Fresno State climbs national rankings after big win. Here’s where they’re ranked

A day after blowing away UNLV, the Fresno State Bulldogs moved up as high as No. 16 in the national rankings.

The Bulldogs (8-1 overall, 5-0 Mountain West), climbed four spots to No. 16 in the AP poll and moved six spots to No. 17 in the Coaches poll.

Coach Jeff Tedford picked up the 100th victory of his career Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium as the Bulldogs cruised to a 48-3 victory over UNLV (2-7, 0-5) — Fresno State’s most lopsided victory in Mountain West play and the second largest margin of victory since a 79-13 season-opening win against Idaho during nonconference play.

Quarterback Marcus McMaryion completed 26 of his 35 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns against one interception before leaving the game early. McMaryion this season is completing nearly 71 percent of his passes (70.9) and is in position to break the school record of 68.7 set by Derek Carr in 2013.

Having won seven straight and by an average margin of roughly 29 points, Fresno State opened as a 3-point favorite going into its Friday night match at Boise State (7-2, 4-1).

It’s the first time the Broncos are considered an underdog on their own blue turf against a conference opponent since 1999. Boise State is coming off a 21-16 win against Brigham Young.

What have the Bulldogs done, besides win, to put themselves in such a position?

It’s more about what haven’t they done.

Fresno State ranks in the top 25 in the nation is 16 statistical categories, including tied for first in both most touchdowns by a defense (5) and most interceptions (9).

The Bulldogs defense for the season has allowed an average of 12.3 points, which is tied for second in the nation, and 307 total yards per game, which ranks 14th.

Individually, Fresno State’s Anthoula Kelly leads the nation (tied with Virginia’s Bryce Hall) with an average of 2 passes deflected per game.

This story was originally published November 4, 2018 at 11:27 AM.