No. 23 Boise State heads into Saturday night at Valley Children’s Stadium with a simple mission: stop the slide against Fresno State and protect the momentum it has built since the opener.
The Broncos and Bulldogs both arrive at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the new Pac-12, and the Milk Can trophy game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Mountain time on The CW. Boise State is trying to end a three-game losing streak in the series after Fresno State rolled to a 30-7 win in Boise last season.
“Fresno State has absolutely played us at a very, very high level, and that has to change,” Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson told local media on Thursday.
Boise State opened with a 34-27 loss at No. 13 Oregon, then ripped off four straight wins.
Fresno State’s path looked different at first - the Bulldogs were shut out at No. 19 USC in Week 1, 39-0 - but they’ve settled in fast.
Since that loss, Fresno State has been averaging 34.8 points per game while giving up just 10.8.
“It’s a really, really good football team,” Danielson said of the Bulldogs. “A lot of respect for (head coach Matt) Entz, his coordinators, his players, and they’re playing at a really, really high level. They’ve won four straight games, and have really dominated four straight games, and it’s one of the best teams we’ll see all season.”
Fresno State’s offense runs through junior quarterback Jayden Mandal, who has completed 91 of 137 passes for 1,034 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He’s added 35 carries for 109 yards and a score on the ground, giving the Bulldogs another layer of trouble for defenses to sort out.
The backfield is just as crowded. Rayshon Luke has 42 carries for 286 yards and one touchdown, while Bryson Donelson has 48 carries for 206 yards and four touchdowns. Luke left last week’s win over Washington State with a concussion, but he is set to play Saturday.
Boise State brings its own punch at running back. Dylan Riley has piled up 108 carries for 685 yards and five touchdowns, and Sire Gaines has 45 carries for 234 yards and three total scores.
Gaines missed the last two games with a wrist injury, but he is available against Fresno State. Riley enters the game as the national leader in rushing yards.
The Broncos may be without one of their top pass-catching options, though. Leading receiver Rasean Jones is questionable because of an undisclosed head injury.
Rick Allen will handle play-by-play on the broadcast, with Will Blackmon as analyst and Michael Bumpus reporting from the sideline.
In Other News...
Boise State Must Fix One Road Problem To Reclaim The Milk Can
Boise State heads to Fresno on Saturday night with the Milk Can on the line and plenty of momentum of its own, but also a chance to measure itself in a place that has given the Broncos trouble. Both teams are 4-1 and riding four-game winning streaks, setting up a familiar kind of rivalry game that can tilt quickly if one side starts fast. Spencer Danielson has already pointed to Fresno States defense and the challenge of playing there, which is usually enough to get the attention of a Boise State team trying to stay on track in conference play.
What makes this one more delicate for the Broncos is how much the margin can shrink on the road if their defense loses discipline. Boise State has given up too many explosive plays early this season, and against a Fresno State team that knows how to make opponents pay at home, that issue looms large. If the Broncos are going to reclaim the Milk Can, they will need a cleaner night than they have delivered in that area so far, because this rivalry has a way of punishing any lapse. [Read more 🡒]
Boise States New-Look Roster Faces An Early Test Before Opening Night
Boise State will get an early measuring stick for its revamped mens basketball roster when it faces in-state rival Idaho in an exhibition at Idaho Central Arena, the kind of tune-up that can reveal a lot before the games start counting. The Broncos still have two more exhibitions lined up against Washington and Bismarck State College before the official season opener on November 4, giving Leon Rice a few chances to sort through rotations, roles and chemistry with a group that looks different from a year ago.
Rice has already pointed toward a tougher style of play this season, and that makes these exhibitions more than just run-outs against outside competition. It also means Boise State will have to keep waiting to see how two of its most important transfer additions fit into the picture, a wrinkle that leaves the Broncos frontcourt and backcourt depth still very much a work in progress as opening night approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Still Has One Huge Test Before Its CFP Path Clears
Week 6 brings another round of sorting in the College Football Playoff chase, and Boise State remains part of the conversation rather than a finished product. The Broncos have put themselves in position to matter, but the schedule still has a way of testing whether that place in the projection picture is real or just temporary noise, especially with the national focus split across heavyweight games in the SEC, Big Ten and beyond.
For Boise State, the bigger issue is not just staying visible in the CFP debate but surviving the kind of matchup that can change the tone of a season in one night. Fresno State is lurking on the schedule, and the stakes around that game are obvious in a crowded race where one slip can undo weeks of momentum. Until that one is cleared, the Broncos are still chasing clarity as much as they are chasing the bracket. [Read more 🡒]