Add another laurel to the Fresno State Bulldogs’ historic 12-2 football season.
College football writer Alex Kirshner at SBNation has declared the Bulldogs champions of California college football.
When you consider that California is home to such traditional powers as USC, Stanford, and UCLA, it’s an honor worth noting.
“It’s hard to argue anyone put on a better show (in California) than 12-2 Fresno State. The Bulldogs won the Mountain West by winning at Boise State, and they finished ninth in S&P+ after whooping … Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl.” — SBNation college football analyst Alex Kirshner
Kirshner writes that his selections, while subjective, are based on “record, championships, head-to-head, and general goodness.”
Numbers Say Bulldogs Deserve No. 9 Final Ranking
In his post today, Kirshner selects a “team of the year” in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
As there are no college football teams in Alaska, he awarded team-of-the-year honors to ” to the guy and his dogs who won the Iditarod. The musher is Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Norway, and his lead dogs are named Russeren and Olive.”
About the Mountain West champion Bulldogs, Kirshner says: “It’s hard to argue anyone put on a better show (in California) than 12-2 Fresno State. The Bulldogs won the Mountain West by winning at Boise State, and they finished ninth in S&P+ after whooping … Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl.”
You see the S&P+ rankings compiled by Football Outsiders at this link.
Bulldogs in Top 3 West of the Rockies
Associated Press slotted Fresno at No. 18 — highest in program history — in its final poll.
Fresno State was the third-highest ranked team west of the Rockies, trailing only No. 10 Washington State and No. 13 Washington.
Fresno State finished No. 22 in 2004 under coach Pat Hill. In the Jim Sweeney era, the Bulldogs had a final ranking of No. 24 in 1992.
Related Story: Blue Turf OT Win in Snow Vaults Bulldogs into Las Vegas Bowl
Looking Ahead
The highlights of Fresno State’s 2019 schedule include nonconference games at USC and a home date against Minnesota. Boise State isn’t on the Bulldogs’ regular-season schedule, but a home date against Utah State is. The Aggies finished 11-2 and ranked No. 22 after destroying North Texas, 52-13, in the New Mexico Bowl.
Kirshner declared Boise State the best team in Idaho and Utah State the best in Utah for 2018, giving the Mountain West three mythical state champions.
