Fresno State football coach Matt Entz revealed the keys to the Bulldogs’ 30-7 “program victory” at Boise State last Saturday at his Monday news conference: toughness and big plays.

Now, with the Bulldogs in the third bye week of their unusual schedule, he’s telling his players to build on what they accomplished in stunning the highly favored Broncos.

“It was good to see that we were able to line up and go toe-to-toe and be the more physical team,” Entz said Monday. “We made some big plays when we needed to.”

The Bulldogs (6-3, 3-2) have two weeks to prepare for Wyoming (4-5, 2-3), which also has a bye.

“We have three great opportunities ahead of us. We need to stay hungry. We need to stay focused, driven, taking each one of those one at a time and creating great opportunities for ourselves,” Entz said.

Entz said he received more than 200 congratulatory texts after the Boise State win.

Harris MWC Defensive Player of the Week

The Mountain West recognized nickelback Simeon Harris as defensive player of the week. Harris forced two turnovers — a strip-sack fumble and interception — leading to 10 points.

𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠 ➡️ 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙨

Harris recorded six tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in @FresnoStateFB‘s win at Boise State. He posted a career-high three tackles for loss, including a strip sack, and his… pic.twitter.com/lCo2amS1qn

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) November 3, 2025

He also had six tackles, three for losses.

Harris often posts on X before games. One of his favorite posts is “no panic.”

“It’s his approach. It’s our approach,” Entz said. “Sim’s a very well-spoken, educated, very smart football player. And I think his way of just kind of circling the wagons and saying, hey, the most important people are the ones that are in this room.”

You can follow Harris, who is quite social media savvy, on X @21_SHarris

Entz Believes in Carson Conklin

Quarterback Carson Conklin threw for 35 yards on 10-of-21 passing. That is OK with Entz.

“The only stat that matters is that we win, right? The rest of it we’ll take care of,” Entz said.

Entz said it will take time for Conklin to develop.

“We didn’t ask him to do a lot. I know we ran the ball 40-some times, but I joked on the way home, maybe we should have ran it 50 times,” Entz said.

The Bulldogs’ coaches designed shorter screen passes for Conklin at Boise State.

“What he’s good at, let’s take advantage of it. He’s not afraid to stand in the pocket. There’s some quarterback run game that we can utilize with him as well. And so I think we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Entz said.

Who Needs Technology?

Fresno State, like many programs, uses iPads on the sideline to review plays. Entz called the technology “tremendous” but also a problem.

He wants his team watching the game. Entz instructs his coaches to use the iPad to review plays, then get the team back in action.

“Get away from the phone a little bit. Get away from the technology,” Entz said. “I pulled a grease board out on Saturday, right? And the kids looked at me like I had an abacus.”

big time 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 win 👀

📽️Boise State win through the lens pic.twitter.com/G0sZZBh3Zq

— Fresno State Football (@FresnoStateFB) November 4, 2025

Fresno State’s Path to a Title Game

Bowl-eligible Fresno State needs help if it wants to qualify for the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 5. For starters, it needs to win its remaining three games.

Mountain West tiebreakers are not of Entz’s concern.

“All we’re worried about is going 1-0 our next time,” Entz said.

San Diego State (7-1, 4-0) will host if it wins its remaining four games. Even with a stumble, it still will qualify. The big game is Nov. 15, hosting Boise State.

Boise State (6-3, 4-1) suffered a big loss to Fresno State and an injury to quarterback Madsen Maddux that could keep him out of at least a couple of games. If Boise State wins its final three games, it will host.

If Boise State loses one more, that could create a logjam of two-loss teams for the second slot. Currently, six MWC teams, including Fresno State, have two losses. Several of the two-loss teams play each other in the final four weeks of the season.

Assuming Fresno State wins out, that would give Utah State and San Jose State three losses. Hawai‘i and UNLV play Nov. 21 at Allegiant Stadium.

What happens if Fresno State, Boise State, New Mexico, and UNLV or Hawai‘i all tie with two losses? Since all teams did not play each other, it goes to the average ranking of four computer systems. (I’m skipping the step if any of the teams are ranked in the College Football Playoff poll, a highly unlikely scenario.)

Boise State leads the average of the three public polls — ESPN SP+, KPI, and ESPN SOR — with a 54 average. Fresno State is fourth, with a 69.33 average (lower is better).

However, if there is a three-way tie between just Fresno State, Boise State, and Hawai‘i, Fresno State advances because it beat both teams.

This Week in the Mountain West/Future Pac-12

All times Pacific

Saturday, Nov. 8

Texas State§ (3-5, 0-4 Sun Belt) at Louisiana (3-6, 2-3 Sun Belt), 2 p.m., ESPN+ (announcers TBA)

Air Force (2-6, 1-4) at San Jose State (3-5, 2-2)*, 3 p.m., FS1 (Eric Collins, Spencer Tillman)

Nevada (1-7, 0-4) at Utah State (4-4, 2-2)*, 4:30 p.m., CBSSN (Chris Lewis, Randy Cross)

UNLV (6-2, 2-2) at Colorado State (2-6, 1-3)*, 6:30 p.m., FS1 (Dan Hellie, Petros Papadakis)

San Diego State (7-1, 4-0) at Hawai‘i (6-3, 3-2)*, 8 p.m., Spectrum/MWC App (Kanoa Leahey, Rich Miano)

Sam Houston (0-8) at Oregon State§ (2-7), 7 p.m., CW/CW 59 in Fresno (Ted Robinson, Ryan Leaf, Nigel Burton)

Off: Boise State, Fresno State, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington State§

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