Take Jayden Mandal off Fresno State's roster and the first thing you'd miss is 579 team passing yards leader.
6′0″ · 205 lb · Clovis, CA · Buchanan HS
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 316 pass yds, 2 TD, 8 rush yds, vs Sacramento State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior quarterback for Fresno State. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
Buzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
At some point he will give up on Jayden Mandal. Jayden is not even close to Carr and Manning. Jayden worst than EJ Warner. Short and can't see the field well and that the problem.
Jayden Mandal
Jayden Mandal is a cornerstone for Fresno State — measured against the line he joined.
TEAM PASSING YARDS LEADER
579
Team leader in passing yards (579).
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Tim Skipper → Matt Entz. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fresno State | 45 | 70 | 64.3% | 579 | 8.3 | 3 | 1 | 145.1 | 66 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Fresno State | 4 | 9 | 44.4% | 39 | 4.3 | 0 | 2 | 36.4 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 49 | 79 | 62.0% | 618 | 7.8 | 3 | 3 | 132.7 | 66 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fresno State | 21 | 35 | 1.7 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Fresno State | 2 | -4 | -2.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 23 | 31 | 1.3 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-39@ USC | 7/15 | 77 | 0 | 1 | 5.1 | 9.5 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-3vs Sacramento State | 23/26 | 316 | 2 | 0 | 12.2 | — | Season-high 316 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 26-10@ San José State | 15/29 | 186 | 1 | 0 | 6.4 | 52.3 | |
| Total | 45/70 | 579 | 3 | 1 | 7.9 | 30.9 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 26–10
186 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 52.3 · 46 rush yds (9 car)
With N. Verdugo — 40.9 yards per punt · 7 punts · 4 inside the 20 · R. Luke — 49 rush yds (14 car)
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +186 passing yards, +1 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: pass yards (3rd percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
7.7858 of 126 QBsSack rate
5.4%78 of 126 QBsSacked on 5.4% of dropbacks (78 of 126) — and still 58 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 63.4% completion on 71 attempts · 51% of attempts thrown 0–9 air yds.
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 57 dropbacks66Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
51.8%90th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -0.8% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
9.1898th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · +0.2 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
3.9%78th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.4% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (18 of 75 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 316 | 2.0 | 12.2 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 132 | 0.5 | 5.8 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 193 | 1.0 | 7.9 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Entz
Pass share
42.7%
73 pass / 98 run
Plays / game
57.0
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
The No. 1,601 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Pac-12 as a junior.
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #144 this season.
2025 (SOPHOMORE): Did not participate … was out this season with injury. 2024 (R-FRESHMAN): Appeared in six games this season … was the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback against NIU in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 23) … season stats were 4-of-9 for 39 yards and two interceptions … was 3-of-6…