One week after the Mountain West announced the return of fall football, the Fresno State Bulldogs finally know who they will play this season.
The conference revealed the schedule Thursday, which will run from Oct. 24 through Dec. 12.
Although there will not be any fans present, Kalen DeBoer will make his debut as Fresno State’s head coach on Oct. 24 at Bulldog Stadium against Hawaii.
Following the clash with the Rainbow Warriors, the Bulldogs will stay home to face Colorado State the following week.
Here is Fresno State’s 2020 football schedule:
- Oct. 24 – Hawaii at Fresno State
- Oct. 31 – Colorado State at Fresno State
- Nov. 7 – Fresno State at UNLV
- Nov. 14 – Fresno State at Utah State
- Nov. 21 – San Jose State at Fresno State
- Nov. 28 – San Diego State at Fresno State
- Dec. 5 – Fresno State at Nevada
- Dec. 12 – Fresno State at New Mexico State
Notably absent from Fresno State’s schedule is Boise State. If the Bulldogs and Broncos are fated to meet in 2020, it will have to come in the Mountain West Championship Game on Dec. 19.
The top two teams by conference win percentage will make the championship game, regardless of division.
In a normal non coronavirus-impacted season, the winners of the Mountain Division and the West Division would meet to decide the title, but with changes due to the pandemic, the conference is temporarily abandoning the divisional format.
“We are excited to get our student-athletes back on the football field this fall,” said Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson in a statement. “The shift away from a two division format was necessary to optimize the schedule and allow for maximum flexibility given the various constraints which had to be considered.”
In a press conference last week, Thompson said that he does not expect every team to play every game on the schedule given the possibility of cancellations due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Now that the schedule has been released, CBS Sports and FOX Sports – the Mountain West’s national television partners – will determine what time the games are played and which networks they will air on.
The networks will also look to schedule several games on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the season.
Photo: Fresno State Athletics
