Boise State–Fresno State football rivalry

The Boise State–Fresno State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Broncos of Boise State University and the Bulldogs of California State University, Fresno, both currently members of the Mountain West Conference (MW).

Boise State Broncos Fresno State Bulldogs
Sport	College football
First meeting	September 17, 1977 Fresno State, 42–7
Latest meeting	November 4, 2023 Fresno State, 37–30
Next meeting	2025 in Boise
Trophy	Milk Can
Statistics
Meetings total	26
All-time series	Boise State, 17–9 (.654)
Largest victory	Boise State, 61–10 (2008)
Longest win streak	Boise State, 7 (2006–2012)
Current win streak	Fresno State, 2 (2022–present)

200km
125miles

Boise State

Fresno State

  

Locations of Boise State and Fresno State

History

Boise State with the Milk Can in 2014

The "Milk Can" is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the game. It was created in 2005, but was not ready in time for the annual match in Fresno, which was won by the Bulldogs after four straight Bronco wins.

The trophy made its first appearance in 2006, when the Broncos carried it off the field. The series dates back to 1977, with three games in different decades, all won by Fresno State. The rivalry effectively began twenty-three years ago in 2001, when Boise State joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and upset #8 Fresno State in their first meeting as conference rivals.

Boise State moved to the MW in 2011 and its planned move to the Big East Conference for football for 2013 meant that the future of the series was in doubt. However, after major instability in the Big East, culminating in a mass exodus of seven schools in December 2012, Boise State decided to stay in the MW, ensuring the future of the rivalry. Fresno State left the WAC and joined the MW in 2013, but the two were placed in opposite football divisions and they did not meet in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2020.

History of the trophy

The idea for a trophy as the prize for the newly arranged interstate rivalry was hatched by two separate dairy groups that decided to get involved with their local football programs. California (No. 1) and Idaho (No. 4) are two of the nation's leading dairy producers. The South Valley Dairy Group began raising money for Bulldog football in 2001; the Bronco Dairy Boosters began contributing to Boise State in 2005.

Two dairymen and friends in these organizations, Dan Van Grouw of Meridian, Idaho (in the Boise metropolitan area) and Roger Fluegel of Visalia, California (in Fresno State's home of the San Joaquin Valley), put forward the idea of a traveling trophy and began the administrative process. There was positive feedback from the teams, coaches, and fans, but an "administrative changeover" kept the trophy off the field for the 2005 game, though the Bulldogs' 27–7 victory is the first listed on the can.

The trophy only changes hands during regular season contests and has not been on the line when they have met in the Mountain West Championship Game.

Game results

Boise State victories

Fresno State victories

No.	Date	Location	Winning team		Losing team
1	September 17, 1977	Fresno, California	Fresno State	42	Boise State	7
2	September 8, 1984	Boise, Idaho	Fresno State	37	Boise State	21
3	November 2, 1996	Fresno, California	Fresno State	41	Boise State	7
4	October 19, 2001	Fresno, California	Boise State	35	No. 8 Fresno State	30
5	October 18, 2002	Boise, Idaho	Boise State	67	Fresno State	21
6	November 21, 2003	Fresno, California	No. 20 Boise State	31	Fresno State	17
7	October 23, 2004	Boise, Idaho	No. 19 Boise State	33	Fresno State	16
8	November 10, 2005	Fresno, California	No. 20 Fresno State	27	Boise State	7
9	November 1, 2006	Boise, Idaho	No. 14 Boise State	45	Fresno State	21
10	October 26, 2007	Fresno, California	Boise State	34	Fresno State	21
11	November 28, 2008	Boise, Idaho	No. 9 Boise State	61	Fresno State	10
12	September 18, 2009	Fresno, California	No. 10 Boise State	51	Fresno State	34
13	November 19, 2010	Boise, Idaho	No. 3 Boise State	51	Fresno State	0
14	October 7, 2011	Fresno, California	No. 5 Boise State	57	Fresno State	7

No.	Date	Location	Winning team		Losing team
15	October 13, 2012	Boise, Idaho	No. 24 Boise State	20	Fresno State	10
16	September 20, 2013	Fresno, California	Fresno State	41	Boise State	40
17	October 17, 2014	Boise, Idaho	Boise State	37	Fresno State	27
18	December 6, 2014	Boise, Idaho	No. 22 Boise State	28	Fresno State	14
19	November 25, 2017	Fresno, California	Fresno State	28	No. 23 Boise State	17
20	December 2, 2017	Boise, Idaho	Boise State	17	No. 25 Fresno State	14
21	November 9, 2018	Boise, Idaho	Boise State	24	No. 23 Fresno State	17
22	December 1, 2018	Boise, Idaho	No. 25 Fresno State	19	No. 22 Boise State	16OT
23	November 6, 2021	Fresno, California	Boise State	40	No. 23 Fresno State	14
24	October 8, 2022	Boise, Idaho	Boise State	40	Fresno State	20
25	December 3, 2022	Boise, Idaho	Fresno State	28	Boise State	16
26	November 4, 2023	Fresno, California	Fresno State	37	Boise State	30
Series: Boise State leads 17–9

Coaching records

Since first game in 1977

Boise State

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Jim Criner	Boise State	1	1976–1982	0	1	0	.000
Lyle Setencich	Boise State	1	1983–1986	0	1	0	.000
Pokey Allen	Boise State	1	1993–1996	0	1		.000
Dan Hawkins	Boise State	5	2001–2005	4	1		.800
Chris Petersen	Boise State	8	2006–2013	7	1		.875
Bryan Harsin	Boise State	6	2014–2020	4	2		.667
Andy Avalos	Boise State	4	2021–Present	2	2		.500

Fresno State

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Jim Sweeney	Fresno State	3	1976–1977 1980–1996	3	0	0	1.000
Pat Hill	Fresno State	11	1997–2011	1	10		.091
Tim DeRuyter	Fresno State	4	2012–2016	1	3		.250
Jeff Tedford	Fresno State	7	2017–2019, 2022–present	4	3		.571
Kalen DeBoer	Fresno State	1	2020–2021	0	1		.000

• There have been no ties in this series; all Division I games began using overtime in 1996.

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

External links

• (Article written 24 October 2007)