Every game in college football matters and coaches and players alike will tell you that all the games matter the same. But they know deep down that’s not 100 percent true.
Rivalry games, in-conference battles, and matchups with potential end of the season implications all matter immensely, whether it’s in the middle of the year or in December. The players know it, the coaches know it, the fans know it, the players know it. Some games do in fact mean, just a little mean more.
When Fresno State welcomes the #23 ranked Boise State Broncos to the Valley this weekend, it will mean just a little bit more.
“Part of the reason why I went to the Pac-12, we’re gonna play meaningful games in mid-October, and that’s exciting,” Fresno State Head Coach Matt Entz said after the game this past Saturday at Washington State.
Both the Broncos and Bulldogs enter the weekend at 4-1 (1-0) after losing Week 1 to Oregon and USC respectively. The newly-minted PAC-12 schools responded to their losses by ripping off four straight wins apiece. Now the rivals meet with plenty at stake, including an opportunity to be one of two remaining teams unbeaten in conference play after just two weeks.
The Bulldogs are currently on a three game winning streak over Boise State, including a 30-7 victory last November, something Broncos Head Coach Spencer Danielson has not forgotten.
“Rivalries are back and forth. Right now, it’s not back and forth,” Danielson said at the Broncos Monday morning press conference. “I don’t even know what [the milk can] looks like, we haven’t had it in years. Shoot I’m going to have to Google image it to find out what it looks like.”
In addition to Boise State, the Bulldogs are going western themed for Boots & Buckles Night (fitting given the opponent). It’s also going to be Homecoming and former offensive lineman Logan Mankins’ induction into the Fresno State Ring of Honor, meaning several alumni and Bulldog legends could be in attendance.
“One of the great things about Bulldog Football and the history is the number of former players that we have that have had tremendous amounts of success here and potentially at the NFL level or competed at the NFL level…I think it’ll be really cool to see Logan here and his family with him, but also just the the number of former coaches, teammates, people associated with the program that’ll be here because of the impact he left,” Entz said.
The Bulldogs are underdogs but don’t let that stop Captain and Edge Jahzon Jacks from believing they can win a matchup he’s already been apart of four times.
“I take my guys against the world. I take my guys against anybody. I feel like we come out, we play our football, we can beat anybody in country,” Jacks said.
Need to know for Saturday
- What: #23 Boise State at Fresno State (6.5-point underdogs)
- When: Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- Where: Valley Children’s Stadium (Fresno, CA)
- TV: The CW (Rick Allen, Will Blackmon and Michael Bumpus)
- Radio: ESPN Fresno – 1430/790 (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill and Kenny Wiggins) and Caliente – 105.1 (Jose Gonzalez)
Bulldog Bites
- Fresno State has outscored its opponents 139-43 during its 4-game winning streak.
- The Bulldogs have forced 11 turnovers (4th in the FBS) and 7 interceptions (6th) this season, both marks lead the Pac-12.
- Linebacker Justin Johnson got his first career interception on Saturday, picking off Washington State Quarterback Caden Pinnick in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs have an interception in four straight games.
- Defensive Coordinator Nick Benedetto was named the CBS Sports Pac-12 Defensive Coordinator of the Week, following the team’s 26-6 win over Washington State.
- Kicker Manaki Watanabe ranks t-3rd in the FBS with 11 made field goals this season.
- NKL Simeon Harris ranks 2nd in the FBS and 1st among west coast schools in PFF rating for cornerbacks (87.6).
- The ‘Dogs are outscoring teams 38-5 in the third quarter this season.
The Milk Can
The Boise State-Fresno State series dates back to 1977 before intensifying in 2001 when the Broncos joined the Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference.
Fast forward four years later, tailgaters and organizers purchased and introduced the can in 2005 for the sake of the growing rivalry and to honor two of the nation’s biggest dairy producing regions, before officially unveiling the can a year later.
Boise State owns the series battle, having won 17 of the 27 matchups but the Bulldogs have won five of the last nine, including the last three. A win on Saturday would be the longest winning streak in the series for Fresno State, against a program Entz described on Monday as the ‘Golden Standard’ of Group of Six Football schools.
“Well coached football team. Spencer does an outstanding job. They’re the standard of, I’ll say the Pac-12 regardless of the league right now,” Ents said.
Fresno State will have the can at practice all week, just as they did as a reminder for what’s at stake. Senior captain and Edge Jahzon Jacks is well familiar with the Broncos, having played them four times (3-1) and there’s no love lost.
“Hate them, straight up,” Jacks said on Tuesday after practice.
The tone is a little bit different in Boise where Broncos defensive end Max Stege reiterated the need to beat Fresno State before putting extra adage on the game.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rivalry because I’ve never beat them,” Stege said, before calling last year’s 30-7 loss ‘one of the worst days in his life.’
Rivalries are fun and exciting, something Fresno State Defensive Coordinator Nick Benedetto noted on Wednesday, how you channel that energy is critical though.
“You don’t have to do anything different than what you’ve done before. You just have to do it at a high level and be your best. And so you don’t have to make some crazy play that’s outside of your eyes, feet, and hands where they’re supposed to be. You just have to make your play at a high level, throughout the course of four quarters of a football game, and so getting you to execute at that high level, that’s what’s important,” Benedetto said.
He’ll be facing off against Boise State Offensive Coordinator Nate Potter, who was an offensive lineman for the Broncos from 2007-11.
“It was always something you thought about,” Potter said. “It’s always been very, very competitive.”
Only six players were on the Broncos roster last time they beat Fresno State, including starting Quarterback Maddux Madsen, but none were significant contributors.
Stenge, who joined the Broncos as a freshman in 2023, compared the Fresno State atmosphere to that of a passionate European soccer club.
“There’s so much history around [the rivalry], and I feel like we kind of owe it to the players that came before us and won the trophy to get it back,” Stenge said. “So yeah, it does matter.”
Stenge will be trying to get around a behemoth of a man in Fresno State left tackle Brayden Walton, who told reporters he still remembers watching the Bulldogs beat Boise State to win Mountain West Conference Championship in 2022.
“It’s going to be loud (on Saturday), and just walking down the ramp is going to be special. That’s my favorite part,” Walton said. “Defense is going to be on all fours. They’re just going to be getting after it. There’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of juice in that stadium.”
Logan Mankins returns to Fresno
The legendary offensive lineman and Maripoda native makes his return to the Valley and to Valley Children’s Stadium, or “Bulldog Stadium” as he might remember it.
Former Fresno State All-American left tackle Logan Mankins returns to the school he called home from 2000 to 2004. In his senior year, he was named first team All-WAC and was the first offensive lineman in school history to be named team MVP.
“Someone who really epitomizes the Valley, the toughness, the grit that’s required to be a Bulldog,” Entz said.
Mankins went on to be drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots as a left guard, where he spent the first 9 of his 11 years in the NFL. He was a 6x All-Pro (1st team in 2010) and a 7x Pro Bowler.
At halftime on Saturday, Mankins will become the 12th player and 14th total member of the Fresno State Ring of Honor, joining his former Quarterback David Carr and Head Coach Pat Hill.
Injury Report
- An updated injury report is expected less than three hours before kickoff on Saturday, visit the PAC-12 website for the latest on Fresno State availability report.
Broncos to watch
Maddux Madsen — “He’s gotta graduate at some point,” Entz said on Monday, jokingly.
The Boise State starting quarterback is 87-of-132 this season for 1,058 yards and 11 touchdowns (0 interceptions).
“He’s at home in their offense. So it’s just kind of just making sure to make him uncomfortable and things like that,” Jacks said on how to stop Madsen. “He runs their offense really well. We know he’s able to run.”
He’s also got a touchdown and over 100 yards on the year on the ground, serving as a dual-threat option.
“He’s good at identifying pre-snap where he wants to go with the football. He’s very strategic about when and where he does have the mobility, the athleticism to hurt you with his legs to extend plays,” Entz said.
Dylan Riley — The nation’s leading rusher has been quite busy this season: 108 carries, 685 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also caught seven passes for an additional 56 yards.
“An explosive runner, a guy that runs downhill, runs through contact, and so we got to do a great job of keeping our feet alive. ‘Dead feet don’t eat’ is a big thing that we always hammer with our players, and making sure you gang tackle anyone that’s like that, that has explosive yards after contact, we have to gang tackle them, and we have to be able to push him back in order not to get those extra free yards,” Benedetto said.
Travis Anderson – The redshirt sophomore safety from Mission Viejo has been a ball hawk in 2026, snapping up three interceptions. He also is second on Boise State in total tackles (24).
Dog-Factors
Starting fast – Despite the strong record, the Bulldogs only entered the second quarter this season with a lead once (3-0 vs Washington State). In fact, Fresno State’s only points in the first quarter this season came off a field goal from kicker Manaki Watanabe on Saturday.
The slow starts and eventual second half wear downs of its opponents have worked over the last month for the Bulldogs, something Entz attributes to his strength and conditioning staff and the team’s #toughnesswins mentality.
“I think our kids understand that our style of football, our demeanor, our approach, our process is going to allow us to be in these close games and always feel like we’re competitive,” Entz said.
With that said, it could be argued that Boise State is a lot closer in caliber to a team like USC, who defeated the Bulldogs 39-0, than the ‘Dogs previous four opponents.
If Fresno State stands a chance against Boise State, and they do, they must score early and establish a lead so that they can utilize the run game and establish momentum.
How they can score early is another question. Fresno State has had opportunities in opponents red zones in the first quarter a few times this year, and were aggressive in trying to score six over three.
Give Offensive Coordinator Josh Davis credit, he’s been increasingly more creative in playcalling. Perhaps another Jordan Malau’ulu throw or Josiah Freeman reverse is in the works this week to catch Boise off guard.
“Josiah’s skill set is extreme. There’s not a whole lot he can’t do on a football field, so he’s really grown up in the football IQ realm these last two years as well, being a number one, being a number two, or even a number three receiver. He’s got banked experience at all three of those spots now, so he feels comfortable, and we feel comfortable putting him there,” Davis said. “We just gotta continue to be creative and find weaknesses and defenses where we can exploit that.”
Let’s get to Dallas – The Dallas Cowboys? No. Dallas as in Dallas Gaius-Anyaegbu. The true freshman tight end continues to see the field more and more each week, including 70 total snaps over the last two weeks.
The Omaha, Nebraska native was on the receiving end of a double flea flicker that resulted in a 36-yard catch on Saturday. It was the first of potentially many big plays for the early enrollee freshman.
“He’s blessed with his body and his skill set, and he’s also tough. He’s not afraid of a situation. He’s very confident,” Davis said. “A really quiet kid. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but when you play football, his personality kind of shows and his attitude and the way he attacks practice.”
Starting tight end Jake Appleget was in uniform this past Saturday but didn’t play with an undisclosed injury. If he’s unable to suit up again against Boise State, expect more opportunities for Gaius-Anyaegbu.
Getting to the QB – I said last week for defensive x-factors that edges Dylan Hampsten and Jahzon Jacks needed to step up, particularly in getting to Cougars Quarterback Caden Pinnick.
The Bulldogs had five sacks this past week, 1.5 of them from Hampsten. Fresno State held Pinnick and Washington State to just 182 yards of total offense and the amount of pressure they were getting on Pinnick played a huge role in that.
The mission stays the same this week. The Bulldogs have to get to Maddux Madsen. The Boise State signal caller is mobile and is adept at getting away. But sacks aren’t everything.
“Sometimes the best sack is because of coverage, or sometimes the best coverage is because of a sack, and we’re all tied together,” Benedetto said.
Score predictions
Fresno State 27, Boise State 24
Game preview written by Al Scott, cover photo captured by Bobby Sedano (Fresno Sports Magazine). For more pictures and updates on Fresno State Athletics, follow @AlScott1998 on Twitter (X) or @AlScottSports on IG.