Fresno State Athletics
Photo by: Samuel Marshall
Benedetto named MW top defensive play caller, receives Graphite Award again
2/18/2026 11:25:00 AM | Football
PARKER, Colo. - Fresno State defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto was named the Mountain West Defensive Play Caller of the Year by RII Sports Technology, receiving the 2025 Graphite Award. The organization recognizes the most efficient offensive and defensive play callers in each Division I college football conference.
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Benedetto earned the award for the second year in a row, having earned the honor following his 2024 season at NIU in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulldogs' play-caller is the first to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, and two different conferences.
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Fresno State's defense led the Mountain West and was 10th in the FBS, allowing 285.7 yards to its opponents in 2025. Fresno State was 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 18.8 points per game. Benedetto was one of four FBS defensive coordinators to be in the Top 20 in those two statistical categories in each of the last two seasons.
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The success of the Bulldogs' defense in 2025 was its best since at least the 1992 season. Fresno State has not allowed fewer than 300 yards of offense to its opponent in the last three decades.
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Fresno State's defensive play caller has earned the award in back-to-back years as Kevin Coyle earned the Mountain West recognition last season.
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Each year, RII Sports Technology analyzes play-by-play data for all Division I FBS football programs and assesses the degree to which offensive and defensive play callers make decisions that best align their team's strengths with their opponent's weaknesses. This assessment is quantified in a Play Calling Efficiency Ratio (PCER) – a measure of how frequently a play caller put their team in advantageous strength-on-weakness positions while minimizing the number of times they operated from a disadvantage.
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Benedetto earned the award for the second year in a row, having earned the honor following his 2024 season at NIU in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulldogs' play-caller is the first to earn the award in back-to-back seasons, and two different conferences.
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Fresno State's defense led the Mountain West and was 10th in the FBS, allowing 285.7 yards to its opponents in 2025. Fresno State was 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 18.8 points per game. Benedetto was one of four FBS defensive coordinators to be in the Top 20 in those two statistical categories in each of the last two seasons.
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The success of the Bulldogs' defense in 2025 was its best since at least the 1992 season. Fresno State has not allowed fewer than 300 yards of offense to its opponent in the last three decades.
Â
Fresno State's defensive play caller has earned the award in back-to-back years as Kevin Coyle earned the Mountain West recognition last season.
Â
Each year, RII Sports Technology analyzes play-by-play data for all Division I FBS football programs and assesses the degree to which offensive and defensive play callers make decisions that best align their team's strengths with their opponent's weaknesses. This assessment is quantified in a Play Calling Efficiency Ratio (PCER) – a measure of how frequently a play caller put their team in advantageous strength-on-weakness positions while minimizing the number of times they operated from a disadvantage.
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