Bulldogs back in both major polls as they start prep for MW championship game

The Fresno State Bulldogs will head to the Mountain West Conference championship game at Boise State ranked in both major polls, coming in on Sunday at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 23 in the Coaches Poll.

The Bulldogs, who ended the regular season 10-2 and 7-1 in conference play after a 31-13 victory over San Jose State on Senior Day at Bulldog Stadium, were not ranked in the AP Top 25 last week but were No. 23 in the coaches poll.

They hit the AP rankings at No. 20 after improving to 7-1 with after a 50-20 victory over Hawaii and jumped four spots to No. 16 the following week after a 48-3 win at UNLV, but dropped out after a Nov. 9 loss at Boise State.

Fresno State was in the AP Top 25 for one week in 2017, No. 25 after beating Boise State to end the regular season 9-3.

The Broncos, who host the Mountain West title game for the second year in a row, are No. 19 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the coaches poll. Utah State, which blew its shot at a spot in the championship with a 33-24 loss at Boise State on Saturday fell out of the AP poll from No. 21, and are No. 24 in the coaches poll, down nine spots.

The next set of College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday. Boise State last week was No. 23, behind No. 9 Central Florida and No. 21 Utah State among Group of Five conference programs.