Fresno State Football: Can Kalen DeBoer lead Bulldogs back to top?

After Jeff Tedford retired suddenly at the end of 2019, Fresno State football heads into the Mountain West race with a young roster and a new coach.

When Jeff Tedford took over as the head coach at Fresno State ahead of the 2017 season, it appeared that the Bulldogs were set for the long haul at the top. It appeared to be the perfect union, as Fresno State landed a proven head coach and Tedford finally received a second chance to lead a college program at his alma mater.

His first two seasons back in the San Joaquin Valley bolstered hopes for the Bulldogs, as Tedford’s teams won 22 games and went to the Mountain West championship game both years. The 2018 squad took the conference crown — avenging a regular-season loss to Boise State in the title game — and finished the year with a pair of wins against Pac-12 programs.

Fresno State regressed back to 4-8 in 2019, but Tedford’s job was hardly in danger. Concerns for his health, though, led Tedford to step aside from the program at the end of the campaign. The Bulldogs lured Kalen DeBoer, who was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator in Tedford’s first two seasons, back to Fresno after spending last season guiding the Indiana offense.

In DeBoer, Fresno State landed someone who is familiar with the program and who brings proven head coaching experience. From 2005-09, DeBoer led the University of Sioux Falls to three NAIA national championships in five years and a 67-3 record. Now the stakes increase as the new coach looks to perform similar success at the FBS level.

Let’s dive in to look at the offense and defense at Fresno State before breaking down the 2020 Bulldogs schedule and making some predictions on how the next campaign will play out.