the University of Wyoming Cowboys (4-5, 2-3) on Nov. 15.
The Bulldogs are coming off one of their most critical wins of the season on Nov. 1, defeating the Boise State Broncos 30-7 on the road. The win helped out the Bulldogs’ slim playoff hopes.
After their third and final bye week of the season, the Bulldogs are ready to hop back on the horse.
“We started off with a good meeting this morning,” said Head Coach Matt Entz at his weekly press conference. “Our guys are excited. We talked a lot about our senior group that we have. … All they’re guaranteed is 11 more practices after today, and so we’re going to do everything we can to make sure these seniors go out the right way.”
Entz said he was “bored to death” Saturday with the extra bye week, giving the Bulldogs an extra wrinkle to manage in the schedule.
With the Cowboys coming to Valley Children’s Stadium, the Bulldogs hope to win on the 45th anniversary of the stadium’s opening.
Since 1980, the Bulldogs are 202-67-2 at Valley Children’s Stadium. That 67th loss was the first shutout loss in the history of the stadium.
With so many question marks and a new quarterback at the helm, the Bulldogs looked to be out of the running for a Mountain West Championship game.
The Bulldogs then waltzed into Albertsons Stadium and proceeded to play their best defensive game of the season by forcing three critical turnovers that they turned into 17 points.
“If you’re plus three [in the turnover battle], you win 80% of the games,” Entz said. “If you’re plus one, you win 60%. So, I think statistically, it tells you that you got to protect the football. The ball is the program.”
The Cowboys come in with a 4-5 record, losing their previous game to the San Diego State Aztecs 24-7. Even with the sub-.500 record, the Cowboys boast a top-30 defense in the nation, only surrendering 20.2 points per game.
The offense for the Cowboys is bottom 15 in the nation, scoring just 19.4 points per game.
Quarterback Kaden Anderson has started every game for the Cowboys, posting 1,727 yards passing with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
On the season, the Cowboys have given the ball up three more times than they have taken it away.
Despite this, freshman running back Samuel Harris has been a key contributor to the run game. His 5.3 yards per carry will give the Bulldogs’ defense something to consider.
Both times the Bulldogs came off a bye week this season, there was some rust shown. A slow start against the University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack and a shutout loss to the Aztecs pushed Entz to focus on something else while the Bulldogs were on pause — their health.
“I think if you look at the teams that play well in November, typically they’re probably the healthiest teams as well,” Entz said.
With just three games left on the schedule, health will be a crucial part for the Bulldogs to play an extra game in December.
The Bulldogs will kick off their final stretch of the regular season on Nov. 15 against the Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. on FS1.
