Fresno State makes critical mistakes, then fixes issues to prevail in Coach Entz’s home debut

Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Fresno State quarterback E.J. Warner has been turnover prone.

After all, the senior transfer from Rice finished last season tied with the second most interceptions thrown in the nation (among Football Bowl Subdivision programs) and had 37 career picks entering this season.

Warner’s 13 interceptions a year ago was even worse than that of former starting Bulldogs quarterback Mikey Keene, who got regularly criticized for his turnover tendencies (11 interceptions last season).

But like any old habit, sometimes it just takes time to break.

Like Saturday.

After a turnover-infested first half against Georgia Southern, Warner and the Bulldogs finally got their mishandling under control and turned a worrisome beginning into a convincing 42-14 victory before the announced crowd of 36,801 at Valley Children’s Stadium.

Running back Bryson Donelson rushed 23 times for 167 yards and a touchdown to a power ground attack that had its best showing in more than 10 years.

First-year Fresno State coach Matt Entz won his home debut and also for the first time as a FBS head coach.

And Fresno State as a program recorded its 200th victory ever at its home stadium.

Warner, meanwhile, thrived while operating more as a game manager in the second half, putting the Bulldogs in the most optimal protections and perhaps more importantly avoiding turnovers as Fresno State outscored Georgia Southern 29-0 after halftime.

The Bulldogs (1-1) had entered the break down 14-13 after committing three turnovers in the first half. Two of the turnovers were interceptions from Warner, including on an attempted deep ball.

Warnerd turned things around to finish 20 of 27 passing for 176 yards.

Warner, of course, still has plenty of work to do.

For the season, he has four interceptions and one lost fumble, and no touchdowns to show through two games.

Warner’s season average of 177.5 passing yards and 28 pass attempts per game also seems to suggest that Entz’s version of the Bulldogs won’t rely nearly as heavily on all-star play from the quarterback compared to past Bulldogs seasons.

Nonetheless, Entz and his coaching staff continued to show confidence and patience with Warner.

Even amid Warner’s first half turnover troubles, Entz did not turn to backup quarterback Carson Conklin until 4:25 remained when the Bulldogs had thorough control of the game.

Fresno State’s running game certainly helped alleviate some of Warner’s pressure.

A week after producing just 37 rushing yards and averaging 1.7 yards per carry during a 31-7 loss at Kansas, the Bulldogs amassed 351 yards and averaged 7.8 yards per carry.

It was the first time Fresno State notched 300-plus rushing yards since 2014 when they logged 389 yards on the ground against Southern Utah.

Senior running back Rayshon Luke scored three touchdowns and racked up 96 yards on 10 carries.

Sophomore Brandon Ramirez also reached the end zone once.

Fresno State’s defense, meanwhile, shut out Georgia Southern in the second half and held the Eagles to 242 total yards for the game.

In the second half, Georgia Southern picked up just three first downs and went 0 of 5 on third-down attempts (the Eagles did not attempt any fourth downs).

Georgia Southern (0-1), a Sun Belt Conference team that went 8-5 overall last season, was playing its first game of the season.

Bulldogs linebacker Jadon Pearson tallied a team-high six tackles. Defensive back Ryan Wilson came up with the Bulldogs’ lone forced turnover when he leaped to stretch out and catch a deflected pass for an interception.

Of note

*The Red Wave’s mediocre showing on a hot day during Labor Day weekend snapped a 14-game streak of Fresno State having a crowd of at least 38,000. The temperature during opening kickoff was 97 degrees.

*Keene, who passed for nearly 6,000 yards combined the past two seasons while leading the Bulldogs, did not get any playing time while at his new school Michigan.

Keene, who transferred to Michigan in the offseason, was deemed questionable entering the season opener and the Wolverines went with true freshman Bryce Underwood throughout a 34-17 win against New Mexico State.

*NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner attended Saturday’s home opener.

Warner, who most notably starred for the St. Louis Rams, is the father of E.J. Warner.

Warner was a four-time Pro Bowler and twice named a first-team All-Pro en route to passing for 32,444 career yards and 208 touchdowns. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2017.

*Before the game, Fresno State held a moment of silence for former university president Joseph Castro, who recently passed away at 58 years old.

This story was originally published August 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM.