2023 Fresno State Season Preview

Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty ImagesAfter returning to Fresno State in 2022, when Kalen DeBoer left for Washington, Jeff Tedford inherited a talented 10-win squad helmed by star QB Jake Haener and a fleet of talented players. Even though things started poorly, with a 1-4 record and Jake Haener potentially out for the season, the team came together brilliantly to reel off 9 straight wins to capture their first conference championship since 2018 and a dominant LA Bowl victory over Washington State to send the seniors out on top. Now, Tedford must reload last year’s Mountain West Champion team without Haener, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Jordan Mims, David Perales, and a host of others. Evan Williams has transferred to Oregon. Bralyn Lux went to Texas Tech, and Josh Kelly departed for Washington State. A defense that came on strong in the second half of 2022 will mostly return, but the offense features large amounts of turnover as Tedford and his Dogs try to negotiate a college football world that’s very different than the one we ended January with.

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