Fresno State vs Boise State: history of the rivalry

Andrew Marden
·2 min read

(KSEE) – The history of the Fresno State-Boise State rivalry dates back to September 17th, 1977. Jim Sweeney was the Bulldogs’ head coach, and the game was played in Fresno at Ratcliffe Stadium.

Fresno State won, 42-7, behind 351 rushing yards.

On Saturday, Fresno State and Boise State will meet for the 26th time on the football field. Of the 25 games these teams have already played, the Broncos have won 17 of them.

Sweeney, who was the coach for the first three games in the series, was a perfect 3-0 against Boise State in his career as Fresno State’s head coach.

In 1984, the Bulldogs won in Boise (when the field was still green), 37-21. 12 years later, in 1996, they won in Fresno, 41-7. That was career win No. 200 for Jim Sweeney in his last season as a head coach.

The next time Fresno State played Boise State was in 2001. That was the infamous game at Bulldog Stadium where the Broncos were a .500 team and they upset the Bulldogs, who were the No. 8 team in the country.

From 2001-2012, Fresno State and Boise State played 12 times. Boise State won eleven of those 12 games. In seven of those games, the Broncos carried the milk can off of the field.

That is the trophy that now goes to the winner of this game. It made its first appearance in 2006, after being created in 2005.

In 2013, Fresno State won the milk can. That was Derek Carr’s senior season, and he passed for 460 yards and four touchdowns. Jonathan Norton came up with a huge play on fourth down to secure the win.

The next year, in 2014, Fresno State and Boise State played twice: one in the regular season, once in the Mountain West championship game. That would happen again in 2017 (the teams actually played in back-to-back weeks that year!), in 2018 and in 2022.

In 2014, Fresno State lost both games.

In 2017, Fresno State won the game in the regular season.

In 2018 and in 2022, the Bulldogs lost in the regular season, but won in the Mountain West championship game. Both of those games were in Boise.

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