This week the Broncos are on the road for another rivalry matchup against the Fresno State University Bulldogs.
The winner of this matchup determines who gets to hoist the highly coveted Milk Can Trophy.
The history of the trophy dates back to 2006, where Boise State won in it’s inaugural match.
Since then, the trophy has gone back and forth between the two universities, with Fresno State being the current victor. Head coach Andy Avalos says he’s not too concerned about the trophy and is more focused on goin 1-0 again this week.
“Tradition and rivalry, that’s what makes college football fun, I know that’s a big part of it, but I don’t know that we’ll talk about that one time this week,” Avalos said.
The Bulldogs are 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), losing their only game to the University of Wyoming.
Fresno is a tough team yet again this year and are a frontrunner to appear in the MWC championship.
The all-time record between the two teams is 17-8 in Boise State’s favor. However, Fresno State tends to win at home, only losing three times in the Bulldog Stadium since 2020.
Boise State on the road at Fresno doesn’t bode well, as they have only won at Bulldog Stadium once in the last 10 years at Fresno State.
“That fan base does a great job not only from the noise, but to the whole atmosphere,” defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said. “It’s a hostile environment. When you walk from the locker room down to the field, those fans are going to make you feel like you don’t belong there. You wouldn’t have it any other way, that’s college football at its finest.”
Sophomore quarterback and University of Central Florida transfer Mikey Keene ranks fourth in the conference for passing yards with 1,948 and first in completion percentage at 68.1%.
“[Keene] has some of the best numbers. He’s up there with touchdowns thrown this season… facing a guy that has a 68% completion percentage stacks up pretty high,” Avalos said. “They’ve played some good teams, some good defenses this year.”
On the flip side, Boise State’s pass defense ranks second to last in the Mountain West, allowing 276.9 yards per game, so this matchup will be a struggle for the secondary.
Last week against Wyoming, the Broncos held a strong rushing team to 27 yards. This week they’ll have to stop the most efficient quarterback in the conference from picking their defensive backs apart.
Boise State’s offense also has their work cut out for them.
The Bulldog’s defense ranks second in yards allowed (331.4 per game), and points allowed (20.6 per game).
Additionally, their secondary is second to none. They’ve come up with 12 picks, and have the MWC interception leader in senior cornerback Carton Johnson.
Fresno State ranks second in the country for turnover margin at +11 compared to Boise State’s -6.
For the Broncos, the team will again feature the dual quarterback system with sophomore quarterback Taylen Green and freshman Maddux Madsen.
However as the season has gone on, it’s not exactly a 50-50 split.
Over the last few weeks, Madsen has slowly eclipsed Green in snap count. Last week, Green’s usage was reminiscent of the way the New Orleans Saints use Taysom Hill: sparingly.
Last week Madsen went 12-15 on passing while Green only went 3-6. Madsen led most drives the stretch of the field and then in goalline and shorter yardage situations, Green came in to finish the job. He rushed the ball four times for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Additionally, the Broncos face more adversity in their offensive backfield, but this time at running back.
Sophomore running back Ashton Jeanty went out last week against Wyoming with an apparent injury, however senior Geroge Holani came back just in time.
As Jeanty has carried most of the load all season, it’s finally Holani’s turn to see some snaps now that he’s healthy.
Last week he carried the ball 20 times for 75 yards and had three catches for 17 yards. This week he’ll likely see even more usage now that he’s had another week to recover.
The Bulldog’s rush defense ranks third in the MWC, right behind Boise State, so expect a tough ground and pound game to set up lots of passing from both, or all three, quarterbacks this Saturday.
This week against Fresno State, there is more on the line than there has been all season.
“There’s a lot of respect between each other, but it is a big rivalry for us,” Danielson said. “These are the games you look forward to going into a season, especially being able to play down there on a Saturday night with everything on the line.”
With a Bronco win, the team rises to 4-1 in conference and secures the second place spot behind Air Force. However, with a loss, the Broncos lose control of their destiny and will have to hope Air Force drops a game before they play at Albertsons Stadium.
As it stands now, if the Broncos win out, they’ll rank first or second in the Mountain West. They control where they end up this season, however the road ahead is tough.
After Fresno State they play weak Utah State and New Mexico teams, then cap it off with a home game against No. 17 Air Force.
