FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Fresno State will open the 2026 season on the road against No. 14 USC on Friday.
The last time the two met was in 2022 at USC. The Bulldogs lost 45-17.
Friday’s game will also be Fresno State football’s first as a member of the Pac-12 and the first Pac-12 football game of the 2026 season.
The matchup is being billed as old vs. new Pac-12, with USC a longtime conference member before moving to the Big Ten.
The Bulldogs will open their season on the road for the fourth consecutive year and are looking for their first season-opening win since 2023, when they beat Purdue 39-35.
The game will be Fresno State’s first against a ranked opponent under head coach Matt Entz, who is entering his second year leading the program.
Entz spent the 2024 season at USC as the assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach under head coach Lincoln Riley.
Several other Bulldogs staff members have USC ties. Special teams coordinator John Baxter coached at USC from 2010-13 and 2016-18, and assistant athletic director for football Ben Hynds also previously worked on the USC staff. Baxter and defensive backs coach J.D. Williams were both on staff when Fresno State and USC last played in 2022.
Fresno State enters the season with 118 players on its 2026 roster.
The Bulldogs named six team captains based on a team vote: Josiah Freeman, Rolan Fullwood, Rayshon Luke, Simeon Harris, Jahzon Jacks and K’vion Thunderbird.
Fresno State returns a majority of its defensive production from 2025, from a defense that was top 10 in the FBS in several categories.
Offensively, the Bulldogs are preparing to break in a new starting quarterback, Jayden Mandal.
“We’ve named a quarterback, and that’s Jayden Mandal,” said head coach Matt Entz at his weekly press conference Monday, Aug. 31. “Excited for Jayden. He’s done a tremendous job, had a really good fall camp.”
Mandal is a Clovis native and former two-sport star who was committed to the Fresno State baseball team before changing course.