Fresno State (2-0, 0-0 MW) at Arizona State (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12)
Saturday, Sept. 16 • 7:40 p.m. PT • Mountain America Stadium (53,599) - Tempe, Ariz.
Fresno State Game Notes (PDF) | ASU Game Notes (PDF) | Mountain West Weekly Release (PDF)
Fresno State Weekly Press Conference | Ultimate Broadcast Guide
MEDIA COVERAGE
TV - FS1
Play-By-Play - Alex Faust
Analyst - Petros Papadakis
Radio - Bulldog Sports Network (BSN)
Play-by-Play - Paul Loeffler
Analyst - Pat Hill
Sideline - Kenny Wiggins
Live Stats:BulldogsLive.com
A LOOK INSIDE
Series: Arizona State leads, 3-1
Head Coaches:
Jeff Tedford
Fresno State Record (Years): 38-18 (5th season)
Career DI Record (Years): 120-75 (14th year)
Kenny Dillingham
ASU Record (Years):1-1 (1st Season)
Career DI Record: 1-1 (1st Season)
QUICK LOOK
Fresno State won its 11th-straight game with its double overtime victory in the 2023 home opener against Eastern Washington last Saturday.
With a Troy loss to No. 15 Kansas State last weekend, Fresno State now owns the second-longest active winning streak in the FBS behind Georgia with 19-straight wins.
The 11-game winning streak for Fresno State ties the program's third-longest winning streak. It is the longest streak for the Bulldogs since 1986.
Fresno State has started the season 2-0 for its first time since 2013, and just the fifth time since 2000.
If the Bulldogs earn a win at Arizona State this weekend, it will be the first time since 2018 that Fresno State has defeated two P5 opponents in the same season. In 2018, coincidentally, it was wins over UCLA and Arizona State (Las Vegas Bowl).
The last time Fresno State defeated two P5 opponents with both games played in the regular season (bowl games not included) was in 2004, having defeated Washington (35-16) and then-No. 13 Kansas State (45-21) both on the road and in back-to-back weeks.
For the second week in a row, senior wide receiver and former walk-on Erik Brooks led the Bulldogs in receiving. Already this season, Brooks has totaled 17 receptions for 265 yards and three touchdowns. His three touchdowns in just two games this season already ties his single-season career best in his six-year career. The senior ranks 6th in the FBS in receiving yards and 7th in receiving touchdowns.
For the second week in a row, it was senior captain Levelle Bailey who called game. At Purdue, Bailey batted down a fourth down pass attempt by Purdue late in the fourth quarter, forcing a turnover on downs on the Boilermaker's final offensive possession of the game. Last weekend, Bailey grabbed his first interception of the season and his first since 2021 in Eastern Washington's first play of its offensive drive in the second overtime period, ending the game and sealing the deal for a Fresno State victory.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State and Arizona State will meet for the fifth time and first time since 2018 this Saturday in Tempe. This is the first regular season meeting between the programs since Nov. 20, 1941.
The teams last met at the 2018 Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl, where Fresno State came off with the 31-20 win behind head coach Jeff Tedford. The bowl game win marked the 12th win for Fresno State in the 2018 season, the program's first 12-win season in program history.
The series dates back to 1931 with the teams playing each other three times in a 10-year span before a hiatus through the 2018 season. The Sun Devils lead the series 3-1.
Former Fresno State offensive line coach Saga Tuitele now holds the same title at Arizona State after spending just one season (2022) in the Central Valley.
Fresno State has five players that are Arizona natives on its roster in QB Mikey Keene (Chandler), DE Merhauti Xepera (Maricopa), LB Zeke Branham (Mesa), DT Jacob Holmes (Phoenix), and OL Kingsley Ugwu (Tucson).