FRESNO, Calif. >>

Last November, the ink barely dry on his head coaching contract, Jeff Tedford watched from the stands at Bulldog Stadium as the soon-to-be-his Fresno State football team absorbed the penultimate defeat of a 1-11 season from the University of Hawaii.

Saturday night the suddenly bowl-bound Bulldogs arrive at Aloha Stadium at 6-3 and owners, to date, of the biggest turnaround in the NCAA’s 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision this season.

They are plus 5 in victories over 2016 and taking aim at, should they win out, finishing plus 8, something akin to June Jones’ then-NCAA record turnaround of 0-12 to 9-4 at UH in 1999.

It is a remarkable transformation for the Bulldogs, who lead the West Division of the Mountain West Conference at 4-1 just four months after having been picked to finish last.

Just how far the Bulldogs had fallen under his predecessor, Tim DeRuyter, from their back-to-back Mountain West titles (2012 and ’13) and No. 15 Associated Press ranking had astonished even Tedford, a former Bulldogs quarterback (1981-82) and assistant coach (1992-97).

After last year’s UH game, the Bulldogs were so depleted Tedford told the Fresno Bee, “When I look at the numbers, I’m like, ‘What happened here?’ It kind of looks like a team that has been on probation for four or five years or something.”

But, then, Tedford has done this before. He took over a Cal team that had been 1-10 in 2001 and rallied the Bears to a 7-5 record in 2002, the beginning of seven consecutive bowl appearances in an 11-year tenure (82-57) in Berkeley.

At Fresno State, Tedford has brought sweeping change in everything from conditioning to nutrition, setting new standards, bringing in new faces and unearthing new playmakers.

While Tedford is the architect of the turnaround, his best move — and certainly most curious at the time — was the hiring of Orlondo Steinauer to coordinate the 4-3 defense.

Steinauer played college football at Western Washington but has spent his coaching career in Canada after a CFL playing career. It was all the more interesting since Tedford had never coached with Steinauer, only against him when Steinauer was the defensive coordinator for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But it has played out brilliantly so far, with the Bulldogs ranking in the top 25 nationally in six major categories, including scoring defense (14th), rushing defense (18th) and turnover margin (13th), despite having played Alabama and Washington.

The standout of that 4-3 defense has been sophomore linebacker Jeffrey Allison, a first-time starter who has blossomed into a two-time MWC defensive player of the week.

The Bulldogs’ quarterback merry-go-round that had existed since Derek Carr’s departure ended with the appearance of Marcus McMaryion during fall camp in August. McMaryion, a graduate transfer from Oregon State, where he started seven games, has been an efficient game manager, completing 65 percent of his passes and suffering just one interception.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Rivers and Jordan Mims have taken over at running back, two of the most visible of 17 freshmen and 14 first-time starters who have so far seen action.

Told that this week will mark the first anniversary of his hiring, Tedford said, “No, there’s been no reflection on, has it been a year, or whatever … it has gone by really, really fast.”

Time has indeed flown for the Bulldogs, who are winning — and having fun — again.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.