One of the Bulldogs’ football mantras this season is “toughness wins.”

“We need to continue to play with that physical nature. Hopefully our kids understand that if you win the time of physicality, you win the time of possession, and you have a great opportunity to win games,” coach Matt Entz said at his Monday news conference.

Bye week practices went well for the Bulldogs, Entz said. Players healed, and younger players had a chance for reps.

The Bulldogs (6-3 overall, 3-2 Mountain West) host Wyoming (4-5, 2-3) Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Valley Children’s Stadium.

One player benefiting from more practice is quarterback Carson Conklin. The backup-turned-starter has not produced a positive stat line while going 1–1 in his two starts. Entz remains optimistic, however.

“Those competitive moments create pressure. Pressure is either going to translate into diamonds or burst pipes. We’re just trying to identify what we can handle and how much is too much for a young quarterback,” Entz said.

Entz said backup quarterback is the easiest job in football. He likes how Conklin is handling the elevation to starter, including spending extra time studying video.

“You’re starting to see the maturity in his approach, knowing that he still wants to continue to put good things on film and help lead this team to wins,” Entz said.

Three Weeks to Go

Fresno State is on the outside looking in for the Dec. 5 Mountain West title game.

Entz says he is not scoreboard watching.

“We just have to worry about us. We have to take them one at a time. If you let those outside distractions in, I think you’re setting yourself up for disappointment,” Entz said.

Standings tightened at the top with Hawai‘i defeating San Diego State last week. The Aztecs host Boise State on Saturday. Both teams have one conference loss, and the winner has the inside track to host the title game.

That leaves several teams, including Fresno State, with two conference losses. It is possible that four teams finish the season with two losses for the second spot.

Under that scenario, the spot would likely go to the average ranking of four computer polls. That doesn’t favor Fresno State.

Only three of the polls are public: ESPN SP+, ESPN SOR and KPI. Of the top seven MWC teams, Fresno State is sixth in the computer averages.

The best-case scenario is a two-way or three-way tie between Fresno State, Boise State and Hawai‘i. In either case, Fresno State wins the tiebreaker. Add San Diego State, UNLV or New Mexico to the mix, and the Bulldogs could lose out.

Entz on Veterans Day

While there are no veterans on the Bulldogs’ roster, several players have family military connections, Entz said. The team visited Pearl Harbor during the game at Hawai‘i.

Entz thanked America’s veterans, but there is one word he does not allow his players to use.

“A lot of times football players like to talk about the grind. That’s one of the things I don’t allow. That word is not allowed in our program. We get to play a game. This is easy. What (veterans) have done takes a different type of person. It takes a special individual,” Entz said.