The new football season in the Mountain West Conference begins with EJ Warner starting as quarterback for Fresno State. The Bulldogs will face Kansas on Saturday, marking Warner’s debut after being named starter on Aug. 11. Warner, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Kurt Warner, takes over from Mikey Keene, who transferred to Michigan.
Warner brings experience from his previous seasons at Temple and Rice, where he threw for more than 3,000 yards in both years at Temple and ranked No. 5 all-time at Rice with 2,710 passing yards last fall. He will work with running backs Elijah Gilliam and Bryson Donelson this year and throw to a group of new receivers led by Josiah Freeman.
Kansas is led by quarterback Jalon Daniels, and its defensive line is considered strong within the Big 12 conference. According to BetMGM odds, Kansas enters the game as a 13.5-point favorite against Fresno State. Fresno State has a record of eleven wins and nine losses against the spread in its last twenty road games as an underdog, while Kansas has seven wins and thirteen losses against the spread in its last twenty home games as the favorite.
Ron Counts writes that he expects Kansas to win 27-17 against Fresno State. Counts states: “Fresno State’s running game should be much improved this year, and the defense returns enough talent to be dangerous. But the Bulldogs still have plenty of unanswered questions.(…) Who will emerge among a new group of receivers? Can Warner better protect the ball after he threw at least twelve interceptions in each of the past three seasons?(…) This game should be a pretty good gauge of where the Bulldogs are at this point in the year, but Warner and company are going to have trouble moving the ball against a defensive front led by Dean Miller, DJ Withers, and Tommy Dunn Jr.” These comments highlight some challenges facing Warner and his teammates in their opening matchup.
The article also previews other Mountain West games for Week 0:
– UNLV is favored by 27.5 points over Idaho State; Ron Counts predicts UNLV will win 42-10.
– Hawaii is favored by 2.5 points over Stanford; Counts predicts Hawaii will win 27-24.
Further analysis on team schedules and player performances across Group of Five teams can be found on HERO Sports‘ website.
