2020 Fresno State

3–⁠3 (3–⁠3 Mountain West Conference), coached by Kalen DeBoer.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2020, game by game: lost vs. Hawai’i 19–34; won vs. Colorado State 38–17; won at UNLV 40–27; won at Utah State 35–16; lost at Nevada 26–37; lost at New Mexico 39–49+21−15Lost 19–34 vs. Hawai’i-15Hawai’iWon 38–17 vs. Colorado State+21Colorado StateWon 40–27 at UNLV+13UNLVWon 35–16 at Utah State+19Utah StateLost 26–37 at Nevada-11NevadaLost 39–49 at New Mexico-10New Mexico
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 24vsHawai’iL 19–⁠3452%
Oct 29vsColorado StateW 38–⁠1762%
Nov 7atUNLVW 40–⁠2758%
Nov 14atUtah StateW 35–⁠1651%
Dec 5atNevadaL 26–⁠3740%
Dec 12atNew MexicoL 39–⁠4972%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to New Mexico 49–⁠39; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

Record
3–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 5th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
197–⁠180
Coach
Kalen DeBoer
Elo
1480 −13 this season
SP+ rating
-5.5 No. 91 of 130; offense No. 60, defense No. 109
SRS
−6.7 No. 56 of 77 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 98 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 121 roster talent No. 87 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Ryan Grubb
Defensive coordinator
William Inge
Offense
Air raid
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense33rd of 127
  • Defense82nd of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted91st of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1845%1.3433rd of 127
Defense0.1637%1.5482nd of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.15 def
43% off
40% def
—48th off
91st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 2915% allowed
Defense3.7own 3018% caused

CORE rating -0.2, 66th of 127 (offense 2.8, defense 3.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJake Haener QB1,964 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Haener QB14 TD
Rushing yardsRonnie Rivers RB507 yds
Rushing touchdownsRonnie Rivers RB7 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Cropper WR520 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalen Cropper WR5 TD
TacklesBralyn Lux DB30 tkl
SacksKwami Jones DE5 sacks
InterceptionsChris Gaston DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Justin Houston OLB★★★No. 486
Jordan Berry DT★★★No. 780
Joseph Church OT★★★No. 1379
Julian Polendo OT★★★No. 1522
Matt Lowe TE★★★No. 1835

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.799
Receivers23.00.822
Offensive line43.00.824
Defensive line13.00.866
Linebackers23.00.844
Defensive backs43.00.818
Athletes and specialists23.00.810
Whole class172.90.823

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 110

The 2020 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San José State6–⁠07–⁠124
Boise State5–⁠05–⁠2
Nevada6–⁠27–⁠2
San Diego State4–⁠24–⁠4
Hawai’i4–⁠45–⁠4
Fresno State3–⁠33–⁠3
Air Force2–⁠23–⁠3
Wyoming2–⁠42–⁠4
New Mexico2–⁠52–⁠5
Colorado State1–⁠31–⁠3
Utah State1–⁠51–⁠5
UNLV0–⁠60–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.