Fresno State Bets on Entz, a Veteran Line and a New Quarterback in Its Pac-12 Debut
Fresno State went 9-4 in 2025, finished 5-3 in the Mountain West and closed the year by throttling Miami (Ohio) 18-3 in the Arizona Bowl. The Bulldogs now carry that momentum into a rebuilt Pac-12, where they are widely projected to open around third in the league.
The defining story is continuity at the top paired with change at the controls. Matt Entz, an FCS national championship winner with a 69-15 record over six seasons before he arrived, enters year two after a 9-4 debut. He leaned on his old Missouri Valley roots to shape the attack, hiring coordinator Josh Davis out of South Dakota, where his 2024 offense churned out 215.9 rushing yards and 436.9 total yards a game. Defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto was retained after a standout first season, a significant win for a team switching leagues.
Offense
This is the roster's biggest question. Experience is scarce, with the group that took spring snaps having logged only a handful of FBS reps between them. The competition comes down to Maryland transfer Khristian Martin and Jayden Mandal, who is entering his third year in the program but has limited game action after missing 2025 with an injury. Martin looks like the front-runner. He flashed as a reserve at Maryland, and his size adds a downfield dimension the Bulldogs rarely used a year ago, when the passing game ranked 110th nationally. Both contenders add a run element that Entz plans to feature.
Whoever wins the job inherits an established No. 1 in Josiah Freeman, a rangy target who averaged better than 12 yards per catch and led the team with six touchdown grabs in 2025. Ezekiel Avit and Jahlil McClain round out a top trio that returns intact, giving the new starter a familiar set of options. At tight end the two-deep is unsettled, with Jake Appleget and Brock Lium both in the mix for the primary role.
The ground game is the identity. Bryson Donelson, the speedy Rayshon Luke and Brandon Ramirez all return, and behind a stout, veteran front the Bulldogs could be even more productive than the group that averaged 170.5 rushing yards an outing last fall. A more diverse, dynamic look is the offseason goal, but the run game remains the foundation.
This may be the best offensive line in the new league. Tackles Rolan Fullwood and Brayden Walton are back to anchor the edges, with Edward Fonua a fixture inside. The unit is experienced and physical, exactly the kind of front that makes a run-first plan go. The one caveat is depth: the starting five looks solid, but staying healthy up front is a genuine concern given what sits behind them, and the interior alignment past Fonua remains in flux.
Defense
The front is imposing. End Jahzon Jacks enters his third season as a starter with 7.5 career sacks and headlines a group that pairs 300-plus-pounders Deijon Laffitte and Martin Owusu on the interior. Sione Noa adds another veteran presence on the edge. This unit anchored a run defense that surrendered just 131.9 rushing yards a game and only nine rushing touchdowns, tied for the seventh fewest in the country.
K'Vion Thunderbird and Tytus Khajavi give Fresno State an experienced, playmaking pair in the second level, both potential standouts capable of earning all-conference notice. Thunderbird also picked off a pass last season, part of a defense whose ballhawking reached all three levels. With this group behind an established front, the 2026 Bulldogs could be as strong against the run as the 2025 team was.
The pass defense was elite, ranking second in the nation at 153.8 yards allowed per game; only Ohio State gave up fewer through the air. The engine is nickel back Simeon Harris, who intercepted five passes to tie for seventh nationally. Safeties Ethan Tierney and Ryan Wilson add veteran help, and Laffitte's presence up front underscores how a top-five interception unit (20 picks) forced turnovers everywhere. Remarkably, the group produced these numbers without a single first-team all-conference selection, a sign of scheme and coaching as much as star power.
Punter Nick Verdugo returns after averaging 40.3 yards a boot, and coverage remains a strength under one of the sport's most respected special teams coaches, with Fresno State leading the Mountain West in both kickoff and punt return yardage allowed. The lone question is the placekicking, where Dylan Lynch must be replaced. Transfer Manaki Watanabe is the answer, arriving after a stunning 21-of-22 field goal season at Division II Ashland that included a make from 59 yards.
Overview and Prediction
The schedule stiffens considerably. Trips to USC and Washington State bookend a Pac-12 slate that includes Boise State, Oregon State and Colorado State, a clear step up from a 2025 win total padded by games against opponents that finished a combined 14-46. Fresno State has won at least nine games 13 times since 2001, including in four of the last five seasons, and the defense and offensive line should keep it in the league title conversation.
The verdict hinges on the quarterback. If Martin delivers even a modest downfield threat to complement the run game, the Bulldogs have the pieces to be among the new conference's favorites and to reach a bowl for a sixth straight year. If the passing game stalls again against tougher competition, a strong defense may only carry them so far. Call it a top-three finish in the Pac-12 with real upside if the position settles quickly.