Fresno State football’s attempt at a monumental upset picked up for national TV

The national spotlight will be shining on Fresno State football when the Bulldogs take on their two toughest opponents of the season.

Fresno State’s Sept. 9 nonconference opener at Alabama will be aired on ESPN2.

And the Bulldogs’ Sept. 16 game at Washington will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

Both Alabama and Washington reached last season’s College Football Playoff, reserved for the top four teams in the country.

The Bulldogs, coming off of a 1-11 season, will face coach Nick Saban and the vaunted Crimson Tide program for the first time in school history, with the kickoff at 12:30 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama leads the nation with a record 16 national championships, with its most recent in 2015.

The following week, Fresno State plays coach Chris Petersen and Washington at 6:30 p.m. at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

New Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford worked last season as an offensive analyst under Petersen, the former Boise State coach who regularly was a roadblock to Fresno State success.

It’ll be the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Huskies since 2006 when Fresno State lost 21-20 after a critical game-tying extra point was blocked down the stretch.

Washington leads the all-time series 2-1.

In total for this upcoming season, Fresno State will have five games nationally televised. Additional announcements are expected from the Mountain West in June.

Fresno State’s other national games are:

Oct. 21: at San Diego State, CBS Sports Network (7:30 p.m. PT)

Nov. 4: BYU, An ESPN Network (TBA)

Nov. 25: Boise State, CBS Sports Network (12:30 p.m. PT)

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Fresno State football’s attempt at a monumental upset picked up for national TV."