Jayden Mandal

#7 · QB · Jr. · Fresno State6′0″ · 205 lb · Clovis, CA · Buchanan

ZPR5058th of 119 QBs Last gameW 38–22vs Oregon State · Oct 31

Nextat Utah StateSat Nov 7 · 9:30 pm ET

Fresno State is 5-3 in the eight games played. A balanced passer.

Strongest: an interception on 1.0% of throws, 27th lowest of 158 starters.

Plays most like Simpson ’25, Alabama 2025. Drafted in round 1 (No. 13 overall) by Los Angeles, 2026.

Passing yards

1,595

134 of 212, 63%

TD–INT

10–2

7.5 per throw

NCAA rating

140.1

62nd of 119

ZPR

58th of 119

How ZPR works

Boom or bust: great in 2, shaky or worse in 2.

0-2 against ranked teams, 148 passing yards a game.

Best by our grade: Sacramento State. Lowest: at San Diego State, sacked 6 times. Biggest game: at USC, No. 14. Best play: Run for 15 yards, touchdown, against Oregon State, Q1 1:47. Win chance 37% to 58%.

Tap a game for its plays

Q1Q2Q3Q4

at USC

L 0–39·Ranked #14

Few throws

77 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · Rush 8 for -19 · The interception cost about 6 points of win chance · Lost a fumble · Sacked 2

Getting a safety from the 25 is gonna be tough, but Mandal is the man for it
Fresno State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 sack cost the team 9 points of win chance. Win chance: 11% to 2%.

Full game page

Sacramento State

W 49–3·Unranked

Great

316 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 4 for 8, 1 TD · Sacked 0

Looking a hell of a lot better than last week. Mandal already over 200 passing yards
Fresno State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 12 points of win chance. Win chance: 70% to 82%.

Full game page

at San José State

W 26–10·Unranked

Solid

186 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for 46 · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q3 completion added 15 points of win chance. Win chance: 68% to 82%.

Full game page

Rice

W 38–24·Unranked

Solid

Slow start, strong finish · 210 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT · Rush 5 for 57 · Sacked 0

Mandal is so ass. This dude can’t read a blitz to save his life
Fresno State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 35 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 37% to 72%.

Full game page

at Washington State

W 26–6·Unranked

Solid

245 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for 27 · Lost a fumble · Sacked 1

Biggest swing: a Q2 run cost the team 12 points of win chance. It flipped the game against the team: 58% to 46%.

Full game page

Boise State

L 31–38·Ranked #23

Shaky

218 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 7 for 26, 1 TD · Sacked 2

How many more times is Mandal gonna overthrow is recievers tonight
Fresno State fan

Biggest swing: a Q2 completion added 29 points of win chance. It flipped the game for the team: 34% to 63%.

Full game page

at San Diego State

L 23–26·Unranked

Rough

141 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for -16 · Sacked 6

Mandal magic? (It’s not happening)
Fresno State fan

Biggest swing: a Q4 incompletion cost the team 9 points of win chance. Win chance: 9% to 0%.

Full game page

Oregon State

W 38–22·Unranked

Great

202 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT · Rush 8 for 34, 2 TD · The interception cost about 12 points of win chance · Sacked 0

Biggest swing: a Q1 run added 21 points of win chance. Win chance: 52% to 73%.

Full game page

Season

Gets better after halftime

How to read this

Each column is a quarter. Blue and up is a good stretch for the quarterback, red and down a bad one, hatched means the game was already decided. A red cross is a turnover and a black dot a touchdown. The word on the right grades the whole game. A gold line means the r/CFB game thread kept naming the quarterback. Tap a game to open its plays: each bar is one of the quarterback’s plays, up helped the team’s chance of winning and down hurt it, and the grey line is that chance.

The word grades the game against every FBS quarterback start, from Rough to Great, using the same throws as the season Zeitgeist Passer Rating and adjusting for the defense faced. Bars are points added per throw in that quarter. The Season row leaves out quarters after a game was decided.

Style of play

Balanced

Why this word

Runs4.5 a gameRarelyA lot

Throws8.6 yards past the lineShortDeep

Completes63%FewerMore

Takes sacks5% of dropbacksRarelyOften

The dot is this quarterback, among this season’s starters; the tick is the middle.

Throws at a middling depth and runs some. 4.5 carries a game. Closest matches: Simpson ’25, Warren, Hayes, Bailey.

Where the throws go

Behind the line14%typical 17%

Short53%typical 47%

Middle19%typical 22%

Deep14%typical 14%

Runs 4.5 times a game; 56% of starters run less.

Closest in style

Nearer the middle means more alike.

Simpson ’25 Alabama 2025 · Balanced
3,567 yards, 28 TD, 5 INT. Drafted in round 1 (No. 13 overall) by Los Angeles, 2026. Both are efficient and protect the ball.
Warren Stanford · Pocket passer
2,203 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT so far. Both protect the ball and rarely throw behind the line.
Hayes Tulsa · Balanced
1,343 yards, 10 TD, 2 INT so far. Both protect the ball.
Bailey NC State · Chain-mover
1,955 yards, 13 TD, 4 INT so far. Both rarely throw behind the line and are efficient.

Compared with the 158 FBS starters this season for throws and running, and with 219 quarterbacks across 2 seasons for the matches, on how they play and how they have done.

This week

RecordFresno State is 5-3.
Last gameOct. 31 · a win over Oregon State, 202 passing yards.
What fans say
Over the last few games, Fresno State fans have been down on Mandal.
“Mobile Mandal certainly helps with his stormtrooper aim”
“How many more times is Mandal gonna overthrow is recievers tonight”
“Mandal magic? (It’s not happening)”
From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.
Next gameat Utah State · Sat Nov 7

What’s being said

7 stories in the last 60 days, from 8 outlets.

Stories per week. W and L: the team’s results.

Jayden Mandal, Rayshon Luke lead Fresno State to 38-24 victory over Rice

AP News +1 Sep 27

All 15 stories this season

Worth knowing

Jayden Mandal has 31.2 rushing yards a game at home, 9.5 on the road.

Jayden Mandal

QB · Fresno State · #7

Filling the Shoesas of Nov 4

Jayden Mandal takes over from E.J. Warner at Fresno State.

1,595passing yards10passing TD163rushing yards

PRODUCES ABOVE PERCEPTION · PCTL GAP

+24

perception vs production percentile · 2026

The production (61st) is outrunning the reputation (37th). The recognition is the thing lagging behind.

Read the story so far

Jayden Mandal arrived as a 3-star prospect. Jayden Mandal lines up at QB for Fresno State.

On the field, the headline is 1,595 pass yds, with 10 pass td.

Jayden Mandal inherited the QB job from E.J. Warner (3-star).

The number to watch: +24 — produces above perception · pctl gap.

QB successionleap of faith

Inherited fromE.J. Warner 3★

AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-11-04

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2026	Fresno State	134	212	63.2%	1,595	7.5	10	2	140.1	50
2024	Fresno State	4	9	44.4%	39	4.3	0	2	36.4	--
Career		138	221	62.4%	1,634	7.4	10	4	135.9	50

Season	Team
2026	Fresno State	59	163	2.8	4	21
2024	Fresno State	2	−4	−2.0	0	3
Career		61	159	2.6	4	21

Last game (Wk 9): 202 passing yards, 2 passing TD, 1 interception.

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2026 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	Grade	CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YPA	QBR	SK	RUSH	Note
Wk 1	L 0-39@ No. 14 USC		7/15	77	0	1	5.1	9.5	2	-19
Wk 2	W 49-3vs Sacramento State	Great	23/26	316	2	0	12.2	—	0	8	Season-high 316 yds
Wk 3	W 26-10@ San José State	Solid	15/29	186	1	0	6.4	52.3	0	46
Wk 4	W 38-24vs Rice	Solid	22/34	210	3	0	6.2	43.4	0	57	3 TD passes
Wk 5	W 26-6@ Washington State	Solid	24/33	245	0	0	7.4	65.8	1	27
Wk 6	L 31-38vs No. 23 Boise State	Shaky	19/33	218	2	0	6.6	82.5	2	26
Wk 7	L 23-26@ San Diego State	Rough	13/25	141	0	0	5.6	34.4	6	-16
Wk 9	W 38-22vs Oregon State	Great	11/17	202	2	1	11.9	83.8	0	34
Total			134/212	1595	10	2	7.5	—	11	163

The latest game

Oct. 31 · W 38-22 vs Oregon State, play by play

11 of 17 for 202 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. He was 5 of 8 on third and fourth down.

6 of 10 of his drives scored
5 of 8 on 3rd and 4th down
8 runs for 34 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Int0 of 1, 0 yds1
TD2 of 2, 9 yds2
Second quarterbegan up 7-3
TD1 of 1, 12 yds
TD1 of 1, 26 yds3
Third quarterbegan up 21-9
FG1 of 2, 48 yds4
TD1 of 2, 9 yds
TD3 of 4, 72 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 38-16
Missed FG2 of 3, 26 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Punt—
FinalW 38-22

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Intercepted. First quarter, tied 0-0. Picked off by Oregon State’s Sailasa Vadrawale.
2
15-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 7. First quarter, made it 7-3.
3
26-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Freeman on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, made it 21-9.
4
48-yard completion to Jahlil McClain. Third quarter, up 21-9.

The season, game by game

W 38-22 vs Oregon StateOct. 31202 yds11 of 17, 2 TD, 1 INTPlay by play just above

L 23-26 at San Diego StateOct. 17141 yds13 of 25

Play by playOn the field

13 of 25 for 141 yards. He was 3 of 12 on third and fourth down.

4 of 11 of his drives scored
3 of 12 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked 6 times
3 runs for 19 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds1
Fumble2 of 3, 12 yds2
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Second quarterbegan down 10-0
FG2 of 4, 16 yds
TD1 of 1, 6 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Third quarterbegan down 16-10
TD2 of 3, 33 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 17-16
TD5 of 6, 65 yds3
Downs1 of 3, 9 yds4
FinalL 23-26

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Sacked for a 10-yard loss on 3rd and 9. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2
9-yard completion to Jake Appleget on 3rd and 8. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
3
29-yard completion to Ezekiel Avit. Fourth quarter, down 23-17.
4
Incomplete to Josiah Freeman on 4th and 7. Fourth quarter, down 26-23. Turnover on downs.

1020304050

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

6 more games, with the play by play

L 31-38 vs Boise StateOct. 10218 yds19 of 33, 2 TD

Play by playOn the field

19 of 33 for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was 3 of 6 on third and fourth down.

4 of 7 of his drives scored
3 of 6 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked twice
5 runs for 34 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
TD3 of 6, 52 yds12
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds3
Second quarterbegan down 15-13
Punt2 of 4, 10 yds
TD3 of 7, 31 yds
Third quarterbegan down 25-20
Punt2 of 2, 11 yds
Fourth quarterbegan down 28-20
TD5 of 7, 68 yds4
FG4 of 5, 46 yds
FinalL 31-38

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
25-yard completion to Josiah Freeman. First quarter, tied 0-0.
2
8-yard touchdown run on 3rd and 8. First quarter, made it 7-0.
3
Incomplete to Josiah Freeman on 3rd and 10. First quarter, down 8-7.
4
15-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Correia on 3rd and 15. Fourth quarter, cut it to 35-28. Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“"What the hell? The defense has a secondary? Well, just to be safe i better make sure this ball doesn't come within 30 yards of any of them, either" ~Mandal, probably”Fresno State fan, r/CFB game thread

1020304050

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 26-6 at Washington StateOct. 3245 yds24 of 33Box score only

24 of 33 for 245 yards.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 38-24 vs RiceSept. 26210 yds22 of 34, 3 TDBox score only

22 of 34 for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

W 26-10 at San José StateSept. 19186 yds15 of 29, 1 TD

Play by playOn the field

15 of 29 for 186 yards and a touchdown. He was 4 of 11 on third and fourth down.

5 of 12 of his drives scored
4 of 11 on 3rd and 4th down
8 runs for 47 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Missed FG3 of 4, 35 yds
Punt1 of 3, 20 yds1
Second quarterbegan down 3-0
FG1 of 3, 14 yds2
Punt2 of 2, 21 yds
Punt0 of 4, 0 yds3
FG3 of 4, 32 yds4
Third quarterbegan up 6-3
TD1 of 1, 18 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Fourth quarterbegan up 13-3
FG2 of 4, 38 yds
Punt2 of 2, 8 yds
FG—
FinalW 26-10

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
Incomplete to Jake Appleget on 3rd and 9. Second quarter, down 3-0. Broken up by San José State’s B. Dukes.
2
Incomplete to Jahlil McClain on 3rd and 6. Second quarter, down 3-0. Broken up by San José State’s J. McGlothen.
3
17-yard run on 3rd and 10. Second quarter, tied 3-3. Converted.
4
27-yard completion to Ezekiel Avit. Second quarter, tied 3-3.

1020304050

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

W 49-3 vs Sacramento StateSept. 12316 yds23 of 26, 2 TDBox score only

23 of 26 for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Not drawn: the play-by-play doesn’t add up to the box score.

L 0-39 at USCSept. 477 yds7 of 15, 1 INT

Play by playOn the field

7 of 15 for 77 yards and an interception. He was 2 of 10 on third and fourth down.

0 of 9 of his drives scored
2 of 10 on 3rd and 4th down
sacked 4 times
3 runs for 9 yds

First quarterbegan tied 0-0
Int2 of 4, 25 yds12
Punt1 of 2, 6 yds
Second quarterbegan down 7-0
Punt1 of 2, 7 yds
Safety—
Fumble—
Third quarterbegan down 30-0
Punt0 of 1, 0 yds
Safety—
Fourth quarterbegan down 32-0
Punt0 of 2, 0 yds
Downs3 of 4, 39 yds34
FinalL 0-39

a drive that ended in a touchdown or a field goala drive he didn’t playa completion, by its yardshis runincompleteinterceptedsacked, by the yards lost

completea touchdownincompleteinterceptedhis runsacked

1
13-yard completion to Jahlil McClain on 3rd and 8. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted.
2
Intercepted on 3rd and 3. First quarter, down 7-0. Picked off by USC’s Prophet Brown.
3
17-yard completion to Harold Duvall. Fourth quarter, down 39-0.
4
Sacked for a 7-yard loss on 4th and 8. Fourth quarter, down 39-0. Turnover on downs.

1020304050

leftmiddlerightno spot

a completionincompleteinterceptedsacked, below the line

Each pass sits where it was caught or thrown to, in yards past the line. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.

Highs and lows

Only games with 20 or more plays count for best and lowest.
Best by our grade	Sacramento State	W 49-3 · Graded great · 316 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT · Rush 4 for 8, 1 TD · Sacked 0
Lowest by our grade	at San Diego State	L 23-26 · Graded rough · 141 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · Rush 9 for -16 · Sacked 6
Biggest game	at USC	No. 14 at kickoff · L 0-39 · 77 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT · Rush 8 for -19 · The interception cost about 6 points of win chance · Lost a fumble · Sacked 2
Best play	Oregon State	Run for 15 yards, touchdown, Q1 1:47 · Win chance 37% to 58%

Where he ranks

2nd among Pac-12 quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns. 3rd among Pac-12 quarterbacks in passing yards.

Stat	His	Nation	Pac-12
Passing yards	1,595	66th of 370	3rd of 21
Yards an attempt	7.5	T-73rd of 152	4th of 9
Touchdown passes	10	T-70th of 370	4th of 21
Passer rating	140.1	69th of 152	4th of 9
Completion percentage	63.2	T-76th of 152	5th of 9
Rushing yards	163	79th of 370	6th of 21
Rushing touchdowns	4	T-38th of 370	2nd of 21

Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game.

All Pac-12 quarterbacks

Rk	Quarterback	Yards	TD	INT	Att	Y/A
1	Brad Jackson	1,933	18	5	232	8.3
2	Maddux Madsen	1,681	15	1	222	7.6
3	Jayden Mandal	1,595	10	2	212	7.5
4	Hauss Hejny	1,138	14	2	134	8.5
5	Grady Brosterhous	1,120	7	6	178	6.3
6	Caden Pinnick	952	3	5	178	5.3
7	Ksaan Farrar	943	5	2	143	6.6
8	Jayden Denegal	896	7	5	150	6.0
9	Owen Eshelman	779	2	3	131	5.9
10	Stone Saunders	552	2	3	69	8.0
11	McCae Hillstead	398	3	4	59	6.7
12	Max Cutforth	131	3	0	13	10.1
13	Gavin Parkhurst	114	1	0	9	12.7
14	Maalik Murphy	81	1	0	12	6.8
15	Khristian Martin	71	1	0	4	17.8
16	Darius Curry	70	1	0	8	8.8
17	Draiden Trudeau	66	1	1	14	4.7
18	Anthony Garcia	50	1	0	2	25.0
19	Bert Emanuel Jr.	9	2	0	2	4.5
20	Brady Jones	5	0	0	3	1.7
21	Julian Dugger	2	0	0	1	2.0

Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.

Passing yards1,5954th in the Pac-12 this season.

Touchdown passes105th in the Pac-12 this season.

Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.

Opponents faced, by strength

Ratings of the games shown run from -29 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).

Pass targets

Freeman and Avit saw 92 of the 213 charted throws.

Receiver	Targets	Catches	Yards	Throw depth	After catch
Josiah Freeman	62	37	512	8.2	6.8
Ezekiel Avit	30	21	287	9.9	2.4
Jahlil McClain	29	19	244	10.1	6.5
Gavin Correia	18	9	68	10.9	2.6
Rayshon Luke	17	14	96	0.6	7.6
12 others	43	32	338	6.3	5.3
No receiver charted	14	Both interceptions are among these

Play by play: 213 passes, 134 caught, 1,578 yards; the box score counts 212 attempts. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.

Passing profile

Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)

Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from

134/212 (63.2%) · 10 TD · 2 INT

All 212 box-score attempts covered (play-by-play lists 213 passing plays)

206 of 213 attempts charted for true throw depth

Totals here are the box score's. Play-by-play lists 213 passing plays (134 completions) against the box score's 212 attempts (134 completions), and the depth buckets use play-by-play.

Adjusted ANY/A

7.3062 of 185 QBs

Sack rate

5.8%111 of 185 QBs

Sacked on 5.8% of dropbacks (111 of 185) — and still 62 of 185 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

16% of attempts (33)

91%comp

Air -2.8 · YAC 9.9 avg

Short · 0–9 air yds

51% of attempts (106)

68%comp1 INT

Air 4.9 · YAC 4.2 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

20% of attempts (41)

44%comp

Air 13.0 · YAC 3.7 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

13% of attempts (26)

31%comp1 INT

Air 27.9 · YAC 4.6 avg

Overall 63.2% completion on 212 attempts · 31% completion on 26 deep attempts (20+ air yds).

Situational

Is he a different quarterback when it matters

Each situation vs his own 2026 baseline

No situation moves him more than 40 percentile points from his baseline.

BaselineThis situation

Down 1

-40 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 3/68 (4.4%) · league sack rate 4.5%

Down 2

+24 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 4/75 (5.3%) · league sack rate 5.0%

Down 3+

+16 pct pts vs baseline · sacks 4/60 (6.7%) · league sack rate 8.3%

Deltas are vs. this player’s own season baseline, never a league average. League sack rate by down is shown as context because sack attribution isn’t incompletion-denominated.

Teams and coaches

2024Fresno State6-7HC: Tim Skipper · Balanced

2026Fresno State5-3HC: Matt Entz · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 55 (#49 of 145). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

55Rotational starter #49 of 145?

13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: interception rate (87th percentile). Strength: interceptions (81st percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Interception rate#21 / 157 · 87th pct

0.9%

EPA / dropback#53 / 157 · 67th pct

0.24

Success rate#60 / 157 · 62nd pct

44.2%

Explosive rate#74 / 157 · 53rd pct

10.3%

Sack rate#94 / 157 · 40th pct

5.8%

Box-score rates (8)

Interceptions#18 / 159 · 81st pct

Rush TDs#28 / 159 · 79th pct

Rush yards#64 / 159 · 60th pct

163

Pass yards#67 / 159 · 58th pct

1595

Pass TDs#72 / 159 · 53rd pct

Yards / att#76 / 159 · 51st pct

7.5

Completion %#79 / 159 · 50th pct

63.2%

Fumbles lost#80 / 142 · 32nd pct

Season trend

EPA / dropback— first qualifying season

Success rate— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Sack rate— first qualifying season

Interception rate— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Zeitgeist Passer Rating

2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.

After 203 dropbacks

50Zeitgeist Passer Rating58th of 119 FBS QBs

NCAA passer rating 140.1 62nd of 119 FBS QBs

Positive-play rate weight 24%

48.5%62nd pct of FBS QBs

share of dropbacks that gained expected points · -0.8% schedule adj.

Yards per attempt weight 56%

7.4845th pct of FBS QBs

sacks excluded · -0.4 schedule adj.

Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)

5.8%47th pct of FBS QBs

the input passer rating cannot see · +0.4% schedule adj.

Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (23 of 226 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. How ZPR is built.

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2026 season · 8 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Home4g	236	2.2	9.2	0.2
Road4g	162	0.2	6.1	0.2

First half vs Second half

	YDS/g	TD/g	YPA	INT/g
Weeks 1-77g	199	1.1	7.1	0.1
Weeks 8+1g	202	2.0	11.9	1.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Matt Entz

Pass share

46.2%

217 pass / 253 run

Plays / game

58.8

8 games

Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.

Fresno State’s two quarterbacks

Jayden Mandal	Threw in all 8 games · 134 of 212, 1,595 yds, 10 TD, 2 INT · 7.5 yards an attempt on 212 attempts · ran for 163 yds, 4 TD
Khristian Martin	Threw in 2 of 8 games · 3 of 4, 71 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT · 17.8 yards an attempt on 4 attempts · ran for 10 yds, 0 TD

Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.

Awards

Player standing · 2026

Impact starter

212 pass attempts, 59 carries and 1 catch in 8 games, about as many passes and runs a game as a typical FBS quarterback who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

55 · #49 of 145 QBs

Three-star recruit. Now #49 at the position.

Starter

The No. 1,601 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Pac-12 as a junior.

Jayden Mandal

Style of play

This week

What’s being said

Worth knowing

In the news in the last 60 days

What they’re talking about

In the news this season

What they’re talking about

Week by week

What fans said

In the game threads

Named in

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

The latest game

The season, game by game

Highs and lows

Where he ranks

Pass targets

Passing profile

Situational

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Fresno State’s two quarterbacks

Awards

Impact starter

Starter

Four seasons at Fresno State

2023