Consider this: a team has a 13-game winning streak and averages nearly 430 yards per game.

PODCAST: What Should Decide Who the Best Teams in America Are?

Enter Fresno State, the most recent team to enter the Associated Press Top 25 Poll right at No. 25, and the Bulldogs head coach doesn’t take much stock from it. 

“At the end of the year is what matters,” Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford said. “Our team has played hard and done a good job, but we’re just now starting conference, and really it’s when you’re 4-0 that’s a little that can be even more challenging than 1-4 because of expectation and everybody patting you on the back and all that type of thing. It’s human nature to get in your comfort zone, and so we have to do our best to stay out of that. So we’re just going to go to work each week one day at a time and just try to continue to get better every week.” 

The only team with a longer active winning streak is No. 1 Georgia, which currently is riding a 21-game win streak that includes a College Football Playoff National Championship. 

The Fresno State Bulldogs are riding their winning streak that dates back to Week 7 of last season. Since then wins have included against San Diego State, Boise State and Washington State in the LA Bowl. 

This season, Fresno State began the year with a 39-35 stunner at Purdue. The Bulldogs came back from being down 28-17 while quarterback Mikey Keene threw two clutch touchdown passes in the second half.

READ: Preview Thursday: Week 5

Tedford said the Bulldogs have addressed team expectations during team meetings behind their 4-0 start. 

“When you’re 4-0 and people are patting you on the back and that type of thing and saying good things all the time it’s challenging, and so we just have to make sure that we stay grounded and know what it takes to be successful each week and that we’re going get everybody’s shot,” Tedford said. “And we just have to keep that focus in mind on what it takes to win a football game. It is very difficult and it all happens in preparation. And we take a day off of preparation or get a little bit comfortable, then we’re going to get bit by it so it’s just really important for kids to understand that.” 

Fresno State has a balance of offense and defense capable of leading any game. Keene leads the Mountain West Conference in passing per game behind an average of 301.3 yards per game and he’s atop the passing efficiency leaderboard with a 151.42 rating. 

The Bulldogs are No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference in scoring offense, averaging almost 39 points per game, and No. 2 in total defense, holding opponents to 297.5 yards per outing. They also shut out Arizona State 29-0 on the road in Week 3. 

Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said Fresno State has “got a lot of guys that have improved,” and he highlighted defensive back Cam Lockridge, defensive lineman Gavriel Lightfoot and linebacker Raymond Scott among the team’s most improved players who are guiding the defense. 

Coyle also said he’s noticed the defensive side of the ball has started to make breakthroughs. 

“One thing I’m very pleased about is the fact that from the first week till now, we’re a much better defense than we were,” Coyle said. “A much deeper defense with the fact that we’ve been able to play a lot of players here early in the season, which is going to help us as we get into the conference schedule.”

PODCAST: Riding high and bouncing back, a week five preview

Fresno State opens conference play on Saturday against 0-4 Nevada, but Tedford and the Bulldogs aren’t taken the Wolfpack lightly. 

Each game is important to Tedford, who hopes the Bulldogs can continue building on their nationally important winning ways. 

“Every week I’m concerned about every single aspect of our team and our game,” Tedford said. “We have really good kids. I do know that. And they work really hard and they’re going to play really hard. I have a lot of confidence in that, but you just never know week to week. You see some young guys come along, which is nice to see like new safeties who hadn’t played before are doing a good job and some of the new receivers are doing a good job. So they’ve matured a lot and really it’s through hard work that they’ve done that. But still, we have to continue to get better each and every week. We have a lot of room for improvement.”

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It’s still early to sort out the pretenders from the contenders, especially since the calendar has yet to flip to October, but it’s still worthwhile to take stock in the first four games for many teams around the country.

PODCAST: What’s the Perception of Marcus Freeman After Notre Dame’s Loss to Ohio State?

Missouri, Kansas and Fresno State entered the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week, and all three programs are off to 4-0 starts. 

The Bulldogs are on a 12-game winning streak, behind only the Georgia Bulldogs for longest in the country. Quarterback Mikey Keene is completing 67.5% of his passes and averaging over 301 passing yards per game. 

Here are several players and notes to keep a tab on in this week’s Big Board. 

Are Ryan Day and the No. 4 Buckeyes for real? 

Ryan Day made his statement known after the game last Saturday in South Bend, Indiana. 

Day emphasized Ohio State’s “toughness” and its will to gain one more yard in order to come up on the winning side of a 17-14 tilt with then-No. 9 Notre Dame. 

But after a top-10 win of this magnitude, can the Buckeyes maintain it and build from it? 

Through the first three games of the season, Ohio State’s offense didn’t exactly resemble the explosive offenses of years past. It’s worth noting that Kyle McCord, who won the starting quarterback competition over Devin Brown, was settling into his role as starter. 

The Buckeyes averaged 474.7 yards per game through their first three games, and their defense captured most of the early talking points shown in the strides taken over the offseason. 

Explosive plays have cost Ohio State in recent years, notably in its two losses to Michigan and its College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Georgia. It seems the Buckeyes are being rather stingy on defense, and they have the No. 2 scoring defense holding opponents to 8.5 points per game.

READ: Quotables: Week 4

After a bye week this week the Buckeyes will face 4-0 Maryland which hung around in last season’s meeting trailing 33-30 with as few as six minutes left in the fourth quarter before Ohio State pulled away 43-30. 

This version of Ohio State is different, yet, it is out to a 4-0 start with a top-10 victory under its belt. We’ll see how the Buckeyes fare in October when they host the Terrapins and No. 6 Penn State and travel to Purdue and Wisconsin. 

No. 1 Georgia holds top spot firmly, but has more to be desired 

The Bulldogs have held firm at the top of each week’s Top 25. They’ve yet to lose a game this season and are riding a 21-game winning streak, the longest in the country. 

Georgia has the No. 11 passing offense in the country, its run game is No. 64 and its total defense is No. 17. Those are notable positions when jockeying with other programs, but let’s take a look at which teams are ahead of the Bulldogs in those categories. 

No. 7 Washington holds the top spot in passing offense. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has made an early Heisman Trophy campaign leading the Huskies behind an average of 467.2 yards per game. 

Air Force far and away has the rushing offense that is most productive. The Falcons average 340.5 yards per game on the ground — almost 70 more yards than the No. 2 rushing offense — and does so behind Emmanuel Michel and mobile quarterback Zac Larrier. 

The top total defense goes to Penn State, which is holding opponents to 219.5 yards per game. The Nittany Lions are giving up 81.5 rushing yards and 138 passing yards per game, which is rather stout, and have 11 players with at least one sack.

READ: Stat Pack: Week 4

The Bulldogs have yet to face stiff competition compared to their competitors. Their opposition this season has a combined record of 7-9. 

That should change on Saturday when Georgia travels to Auburn for its first road game of the year, and the Bulldogs haven’t lost away from home in a true road game since falling at Alabama in 2020. Head coach Kirby Smart will have greater tasks ahead of him in order to hold the top spot in college football. 

Bo Nix, Oregon 

Bo Nix is a returner to the Big Board. 

And he and No. 9 Ducks made a statement victory last weekend over Colorado. 

Oregon trounced the Buffaloes, handing Deion Sanders and Colorado their first loss of the season. Nix largely played catalyst for an explosive Oregon offense that put up 35 points in the first half. 

Nix himself is getting into position to be among the country’s premier quarterbacks, and a possible Heisman contender. He’s completing passes at a 79.4% rate, good for second in the NCAA. 

Nix also stacks up with other quarterbacks in other statistical categories. He’s averaging about 26 completions per game, seventh-most in the country, and he’s No. 13 in passing efficiency with a rating of 180.53.

PODCAST: Calculated Risk: Week Four delivered

He’s no stranger to college football. The fifth-year quarterback has played in big games at Auburn where he spent the 2019-21 seasons and is settling in well in Year 2 with the Ducks. 

Nix’s Heisman odds are +1000 according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and his odds are better than his +2000 position a week ago. He’s an interesting contender on a CFP-caliber team, and it’ll remain interesting to see how Nix and Oregon can build on their momentum. 

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