It’s the nationally-ranked Fresno State Bulldogs, now.
For the first time since 2018, the Bulldogs are nationally ranked in both the Associated Press poll of college football programs and the USA Today-AFCA Coaches Poll.
Fresno State, who upset the once-13th-ranked UCLA Bruins in a Saturday night thriller at the Rose Bowl, were placed a 22nd overall in the Associated Press poll.
With the ranking, Fresno State is the highest ranked California-based college football program heading into week five of the college football season.
In a bizarre twist, coaches in the USA Today poll ranked Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins – who were handed the stinging defeat by Jake Haener and Kalen DeBoer – at 24, one slot higher than the Bulldogs.
Fresno State, which has a four-game winning streak over the Bruins, invited a bevy of remarks
Following a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, former Fresno State standout and current Raiders quarterback Derek Carr joked that his alma mater.
“If you’re a kid and you want to play college football in California, I’d pick – what we beat UCLA like four times in a row,” Carr joked during a post-game press conference, turning to ask reporters a question Bulldogs fans have often tossed around.
“How are we not in the Pac-12?”