Fresno State Focus Radio 11/01/25
Speaker 1 0:02
Fresno State radio presents Fresno State Focus radio edition, featuring stories of people of the valley provided by media, communications and journalism students at Fresno State
Nate Sitthi 0:16
Good morning and welcome to Fresno State Focus radio edition, I’m Nate Sitthi
Miguel Cardenas 0:19
I’m Miguel Cardenas, today is a big rivalry game for the milk can trophy, which began in 2001 with the Fresno State football team versus Boise State, in which Boise leads with 17 wins to the Bulldogs nine wins. The game is to take place in Boise at 1130 today, also the results from the San Diego State Aztecs game. But first, here is the roundup from the rest of the conference games and what the standings look like heading into week
Nate Sitthi 0:48
Fresno State Focus. Radio Edition starts now.
Miguel Cardenas 0:52
Fresno State plays in the Mountain West Conference. The Mountain West Conference is part of the FBS, which stands for football Bowl Subdivision in the top tier of the division, there is also the FCS, which stands for Football Championship Subdivision, which is the lower level tier. Today, we are in week 10 in the Mountain West Conference. Today, Fresno faces the top ranked Broncos, who have the fourth best defense and the number two offense versus the Bulldogs, ninth ranked offense and second ranked defense in the conference. The Bulldogs have been struggling offensively, trying to find an identity. They had a hard time moving the ball against San Diego State. What do you think? Nate
Nate Sitthi 1:31
I just think that Fresno State just had no proper way to hold the ball because their offenses just didn’t look great. They just weren’t able to get a lot of these passes through. They weren’t able to get a lot of these runs, and most of the time they’re just giving up the ball again. There’s a bunch of these plays where we could have had a turnover, where we could have had a couple of good runs. If Fresno State is just having bad flag calls, then how can we expect them to be a lot better?
Miguel Cardenas 1:56
Yes, Fresno State definitely has to control the penalties that they are gaining against them, but also they just need to find a way to move the ball on offense. You can have the best defense in the conference, but if your defense is on the field the whole time, they’re going to give up touchdowns, they’re going to give up points. So the offense needs to help them out by moving the ball and scoring points themselves.
As we wrap up last week’s gameplay in the Mountain West Conference, here are some scores from conference play, Boise State defeated Nevada, 24 to three. New Mexico defeated Utah, 3314 San Diego State defeated Fresno. 23 zero and Wyoming defeated Colorado. State, 28 zero. As we move into week 10, here are the rankings.
Boise State number one, San Diego State at number two, Hawaii at number three, UNLV at number four, and Fresno State at number five. This brings up the question, with the remaining rankings in the conference, Fresno State faces the number one team in the conference, Boise State, with Fresno State just hosting the number two team in the conference, with the loss 23 to zero, how will they fan going against the number one team. If Fresno State happens to get the win against Boise State, this will make a shift in the rankings.
This would possibly put San Diego State at number one. Fresno State will most likely move up to number four. And if we can get a Wyoming victory over San Diego State, this will also cause a ripple effect in the rankings.
Nate Sitthi 3:21
Yeah, and then Boise State is going against Nevada, having that 24 to three score line, I think, as well as having, I believe, the number one offensive line is just that shut out against San Diego State, where it was a little bit of a heartbreak for the Bulldog fans out there, just wondering how are they could perform with the milk trophy on the line.
Miguel Cardenas 3:39
Well this should be interesting, because no matter what the outcome is, the rankings will change with a Fresno State win or loss, the Broncos offense had 174 yards passing and 134 yards rushing against the wolf pack. The Broncos offense held possession of the ball for 36 minutes, compared to the wolf pack who only had the ball 23 minutes of the game. The Broncos average 4.1 yards per play. The Broncos defense only allowed 248 yards of offense against them, the defense only gave up 147 yards passing and 101 yards rushing, allowing the wolf pack 15 first downs during the game and forcing five turnovers. The Bulldogs only had 182 yards passing and 45 yards rushing against the Aztecs. The Aztecs only allowed 3.5 yards of offense per play and cause two turnovers. Here in the studio, we have reporter Ryan who spoke with Bryson Donaldson before the San Diego State game. How did Bryson respond to having to play a tough defense?
Ryan Leonardo 4:39
He told me that him and speedy, also known as Rayshon Luke and Branden Ramirez, need to show up and be hungry. He also spoke about how he needs his old line to be there and be present, and all of them just need to be hungry and ready to face a tough defense.
Miguel Cardenas 4:53
How did Bryson feel after coming back home after the bye week in Hawaii?
Ryan Leonardo 4:57
He responded with, man, there’s no better place. Playing at Valley Children’s stadium, and he was excited again. Whole thing was they need to show up because of what they’ve had experience for the past two weeks that they’ve had this chip on the shoulder since they’ve left Hawaii.
Miguel Cardenas 5:09
Is the team changing anything to get ready for the PAC 12?
Ryan Leonardo 5:13
At the moment, no Ents has made practice a little bit tougher to kind of get a little bit more intensity out of everybody. But a lot of the plays and a lot of everything is still the same, and is trying to focus on what they can do the last year the Mountain West before, trying to focus on the future.
Miguel Cardenas 5:28
So how do you feel that the running backs will hold up against Boise State’s defense today?
Ryan Leonardo 5:33
I mean, after what we’ve seen from the past game with 23 to zero, and how he was trying to say that they all needed to show up, there wasn’t really much out of the three running backs that he spoke of. I mean, Rayshon Luke five carries, 58 yards. I mean Bryson had seven, which carried the most out of all three of them. But again, only 23 yards total. We can’t do that. We can’t do that when we’re going to go it’s a better defensive line.
Miguel Cardenas 5:54
So what do you expect from this running back core, especially Bryson Donaldson, going into Boise.
Ryan Leonardo 5:59
I think we need to see more out of Bryson. I feel that he’s the best back that we have in that backfield. I think he’s better than Rayshon. I think Rayshon has a speed I mean, it’s gonna be tough to beat that, but if you can’t get Rayshon out into the open field, he can’t do anything as much between the tackles, and that’s where you got to lean on Bryson. But our O line is not giving him a hole to run between those two tackles, and if you can’t get him to the second level, then he’s not going to do much if you can’t get it past D line.
Miguel Cardenas 6:23
So what did you feel Bryson needed to work on this week for today’s game?
Ryan Leonardo 6:27
He needs to get back to whatever he was doing against Southern he has not gone over 50 total yards since that game. He’s been under basically 49 yards is his most, and that was against Nevada. And I think at least one of our running backs needs to get two bare minimum, 100 total yards, whether it’s from receiving and running or if it’s just rushing in between tackles. We need somebody to get 100 to kind of open it up for we can open up the passing game.
Miguel Cardenas 6:52
Thank you, Ryan.
Nate Sitthi 6:54
Last week, Fresno State hosted their homecoming game the Bulldogs face San Diego State in a blackout game. The final score was 23 zero, San Diego State with the dominant win, this game wrote history for the Bulldogs, but in heartbreaking fashion with a swap in the starting lineup at quarterback, some question the coaching staff about the performance against San Diego State. While it is the head coach’s first season with the Bulldogs, people are raising heads where the Bulldogs will be able to be bowl eligible with Fresno State’s loss against San Diego displaced the Bulldogs at a two to two record in the conference. Coach Matt ENT said he felt great with his decision about keeping the quarterback on the field for the entire game. We have Reporter Anthony Rodriguez in the studio. Hi Anthony, how you doing?
Anthony Rodriguez 7:37
Nate, I’m doing good
Nate Sitthi 7:39
I know you were on the scene for the game. And I just want to know how was it?
Anthony Rodriguez 7:41
It was a disappointing homecoming game for the Fresno State. Bulldogs San Diego, state Aztecs shut out the Fresno. State Bulldogs, 23 to nothing, taking home the oil can trophy, back to San Diego in a dominant defensive performance.
Nate Sitthi 7:50
I just wanted to know, did that quarterback change make a difference?
Anthony Rodriguez 7:53
It seemed like for the Bulldogs, the quarterback change didn’t make much of a difference, as Carson Conklin made his first start of the season, while EJ Warner was benched, but the switch did little to spark the offense. Fresno State managed just over 200 total yards and never reached the red zone.
Nate Sitthi 8:09
It is a move that head coach Matt ends has confirmed in a weekly press conference on Monday morning, that he confirmed that he will stick with Carson Conklin moving forward ahead of today’s game versus the Boise State Broncos.
Anthony Rodriguez 8:19
Hopefully the Bulldogs can bounce back from this historic loss they suffered. Last week, they were shut out for the first time since 2016 and for the first time at home since 1980 and that was before Bulldog Stadium was even built. On a brighter note, Fresno, state honored one of its legends at halftime, former quarterback and head coach Jeff Tedford was inducted into the Bulldogs Ring of Honor, surrounded by family, friends and former players as they watched Jeff Tedford to be unveiled.
Jeff Tedford 8:48
I want to thank my family first. I want to thank my teammates. I want to thank all of our players and our staff, because we all did it together, and you guys own every part of that. So thank you very much to the fans. Thank you from 1981 until now, you guys have been awesome to my family and to our teams. So thank you very much and go dogs.
Nate Sitthi 9:15
Just for our listeners at home, Anthony, what is the Ring of Honor?
Anthony Rodriguez 9:19
The Bulldog Ring of Honor recognizes individuals who made a significant impact in the program.
Nate Sitthi 9:24
Thank you, Anthony for coming into the studio today. The Bulldogs had a week to be ready for the game today, they have to play against number one, Boise State this afternoon, Boise State are standing at an undefeated four to zero record in a mountain west conference, while standing above Fresno State in the offensive category, while Fresno State sitting above Boise State in a defensive category. Now let’s welcome our reporter, Michael Gutierrez, to the studio. Now let’s welcome our reporter, Michael Gutierrez, to the studio. Hello, Michael, what are your prediction for today’s game.
Michael Gutierrez 9:49
The five and three Fresno State Bulldogs versus the six and two Boise State Broncos. The dogs come into Boise as a 17 and a half point underdogs, which is the biggest spread of the Bulldogs this year and the biggest of the weekend in the Mountain West Conference.
Nate Sitthi 9:59
With Conklin getting his first start versus San Diego. State. What is there to look forward to this weekend from the quarterback position
Michael Gutierrez 10:05
After the recent start this weekend of Carson Conklin at quarterback for Fresno, the decision was made to keep Conklin to make his second straight start versus the Broncos, and it was said by coach ends that Conklin will start the rest of the season this year. Conklin this past weekend versus San Diego, threw for 182 on 20 completions out of 42 attempts, but also added two interceptions to the game with sack once and through a pick six.
Nate Sitthi 10:24
What should we look forward to in this weekend’s game?
Michael Gutierrez 10:27
The question that the people of Fresno are wondering is whether the Bulldogs defense is going to pull off a good game against the Broncos with only allowing 23.6 points per game this year, the Broncos offense is third in the Mountain West, averaging 34 through the past eight games they have played this year. When asking team captain and star cornerback, azillion Hamilton, what they need to do this upcoming week, he said that, and I quote, we just got to keep doing what we’re doing. I think the defense is in a great spot. We just need to show out in Boise. We want to control the offense by stopping the run and forcing them to beat us by passing the football.
Nate Sitthi 11:11
I just wanted your opinion. You know, San Diego State, I believe one ranking below Boise State, where they’re at number one, and especially when we talked to with Anthony about this. How do you expect the Bulldogs to go into this game when they were previously blown out 23 to zero,
Michael Gutierrez 11:11
Coming off a bad weekend against San Diego State, like what Ryan said earlier, the run game has to keep going. With the run game opening up against the Broncos, the pass game will start opening up as well, and if we put our offense in a good position, I believe that we can beat Boise State.
Nate Sitthi 11:25
Our thanks to Michael for coming to the studio today.
Miguel Cardenas 11:28
Fresno State strength of schedule to finish up the season, starting with week 10, taking the Bulldogs to an undefeated Boise State, who hold the number one ranking in the conference. Week 11 takes the Bulldogs to face the number eight Wyoming. Week 12 takes the Bulldogs to face number seven, Utah State, and week 13, the Bulldogs head to San Jose State, who are ranked number nine in the conference.
The Boise State Broncos are on a three game winning streak. They defeated the Nevada will pack 24 to three arena, while the Wyoming State cowboys are on a one game winning streak, the Cowboys defeated the Colorado State rams. 28 to 0. Only allowing 305 yards of offense and three turnovers. The Cowboys offense had 160 yards of passing and 212 yards of rushing, for a total of 372 yards of offense.
The Utah State Aggies coming off a one game losing streak to the New Mexico Lobos 33 to14 the Aggies offense was only able to produce 306 yards of offense by having 164 passing yards and 142 rushing yards, the Aggies defense gave up 407 total yards of offense.
The San Jose State Spartans, coming off their bye week, are on a two game losing streak. The Spartans last game, they managed to gain 340 yards of passing and 194 yards of rushing in their loss to the Aggies on the 17th. The Bulldogs only need one more win to become bowl eligible. As the season is finishing up, they have a tough remaining four games. Teams are heating up and throwing up big numbers.
Will the Bulldogs defense be able to hold strong while the offense is still trying to find their identity? The Bulldog offense ranks seventh in the conference, but a repeat performance, as seen in the San Diego State game, could see the Bulldogs out of contention for a bowl game.
The Bulldogs could be invited to play in a number of different bowl games, including the Idaho potato bowl, the Arizona bowl and the first responder’s bowl. There’s still a chance Fresno State can make it to a bowl game if they can pull off one more win. Okay, Nate, what’s your opinions for the remainder of the season?
Nate Sitthi 13:34
I have a feeling that we will be bowl eligible. I think as long as we’re able to just have the head coach be able to just do things, have his players perform a lot better, especially against Boise, where it is kind of expected for some analysts say this is probably a guaranteed loss for Fresno State, but for teams like San Jose State or Utah, I still think it’s very likely that the Bulldogs could be able to take those games away and be able to be both eligible
Miguel Cardenas 13:59
Ryan. How do you feel about the Bulldogs chances?
Ryan Leonardo 14:02
Yeah, I mean, I do think we will make a bowl game. It might not be till the very end, when we beat San Jose State. I think maybe we have a chance to beat Wyoming or Utah. There’s a chance there. But I don’t, I don’t think we’ll beat Boise State. I think we’ll put up a fight as these last couple games, all these teams, their defense has led up over 100 rushing yards per game, which is different compared to the 80 that San Diego State was allowing. So I think if we’re going against teams that rush defense is not as good, it’s going to help with opening up our offense, because we better run the ball a little bit better against these teams. But I don’t, I don’t see us winning until probably San Jose State.
Miguel Cardenas 14:36
Michael, how do you feel that the Bulldogs will do the remainder of the season overall?
Michael Gutierrez 14:40
I believe that we can win maybe two more games. I feel like San Jose up and coming at the end of the season could be a win for us, and I think we sneak one against either Utah or Wyoming, but we drop another Boise State will be a hard match up for us this week, but we’ll see what type of team that the Bulldogs pull out after the loss against San Diego State over homecoming weekend.
And Anthony, how do you feel that? The Bulldogs are to do the remainder of the season.
Miguel Cardenas 14:57
Anthony, how do you feel that? The Bulldogs are to do the remainder of the season.
Anthony Rodriguez 15:02
I think biggest thing for the Bulldogs is to continue to gain confidence on the offensive side, I think their defense is good enough, and they’ll have the confidence to go to Boise State today and for the rest of the weeks. I think they just need to go week by week and focus during the week.
Nate Sitthi 15:18
That wraps up our show. For more content, visit Fresno State focus.com
Miguel Cardenas 15:23
Coming up next week, we’ll be covering AI’s reliance on technology and cost of living. Find out more on our next Fresno State Focus radio edition every Saturday morning at 5am.
Nate Sitthi 15:34
Today’s episode of Fresno State Focus radio edition was produced by Professor Hanayo Oya from the Department of media, communications and journalism at Fresno State.
Miguel Cardenas 15:43
Our stories are produced by Miguel Cardenas and edited by Miguel Cardenas in collaboration with Fresno State Radio
Nate Sitthi 15:50
For Fresno State focused radio edition, I’m Nate Sitthi.
Miguel Cardenas 15:54
I’m Miguel Cardenas. Hope you have a great weekend and see you next week.
Julie Lindahl 16:02
Fresno State radio presents Fresno State Focus radio edition Saturday mornings at five. More information is available@kfsr.org and@fsrundaground.org you.