Bulldogs praise Tedford, say he taught them to win

Fresno State went 1-11 two seasons ago before turning to one of its own in graduate Jeff Tedford.

He oversaw an immediate turnaround, with the Bulldogs going 10-4 last season and playing for the Mountain West title.

They then took it up another notch by going 12-2 this season, winning the Mountain West championship and beating Arizona State 31-20 in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The 19th-ranked Bulldogs became the first team in program history to win 12 games and the first in NCAA history to follow a double-figure losing season with back-to-back years of double-digit victories.

“I think it’s a life lesson about perseverance,” Tedford said. “They went through a hard time two years ago, but to continue to believe and work your way through certain things, life is like that.

“They have accomplished a lot, and they should be very proud of that because it doesn’t happen by talking about it. There’s a lot of hard work and dedication that goes into it.”

His players said they quickly believed in Tedford.

“When you go 1-11 and your coach (Tim DeRuyter) gets fired, it creates a vacuum, and you’re looking for someone to teach you how to win,” Fresno State linebacker George Helmuth said. “Coach Tedford came in with a plan, and he taught us how to win, and it was immediate buy-in because you know who he is. He’s been a great coach in the past.

“We need to make a Netflix original, the story’s too good to be true.”

Tedford became the first coach to win the Las Vegas Bowl with two schools. He led California to a 35-28 victory over Brigham Young in 2005.

Chase Stevens Las Vegas Review-Journal @csstevensphoto Ronnie Rivers (20) ran for 212 yards, including a 68-yard TD scamper that put the Bulldogs ahead for good in the third quarter.