The Fresno State Football team begins spring practice today. They’ll practice seven times over the next two weeks and then practice another eight times following spring break.
The NCAA allows all teams 15 practices in the spring. Fresno State’s final spring practice is scheduled for April 14 and is the only practice open to the public. It’s scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
The Bulldogs are coming off a fabulous first year under head coach Jeff Tedford. Fresno State went 10-4 in 2017 after winning just one game the previous season.
The Bulldogs are only the second team in FBS history to go from a double-digit losing season to a double-digit winning season.
Fresno State has 46 returning players; 17 of which started last year.
The Bulldogs recently learned their Mountain West conference schedule. They’ll play four of their first six conference games on the road before closing the season at home with back-to-back games against San Diego State and San Jose State.
Fresno State has known their non-conference schedule for a while. To read more about the upcoming season check out my previous article about new recruits.
The Bulldogs kick off the 2018 season at Bulldog Stadium on September 1 against Idaho. Here’s the whole 2018 schedule.
As of now all the games are being played on Saturdays, but that could change.
“Mountain West national television partners CBS Sports Network and ESPN will now initiate a selection procedure which will include the shifting of particular games,” says Matt Burkholder, Director of Athletic Communications.
Last year was the first time in a long time that all of Fresno State’s games were played on Saturdays. That was partly because the Bulldogs did so poorly in 2016; networks didn’t choose to broadcast Fresno State’s games. Now that the Dogs are doing well, they may be back on TV. That’s great for exposure, but not necessarily ideal for fans who prefer that the Bulldogs play on Saturday, the traditional day for college football.
The Bulldogs’ conference opponents are the same as last year. “The 2018 season marks the second year of the four-year cycle of Mountain West conference games,” Burkholder says. “The Bulldogs’ Mountain West schedule will mirror 2017, but with the host-site flipped for all eight opponents.”
Fresno State is part of the Mountain West’s West Division. That means the Dogs play San Diego State, Nevada, San Jose State, UNLV, Nevada, and Hawai’i each year. They play three of the six Mountain Division teams in back to back years and then switch off to the other three.
That means after this season Fresno State won’t play Wyoming, New Mexico, and rival Boise State in the regular season again until 2021.
There was some controversy at the end of last season when Fresno State beat Boise State at home during the last conference game of the year and then had play the Broncos the following week in Boise for the Mountain West Championship Game, which Fresno State lost.
“This season, every contest played on the final weekend before the Mountain West Championship game will each be intra-division contests,” Bulkholder says. “The final weekend of cross-division match ups will be the weekend of November 10.”
Tickets for the 2018 Fresno State football season are now on sale at GoBulldogs.com or by calling (559) 278-3647.
Fresno State is offering the Bulldog Pass this year for current Fresno State faculty, staff and alumni who graduated within the last 10 years, from 2009 to Spring 2018.
The pass is only $79 and provides mobile tickets for all six home football games. Fan interested in the pass will need an iPhone or Android phone to receive game tickets. Paper tickets will not be provided.
Seat locations will be determined a couple days before each game, so pass holders will not be sitting in the same location for each game.
Click here to learn more or to purchase a Bulldog Pass.
Go Dogs!
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