No. 14 USC hosts Fresno State and Matt Entz in his return to the Coliseum
The second-year Bulldogs coach helped improve the Trojans’ defense as their linebackers coach in 2024
Fresno State HC Matt Entz watches the first half against Kansas on Aug. 23, 2025, in Lawrence, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
FRESNO STATE (0-0) at No. 14 USC (1-0), Friday, 6 p.m., Coliseum, TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/710 AM, Line: USC by 22.5 points
Notable Injuries
USC: OUT: C Kilian O’Connor (knee); QUESTIONABLE: DT Jahkeem Stewart (foot), S Marquis Gallegos (undisclosed), S Kendarius Reddick (undisclosed), WR Tanook Hines (undisclosed), DE Braylan Shelby (undisclosed)
Fresno State: OUT: G Edward Fonua (lower leg)
Haley Sawyer (OC Register) — Out of all of USC’s nonconference opponents, Fresno State might be the one best prepared to play in the Coliseum. Bulldogs coach Matt Entz has first-hand experience after coaching the Trojans’ linebackers in 2024.
“You talk about a historical facility,” Entz told reporters. “It’s pretty iconic to be able to play a game there. We’ve tried to talk through all these things with our team so when we get there, we understand it’s a big event. But it’s still 120 yards by 53⅓. No different from what you played on in high school.”
Entz returns for Friday’s 6 p.m. matchup between the Trojans and Bulldogs, which is filled with mutual respect.
“He’s a really good football coach and took over a proud program that’s got a lot of great history and tradition in the way that they play,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said.
“That’s one of the schools that, other than a week when we’re playing them, we all root for around here. I hope they win every other game except this one.”
Entz coached North Dakota State to two FCS national championships, then moved on to help improve the Trojans. USC’s total defense jumped from 119th in the nation to 70th from 2023 to 2024, and the scoring defense improved from 121st to 56th.
Fresno State is in its first season as a Pac-12 team as part of a major overhaul to the radically changed conference. Ten teams left the Pac-12 in 2022, led by USC and UCLA to start it all off, and the conference was unable to fully flesh itself out again until this season.
It will be another week of lopsided talent advantage for the Trojans, but the Bulldogs are still going to bring the toughness that Entz has been known for at every coaching stop.
“One of the most overlooked and underutilized words in the English language is ‘belief,’ and so we’ve been talking about it for the last 10 days,” Entz said. “There has to be a belief.
“We’re going to trust our process and our approach. Doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory, but it’ll guarantee that we’re going to be competitive.”
When Fresno State has the ball
The Bulldogs named Jayden Mandal as their starting quarterback this week. Mandal – a hometown player from Buchanan High – missed the 2025 season due to an elbow injury and didn’t even throw a pass at practice. Nevertheless, Entz and the coaching staff were impressed with his timing, decision-making and accuracy during fall training camp.
Fresno State will likely lean on its running game as Mandal gets re-acclimated. Returning running backs Rayshon “Speedy” Luke and Bryson Donelson ran for 731 yards and 624 yards last season, respectively. They will test the Trojans’ run defense and front seven, which saw a drop off in performance after the starters left the season opener against San José State.
The Trojan defense should get a boost if edge rusher Braylan Shelby and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart (4) return from injury this week as is indicated in the depth chart. More experienced players have been coaching up the younger, second- and third-string players, too.
“It’s key details,” USC defensive tackle Floyd Boucard said. “Making sure you stay focused on knowing everything that’s going on, making sure you get your call, know your call, and then also just know who you’re playing with.”
When USC has the ball
The coaching staff sent out three freshman receivers to start the season opener: Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Trent Mosley and Tron Baker. Tight end Mark Bowman was another freshman starter.
If Tanook Hines doesn’t return from injury, the Trojans could dial up the same combination, but look for Hines to return if USC’s second depth chart release is any early reveal. The updated chart indicates that Baker, Hines and Corey Simms, who had a nice game against the Spartans, are all sure-fire targets of JaydenMaiava at outside receiver.
Tobias Raymond will get his second consecutive start at center, and Hayden Treter will start again at left guard. The offensive line performed well against San José State in spite of the changes, and helped Maiava to a 286-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Maiava surpassed 5,000 career passing yards as a Trojan against San Jose State, and now has 5,198.
Fresno State will want to make Maiava uncomfortable and test his patience by prioritizing defensive leverage, using disguises and changing its looks often.
“We’re going to have to be really sharp on defense,” Entz said. “We’ve got to be able to hold up on some of the isolation plays and we’ve got to get hats to the ball. And we’ve got to tackle well and try to find ways to get (Maiava) off schedule at different times.”
What’s at stake? Coming off a season-opening victory over San José State, USC needs to show early that it can play a complete four quarters without any drop-off in execution if it wants to make the College Football Playoff, even if it’s missing a few of its regular starters.
The coaching cliché that the biggest improvements happen from the first game to the second should work in the Trojans’ favor. Beyond the game itself, they’ll have to draw a big, excited crowd if they want to erase the widespread discourse about low attendance from Saturday afternoon’s scorching home game.
Matchup to watch:USC’s defensive line vs. Fresno State’s running game. The Trojans’ starting defensive line is imposing, but the second- and third-string players who rotated in last week didn’t match their level of play. How well they stop the run against the Bulldogs could be an important barometer for the rest of the season.
Luke Wafle was expected to be a key contributor early for the Trojans’ defense. With injuries at the defensive end position, Wafle was named starter and he impressively looked the part in Game 1. Now, with all of the defensive line presumably back for Friday’s game, Wafle still remains the starting end.
With Braylon Shelby and Jahkeem Stewart both added to this week’s depth chart, expect the Trojans to get some sacks against the Bulldogs. The Trojans’ defensive line in Game 1 struggled to get after the quarterback. With a more healthy unit, the Trojans’ defensive line should wreak havoc in the Bulldogs backfield.
Expect lots of freshmen on the field again in this game, and they’ll show major improvements if the right adjustments are made in a shortened week. First-game jitters are also out of the way. The playoff-hopeful Trojans are already heavily favored by 22 1/2 points to win this game, and seeing a bump in freshman output will be an added bonus.
Prediction:USC 36, Fresno State 14. The Trojans maintain their balanced offense and defensive coordinator Gary Patterson’s defense improves after allowing pesky San Jose State to score 26 points, including three touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the 4th quarter last Saturday.
USC’s run game could be the big story of this game. Waymond Jordan and King Miller should have big days. Last week, Mark Bowman was dominant in run blocking. Bowman caught the first pass of the game but did not contribute much else in the passing game. The freshman will show his receiving ability more against Fresno State.
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I came here to TDB because, after years of posting on a blog run by a Trojan alum journalist who was let go because of his negative columns, I realized his negative reporting was affecting me. The aforementioned journalist ran his blog like a terrorist bomber. He would post an article and then run for cover. He never looked back, never answered questions, insulted his readers and never met a University representative he liked. I was invited here and when I looked back at the blog last week I saw nothing had changed posters were trolling each other with childish… Read more »
It would be hard to look back when talking about Scott Wolf. Some of the stuff was good but a lot of his blog was just trash. When he put a up close rear end photo of a horse pooping I said “that’s it for me”.
USC easily handles the Bulldogs 39-0 behind a fantastic, high pressure defense
Led by QB Jayden Maiava, who threw for 349 yds and 3 TDs, the Trojans out-gained FRESNO ST 552 to 116 total yds (only 2.6 yds per play). ‘
Escape artist WR Trent Mosley spearheaded the receiving corps with 4 catches for 104 yds and 2 TDs, while the USC defense stuffed the Bulldogs completely — 5 sacks, a pick, and 2 safeties.
Great overall game, especially the passing attack and the perfect, stubborn-til-the-end D. Gary Patterson is ecstatic. Rushing attack needs to improve to beat better teams.
Man, I was wrong about this game, and so glad that I was. The defense was stifling, and the Bulldogs have a very good run game. I am so impressed with coach Patterson.If that is what our defense is, this team can play with anyone.
LSU does not roster Zxavian Harris, Dae’Quan Wright ahead of Clemson game Pete Nakos (on3.com) — LSU has not added former Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris or former Ole Miss TE Dae’Quan Wright to its roster, sources tell On3. The duo was granted a preliminary injunction for a fifth year of eligibility against the NCAA and SEC on Thursday night in a Baton Rouge court. They can be added to the 105-man roster later in the season as long as they are enrolled at LSU. Wright spent time in NFL preseason camps and was cut, clearing waivers and ultimately… Read more »
I was hoping for a stronger run game, its not bad but not great either. Passing game is excellent Maiava 25 for 27. Not bad. Like RG3 says those are Heisman numbers.
I predicted 10-2 and so far they look like a 10-2 team but starting with Oregon they have a brutal 6 games. They also play UCLA at the end of the year. I think the Bruins will be good this year although I do think they will lose to Cal in the 1st game.
Not to be critical but the running game needs to improve. Last year they averaged 5.1 per carry for the whole season including the Big 10 season. This year, against SJS and FSU they are averaging 3.9. They have all their running backs back plus some outstanding new ones and all the O-Line is back plus some really good new backups. The running game has to improve a lot if they plan to be a factor in the Big 10. The defense is looking great as is their passing game.
For those of you who have commented on USC’s use of those huge “juice boxes” the Trojan players toss up and down on the sidelines: Coaching Staff Initiative: Post-game interviews reveal that the props were introduced by the coaching staff as a reward and team-building gimmick. RB Waymond Jordan revealed that coaches use a strict grading system, and the props tie into a newly established “Juice Box” award for players who exhibit high intensity, and as a celebratory prop to represent “bringing the juice.” When the team makes a big play or takes a lead, players on the sideline hoist… Read more »
A lot of analysts are predicting SC to cover, but I still expect a tough, close game. I am not sold on this team yet, with my biggest reservation being Riley. I still don’t know if he can put it all together and turn the Trojans into a tough physical team that can win at the LOS.
And Rutgers was truly pathetic, getting blasted by a team that had lost 16 in a row. Schiano looks like a ‘ dead man walking”
Last night good old cupcake RUT got totally manhandled at home by the UMASS Minutemen who were ranked #136 out of 136 teams by Athlon Sports in their pre-season mag. Lindy’s ranked them #138 out of 138.
USC plays the pitiful Scarlet Knights on Sept. 19 in New Jersey.
The only challenge for USC going to New Jersey should be the jet lag. The depth chart should be set and this will be the last preseason game. Time to fine tune everything, the season starts big time after Rutgers.
SJS may be better than a lot of people think. They have a good QB and their RB and a few receivers looked good. Their problem is up front where it counts. Let’s see how they do against Eastern Michigan.
Rutgers got killed by UMass. UMass rushed for 200 yards against Rutgers. We should be able to rush for 250-300 yards against them. Let’s see what happens.
I will be interested in seeing how well Urlacher covers the receivers he is up against. Last week his speed was exposed as lacking covering speedy SJS WRs. If this happens again, I don’t see how DC Patterson can justify keeping Kennedy at safety. I remember another player that had a similar weakness but he turned out to be pretty damn good moving to linebacker; Matt Grotegood!
The Trojan defense should get a boost if edge rusher Braylan Shelby and defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart (4) return from injury this week as is indicated in the depth chart. More experienced players have been coaching up the younger, second- and third-string players, too.
Luke Wafle was expected to be a key contributor early for the Trojans’ defense. With injuries at the defensive end position, Wafle was named starter and he impressively looked the part in Game 1. Now, with all of the defensive line presumably back for Friday’s game, Wafle still remains the starting end.
The Trojan horse pooped all over the bulldogs,
I came here to TDB because, after years of posting on a blog run by a Trojan alum journalist who was let go because of his negative columns, I realized his negative reporting was affecting me. The aforementioned journalist ran his blog like a terrorist bomber. He would post an article and then run for cover. He never looked back, never answered questions, insulted his readers and never met a University representative he liked. I was invited here and when I looked back at the blog last week I saw nothing had changed posters were trolling each other with childish… Read more »
You must be talking about Scott Wolf
Yes. He was ill a few years back and I wondered where I could enjoy posting. Someone suggested this blog. I have rarely looked back.
It would be hard to look back when talking about Scott Wolf. Some of the stuff was good but a lot of his blog was just trash. When he put a up close rear end photo of a horse pooping I said “that’s it for me”.
USC easily handles the Bulldogs 39-0 behind a fantastic, high pressure defense
Led by QB Jayden Maiava, who threw for 349 yds and 3 TDs, the Trojans out-gained FRESNO ST 552 to 116 total yds (only 2.6 yds per play). ‘
Escape artist WR Trent Mosley spearheaded the receiving corps with 4 catches for 104 yds and 2 TDs, while the USC defense stuffed the Bulldogs completely — 5 sacks, a pick, and 2 safeties.
Great overall game, especially the passing attack and the perfect, stubborn-til-the-end D. Gary Patterson is ecstatic. Rushing attack needs to improve to beat better teams.
Man, I was wrong about this game, and so glad that I was. The defense was stifling, and the Bulldogs have a very good run game. I am so impressed with coach Patterson.If that is what our defense is, this team can play with anyone.
The defense has played well so far when the starters are in there. Knock on wood.
Get the shut out!
LSU does not roster Zxavian Harris, Dae’Quan Wright ahead of Clemson game Pete Nakos (on3.com) — LSU has not added former Ole Miss DT Zxavian Harris or former Ole Miss TE Dae’Quan Wright to its roster, sources tell On3. The duo was granted a preliminary injunction for a fifth year of eligibility against the NCAA and SEC on Thursday night in a Baton Rouge court. They can be added to the 105-man roster later in the season as long as they are enrolled at LSU. Wright spent time in NFL preseason camps and was cut, clearing waivers and ultimately… Read more »
I was hoping for a stronger run game, its not bad but not great either. Passing game is excellent Maiava 25 for 27. Not bad. Like RG3 says those are Heisman numbers.
Chris Peterson lays it out
O-Line play needs to get better.
It’s amazing what a difference a decent defensive coordinator can do. The boys are making a statement.
Jide Abasiri is fun to watch. So is Luke Wafle.
And Urlacher is much better moving forward than backward.
FRESNO ST — only 51 yds of offense in 1st half.
USC has a defense!! You gotta see it to believe it.
USC’s wide receiver room is just sick.
If this team can put up 40 plus every game, pending injuries, they can go 10-2.
Our run game isn’t near acceptable yet. That’s gotta somehow be fixed vs ORE, OHIO ST, IU, PSU, UW, UCLA and WIS.
We can’t just pass against those teams and expect to win IMO.
It’s the O-Line. They are missing blocks on the counter. Especially when they are pulling down the line which is almost every running play.
I predicted 10-2 and so far they look like a 10-2 team but starting with Oregon they have a brutal 6 games. They also play UCLA at the end of the year. I think the Bruins will be good this year although I do think they will lose to Cal in the 1st game.
Good for Urlacher! Just punch that dude out of the back of the EZ for two points on that safety pressure. Credit to USC’s D. Playing nasty.
O line needs to get much better.
Not to be critical but the running game needs to improve. Last year they averaged 5.1 per carry for the whole season including the Big 10 season. This year, against SJS and FSU they are averaging 3.9. They have all their running backs back plus some outstanding new ones and all the O-Line is back plus some really good new backups. The running game has to improve a lot if they plan to be a factor in the Big 10. The defense is looking great as is their passing game.
You just knew Trent Mosley was gonna easily juke that defender and coast into the EZ.
Nice opening drive for SC! Then the Defense gets a turnover!
For those of you who have commented on USC’s use of those huge “juice boxes” the Trojan players toss up and down on the sidelines: Coaching Staff Initiative: Post-game interviews reveal that the props were introduced by the coaching staff as a reward and team-building gimmick. RB Waymond Jordan revealed that coaches use a strict grading system, and the props tie into a newly established “Juice Box” award for players who exhibit high intensity, and as a celebratory prop to represent “bringing the juice.” When the team makes a big play or takes a lead, players on the sideline hoist… Read more »
It’s game time for us “Starving USC Fans.”
Everybody is picking the Irish, including Kirk Herbstreit. USC plays four of the top 12.
I think this will be a tight game but SC will pull away and win 35-17. Fight On!
Are you in John’s pool. It’s not too late. Go for it….it’s free.
A lot of analysts are predicting SC to cover, but I still expect a tough, close game. I am not sold on this team yet, with my biggest reservation being Riley. I still don’t know if he can put it all together and turn the Trojans into a tough physical team that can win at the LOS.
And Rutgers was truly pathetic, getting blasted by a team that had lost 16 in a row. Schiano looks like a ‘ dead man walking”
At least Schiano threw himself under the bus. Of course he didn’t have much choice. But from what I saw, RUT had very little talent, period.
Last night good old cupcake RUT got totally manhandled at home by the UMASS Minutemen who were ranked #136 out of 136 teams by Athlon Sports in their pre-season mag. Lindy’s ranked them #138 out of 138.
USC plays the pitiful Scarlet Knights on Sept. 19 in New Jersey.
The only challenge for USC going to New Jersey should be the jet lag. The depth chart should be set and this will be the last preseason game. Time to fine tune everything, the season starts big time after Rutgers.
Playing a team as bad as RUT right before ORE could actually hurt USC.
Getting a tougher game under our belts would be better IMO. Four cupcakes only prepares you for cupcakes.
It’s a classic Nick Saban move. Rest your starters but keep them active just enough so they don’t get cold.
Like I said, UMass gained 200 yards rushing against Rutgers. If we can’t gain 250-300 against them, there’s something wrong.
SJS may be better than a lot of people think. They have a good QB and their RB and a few receivers looked good. Their problem is up front where it counts. Let’s see how they do against Eastern Michigan.
Rutgers got killed by UMass. UMass rushed for 200 yards against Rutgers. We should be able to rush for 250-300 yards against them. Let’s see what happens.
SJS has their best head coach since Jack Elway I think he will make the Spartans into a good team. Look what he did at Navy.
I will be interested in seeing how well Urlacher covers the receivers he is up against. Last week his speed was exposed as lacking covering speedy SJS WRs. If this happens again, I don’t see how DC Patterson can justify keeping Kennedy at safety. I remember another player that had a similar weakness but he turned out to be pretty damn good moving to linebacker; Matt Grotegood!
I doubt Notre Dame misses Urlacher one iota. I’m glad he’s a Trojan and is a tough player who likes to mix it up.
But I have no illusions about his limited talent. Hopefully, his game improves as USC gets into the B1G teams.