2017 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

The 2017 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Jeff Tedford and played their home games at Bulldog Stadium as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the West Division. They finished the season 10–4, 7–1 in Mountain West play to win the West Division. They lost to Mountain Division champion Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they defeated Houston. They became only the second team in college football history to win ten games the year after they lost ten or more games (1–11 in 2016).

2017 Fresno State Bulldogs football
MW West Division champion Hawaii Bowl champion
MW Championship Game, L 14–17 vs. Boise State
Hawaii Bowl, W 33–27 vs. Houston
Conference	Mountain West Conference
	West Division
2017 record	10–4 (7–1 MW)
Head coach	Jeff Tedford (1st as HC, 7th overall season)
Offensive coordinator	Kalen DeBoer (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Orlondo Steinauer (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Bulldog Stadium (Capacity: 41,031)

2017 Mountain West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 22 Boise State xy$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Colorado State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Wyoming		5	–	3					8	–	5
Utah State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Air Force		4	–	4					5	–	7
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
Fresno State xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
San Diego State		6	–	2					10	–	3
UNLV		4	–	4					5	–	7
Nevada		3	–	5					3	–	9
Hawaii		1	–	7					3	–	9
San Jose State		1	–	7					2	–	11
Championship: Boise State 17, Fresno State 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

In a twist of irony, Tedford, who was the head coach at California from 2002 to 2011, took over for Tim DeRuyter, who was hired to be the defensive coordinator at California for the 2017 season.

Personnel

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruiting class

The Bulldogs signed a total of 23 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Marc-David Bien-Aime OL	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Montmorency CC	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	365 lb (166 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Matthew Boateng DB	Ajax, Ontario, Canada	Arizona Western CC	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Dec 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Dontae Bull OL	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada	Belmont HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	Jan 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Richard Cage DL	Corona, California	Eleanor Roosevelt HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Earl Chambers DL	Brooklyn, New York	UAB	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Sherman Coleman DB	Houston, Texas	Cisco CC	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Dec 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Chris Coleman ATH	Bakersfield, California	Garces Memorial HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 7, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Damien DeGruy DL	Harvey, Louisiana	McDonogh HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Wylan Free DB	Compton, California	Lynwood HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jan 21, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Derrion Grim WR	Stockton, California	San Joaquin Delta CC	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Dec 29, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Gunner Javernick TE	Cañon City, Colorado	Ventura CC	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Nov 27, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:
Patrick Jeune WR	Inglewood, California	Morningside High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 1, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
T.J. Mauga DL	Fallon, Nevada	Churchill County HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Jan 31, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Joradn Mims RB	East Palo Alto, California	Menlo-Atherton HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 17, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Daniel Moraga ATH	Oxnard, California	Pacifica HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jan 30, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Arron Mosby DB	Sanger, California	Sanger High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jan 28, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Emeka Ndoh DL	Reedley, California	De Anza CC	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Dec 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Zane Pope ATH	Moorpark, California	Moorpark High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Jorge Reyna QB	Downey, California	West Los Angeles CC	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	Nov 28, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Ronnie Rivers RB	Brentwood, California	Freedom HS	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Dec 5, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Syrus Tuitele OL	Chico, California	Pleasant Valley HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Zelan Tupuola OL	Carson, California	JSerra Catholic HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:
Quireo Woodley OL	Murrieta, California	Fresno CC	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	312 lb (142 kg)	Nov 11, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	Incarnate Word*		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 66–0	39,447
September 9	12:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Alabama*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN2	L 10–41	101,127
September 16	6:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Washington*		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	P12N	L 16–48	68,384
September 30	7:00 p.m.	Nevada		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	AT&T RM	W 41–21	27,434
October 7	4:30 p.m.	at San Jose State		CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA (Valley Cup)	ESPN3	W 27–10	18,483
October 14	7:00 p.m.	New Mexico		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	AT&T RM	W 38–0	28,090
October 21	7:30 p.m.	at San Diego State		SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA (Battle for the Oil Can)	CBSSN	W 27–3	43,243
October 28	7:00 p.m.	UNLV		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	AT&T RM	L 16–26	27,922
November 4	7:45 p.m.	BYU*		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	ESPN2	W 20–13	29,370
November 11	8:00 p.m.	at Hawaii		Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Golden Screwdriver)	KSEE/Spectrum OC16	W 31–21	21,357
November 18	11:00 a.m.	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	AT&T RM	W 13–7	15,440
November 25	12:30 p.m.	No. 25 Boise State		Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (Battle for the Milk Can)	CBSSN	W 28–17	31,526
December 2	4:45 p.m.	at Boise State	No. 25	Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID (MW Championship Game)	ESPN	L 14–17	24,515
December 24	5:30 p.m.	vs. Houston*		Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI (Hawaii Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–27	20,546
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Pacific time

Schedule Source: 2017 Fresno State Bulldogs Football Schedule

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	25	RV	RV
Coaches	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									NR	NR	NR	NR	25	NR	Not released

Game summaries

Incarnate Word

Incarnate Word at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 • Bulldogs 17 17 32 0 66 Date: September 2, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:06 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 1 minute Game attendance: 39,447 Game weather: Temperature: 102 °F (39 °C) • Weather: Fair • Wind: NW 6 MPH Referee: Mike Cuttone TV announcers (None): None

at Alabama

Fresno State at Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 3 0 0 7 10 • No. 1 Crimson Tide 14 14 3 10 41 Date: September 9, 2017 Location: Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Game start: 12:35 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 1 minute Game attendance: 101,127 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Clear and Sunny • Wind: 9 MPH ENE Referee: Marc Curles TV announcers (ESPN2): Adam Amin, Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman (sideline)

at Washington

Fresno State at Washington

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 7 6 3 16 • No. 6 Huskies 27 14 7 0 48 Date: September 16, 2017 Location: Husky Stadium Seattle, WA Game start: 6:40 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 6 minutes Game attendance: 68,384 Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Hazy • Wind: None Referee: Michael Mothershed TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson, Yogi Roth and Jill Savage (sideline)

Nevada

Nevada at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Wolf Pack 0 14 0 7 21 • Bulldogs 10 21 7 3 41 Date: September 30, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:08 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 12 minutes Game attendance: 27,434 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 11 WNW Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (AT&T RM): Ari Wolfe, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

at San Jose State

Fresno State at San Jose State
(Valley Cup)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 14 7 0 6 27 Spartans 0 0 7 3 10 Date: October 7, 2017 Location: CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA Game start: 4:36 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 18,483 Game weather: Temperature: 82 °F (28 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: WNW 12 MPH Referee: Scott Campbell TV announcers (ESPN3): Drew Fellios and Forrest Conoly

New Mexico

New Mexico at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Lobos 0 0 0 0 0 • Bulldogs 14 7 10 7 38 Date: October 14, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:08 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 2 hours and 57 minutes Game attendance: 28,090 Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 5 MPH Referee: Kevin Boitmann TV announcers (AT&T RM): Ari Wolfe and Joel Dreessen

at San Diego State

Fresno State at San Diego State
(Battle for the Oil Can)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 7 10 10 0 27 Aztecs 0 3 0 0 3 Date: October 21, 2017 Location: SDCCU Stadium San Diego, CA Game start: 7:37 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 2 minutes Game attendance: 43,243 Game weather: Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 2 NNW Referee: Stephen Baron TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Dell (sideline)

UNLV

UNLV at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 3 6 7 10 26 Bulldogs 9 0 7 0 16 Date: October 28, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:08 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 2 hours and 50 minutes Game attendance: 27,922 Game weather: Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Weather: Clear and Crisp • Wind: 2 MPH Referee: Daniel Romeo TV announcers (AT&T RM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

BYU

BYU at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Cougars 0 6 7 0 13 • Bulldogs 10 0 3 7 20 Date: November 4, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:51 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 29,370 Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: NW 3 MPH Referee: Reggie Smith TV announcers (ESPN2): Roy Philpott and Tom Ramsey

at Hawaii

Fresno State at Hawaii
(Golden Screwdriver)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 0 21 10 0 31 Rainbow Warriors 7 0 0 14 21 Date: November 11, 2017 Location: Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI Game start: 8:07 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 50 minutes Game attendance: 21,357 Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Weather: 84% Humidity and Rain • Wind: NE 8 MPH Referee: Michael VanderVelde TV announcers (KSEE/Spectrum OC16): Robert Kekaula, Rich Miano and Scott Robbs (sideline)

at Wyoming

Fresno State at Wyoming

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 3 7 3 0 13 Cowboys 0 0 0 7 7 Date: November 18, 2017 Location: War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY Game start: 11:07 a.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 2 minutes Game attendance: 15,440 Game weather: Temperature: 27 °F (−3 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: WSW 22 Referee: Brad Van Vark TV announcers (AT&T RM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

Boise State

Boise State at Fresno State
(Battle for the Milk Can)

1 2 3 4 Total No. 25 Broncos 7 0 3 7 17 • Bulldogs 7 3 6 12 28 Date: November 25, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 12:35 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 27 minutes Game attendance: 31,526 Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SW 4 MPH Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz, Jay Feely and Jenny Dell (sideline)

at Boise State (Mountain West Championship Game)

Fresno State at Boise State
(Mountain West Conference Championship Game)

1 2 3 4 Total No. 25 Bulldogs 0 14 0 0 14 • Broncos 3 7 0 7 17 Date: December 2, 2017 Location: Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID Game start: 4:50 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 27 minutes Game attendance: 24,515 Game weather: Temperature: 40 °F (4 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: E 4 MPH Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (ESPN): Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek and Molly McGrath (sideline)

vs Houston (Hawaii Bowl)

Fresno State vs Houston
(Hawaii Bowl)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 0 13 7 13 33 Cougars 7 3 10 7 27 Date: December 24, 2017 Location: Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI Game start: 5:36 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 41 minutes Game attendance: 20,546 Game weather: Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Weather: Humidity – 45% • Wind: NE 13 MPH Referee: Jason Autrey TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Cotter, Rod Gilmore and Shelley Smith (sideline)

References