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Fresno State

Bulldogs · Pac-12

Head coach Matt Entz Year 1 with Fresno State

Year-1 HCs (2015-2024) averaged -0.19 W vs SP+ expected · n=83

Season Projection · 2026 W0

10,000 sims
6.2
Expected wins
6-5
Proj record
3 to 9
Win range (90%)
#65 (42–90)
Final rank (90%)
0%
Make playoff
13%
Win conference

Path to Glory

Tap a win or a loss on each pivotal game to see how the playoff probability shifts. Leave any game unset to average across both outcomes.

Make the playoff

0%

Baseline projection.

  • at San Diego State
    Away · Oct 18
  • at Washington State
    Away · Oct 4
  • at Texas State
    Away · Nov 14
  • at Utah State
    Away · Nov 8
  • vs Boise State
    Home · Oct 11

Pivotal games are the 5 with the largest playoff-probability swing, ranked by the model. Math: chained Bayesian log-odds update from the conditional simulation set; gets the directionally right answer but won't perfectly capture cross-game correlations until the full Monte Carlo pipeline lands.

Returning production · 2025

46 PCI
  • Quarterback 17% (1/6 players)
  • Offensive line 67% (12/18 players)
  • Skill (RB/WR/TE) 48% (15/31 players)
  • Front 7 (DL/LB) 52% (16/31 players)
  • Secondary 60% (15/25 players)
  • Special teams 83% (5/6 players)

PCI weights returning production by position group (QB/OL heaviest). 70%+ is healthy continuity; 45-70% is a normal rebuild; below 45% is a meaningful turnover.

If QB1 is out (E.J. Warner)

GIE projects a 0.3 rating drop and a 1.4pp shift in playoff probability if Fresno State loses its QB1 for an extended stretch. (n=3 historical samples; pooled across recent seasons.)

Situational efficiency · 2025

FBS percentile rank
  • 3rd-down conversion 35.5% 39th — below avg
  • Red-zone TD rate 10.2% 17th — bottom tier
  • 4th-down aggression 36.4% 50th — average
  • Late & close 4.6 yds/play 34th — below avg

Percentile is across all FBS teams with play-by-play data for the season. "Late & close" is yards per play in Q4+ with a one-score margin — a proxy for clutch offensive performance.

More coming

Per-team pages get the full treatment in Phase 3: current rating, season projection histogram, schedule with win probabilities, and live overlays on Pylon stream days. For now, this page exists so stories and news have a permanent home as content rolls in.