In the rear-view mirror, the Fresno State Bulldogs’ 2017 season is no less impressive. From 1-11 to 10-4; it’s only the second time in FBS history a team won 10 or more games the year after losing 10 or more. There also was a bowl victory, the Bulldogs’ first since 2007.
But more remarkable than that turnaround on the field is this: Coach Jeff Tedford and his first Bulldogs team succeeded where Fresno State, its athletics department and its football program have in the past fallen well short, and with that momentum they have perhaps a last, best chance to build a program that can sustain a winning run at a time they are getting outspent by several of their Mountain West Conference rivals.