Fresno State vs. Washington State L.A. Bowl prediction: Winning streaks to continue?
One last big game remains for the Fresno State football team.
This time it’s the Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl at 12:30 p.m. Saturday between the Bulldogs and Washington State from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The game will be seen on ABC (KFSN 30 in Fresno).
Fresno State is coming off a huge win over Boise State, giving the Bulldogs a Mountain West title that put them in the L.A. Bowl against the Pac-12’s fifth pick in the Cougars.
Two things staring in Fresno State’s face: a 10th win and a fourth straight bowl win.
Fresno State is (9-4) and won the past three bowl games over Houston (Hawaii Bowl, 33-27, in 2017); Arizona State (Las Vegas Bowl, 31-20, in 2018) and UTEP (New Mexico Bowl, 31-24, in 2021).
This will be the last game for quarterback Jake Haener, wide receiver Jalen Moreno-Cropper, defensive end David Perales and a host of others.
The Bulldogs would like nothing more than to finish out on top and cap the season on a nine-game win streak.
The Cougars enter the bowl game at 7-5.
Washington State leads the series 3-1 with the last game taking place in Pullman with the Cougars winning 24-3 in 1994.
Predictions
Here is how predictions are unfolding:
ESPN: Fresno State 33, Washington State 30
Sports Illustrated: Fresno State 27, Washington State 24
FanDuel: Fresno State 30, Washington State 25
The Bee’s analysis/prediction
The Red Wave will make its way to Southern California and there will be a sea of red at SoFi.
The Bulldogs are 3.5-point favorites in this matchup with the over/under set at 54.5 points.
The way Haener commands the offense is always a good thing for the Bulldogs. The Bee expects the defense to shine, as well, in a game that will give Bulldogs coach Jeff Tedford his eighth career bowl win — third with Fresno State.
Prediction: Fresno State 42, Washington State 27
