E.J. Warner is gaining more confidence as the Bulldogs quarterback, with his statistics finally offering a better reflection of his on-the-field performance.

After starting the year with five interceptions and no touchdowns, Warner has righted the stat sheet. He has since thrown five touchdown passes with no more picks. He boasts  73.2% completion rate — the 7th most accurate passer in the nation.

He has led his team to a 4-1 record after a season-opening loss at Kansas. Fresno State hosts Nevada on Saturday at Valley Children’s Stadium.

The four wins are tied for the most for any college team Warner has played on. At Temple, the Owls won three games each in 2022 and 2023; Rice won four games in 2024.

“Winning helps everything. If it’s not your best game, if you didn’t make a bunch of good plays, winning still makes the whole feeling feel better,” Warner said during a media session this week.

The winning plan against Nevada is straightforward, Warner said. Run the football, hold on to the football.

“I’m continuing to get more comfortable with the system, continuing to be more comfortable with the guys is the main thing,” Warner said. “A couple of balls haven’t bounced our way, but just continuing to stay on the grind, trust what I do, trust how I play, what I’ve been taught.”

Warner said he did nothing special during the bye week, other than healing.

“I’m pretty boring — I kind of just sit at home and watch film and watch football,” Warner said.

Combating Penalties

After committing only two penalties in the first four games, the Fresno State offensive line had four at Hawai’i, including three for holding. The running game also stalled, totaling just 71 yards.

Fundamentals and technique are what head coach Matt Entz stresses to avoid mistakes.

“What one ref thinks is holding, the next week he might not. The things we have to control are false starts, illegal formations, illegal procedures — anything that happens pre- and post-snap that we can control. Those are the ones that really get under my skin,” Entz said.

Fresno State has allowed only five sacks, tied for 25th fewest in the nation.

Bracha Excelling Off the Field

During the bye week, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame recognized safety Camryn Bracha for his academic achievements, naming him a Campbell Trophy semifinalist. The trophy is awarded to the top scholar-athlete in college football.

“My main priority coming here is to graduate. That was the most important thing, even when I walked on,” Bracha said. “And now that my school is paid for, that’s still the same goal. I think the standard my parents set when we were younger was always to get good grades, and that’s not going to change now that I’m playing football.”

A Buchanan High School graduate, Bracha played two seasons at Fresno City College before transferring to Fresno State in 2023. He has battled injuries with the Bulldogs, but is healthy and the starting safety now.

Bracha — a business management major — has a 3.68 grade-point average while winning several Mountain West and university academic honors.

He said he is considering following his parents into sales but would like to move into management one day.

Walton Out

After an apparent injury two weeks ago at Hawai’i, left tackle Brayden Walton is listed as out for Saturday’s game.

The availability reports, a new feature required for conference games this year, does not list the specific injury. Walton wore a right leg brace at practice earlier in the week.

The Bulldogs list 14 players in total who are unavailable, some who have been listed previously as out for the season.

Also new to this week’s list are backup center Ben Baker, backup linebacker Niko Baumgartner, and offensive lineman Ethan Dasmann (listed as out for the season).

This Week in the Mountain West/Future Pac-12

All times Pacific

Friday, Oct. 3:

New Mexico (3-1, 0-0 MWC) at San Jose State (1-3, 0-0 MWC)*, 7 p.m., FS1 (Trent Rush, Mark Helfich)

Colorado State (1-3, 0-0 MWC) at San Diego State (3-1, 0-0 MWC)*, 7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network (Chris Lewis, Robert Turbin)

Saturday, Oct. 4:

Air Force (0-3) at Navy (4-0), 9 a.m., CBS/CBS 47 in Fresno (Rich Waltz, Ross Tucker)

Boise State (3-1) at No. 21 Notre Dame (2-2), 12:30 p.m., NBC/KSEE-24 in Fresno (Dan Hicks, Jason Garrett)

Oregon State§ (0-5) at Appalachian State (2-2), 12:30 p.m., ESPN+ (David Jackson, Avery Hall)

Texas State§ (3-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (1-4, 0-1 Sun Belt), 1 p.m., ESPNU (Chuckie Kempf, Darius Walker)

UNLV (4-0, 0-0 MWC) at Wyoming (2-2, 0-0 MWC)*, 4 p.m., CBS Sports Network (Dave Ryan, Adam Brenemen)

Off: Utah State, Hawai’i, Washington State§,

* MWC game; § 2026 Pac-12 member not in 2025 MWC; most announcer info from 506 Sports.