Boise State looks to bring the Milk Can back to the City of Trees on Saturday with a Bronco win over conference rival Fresno State. The Broncos enter this game on a three-conference game winning streak, while the Bulldogs are coming off consecutive conference losses to Colorado State and San Diego State. According to betting odds, Boise State is expected to win by at least 17 points.

Boise State is coming off of a 24-3 win against their other conference rivals, the Nevada Wolf Pack. The Broncos’ defense shined against the Nevada Wolf Pack scoring four turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble. Two of the interceptions came from Jeremiah Earby who was given Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts. The other interception was recorded by A’Marion McCoy for his fourth interception of the season and to continue his three-game streak of interceptions in each game. Boise State’s offense struggled compared to other games this season only putting up three rushing touchdowns and 308 yards of total offense, lower than the 515 the Broncos were averaging against conference opponents coming into the game. The Broncos were also averaging 48.6 points per game against Mountain West opponents but only put up 24 against the Wolf Pack.


Boise State will be without their leading receiver in yards, Chris Marshall, against Fresno State on Saturday. Spencer Danielson announced on Monday that Chris Marshall will not be a part of the team this week.

“Chris Marshall will not be a part of the team this week,” said Boise State head coach on Monday. “Love Chris, he is a huge part of this team but he’s not going to be a part of this week. The standards that we have here and how you act and how you interact with coaches and players matters… I hope that he uses this time to learn and grow when he does come back next Monday as a part of this team that he will be even better for it because we love Chris and he is a huge part of this team.”

Danielson went on to say that he would not answer any more questions about Chris Marshall’s situation, so details are scarce about what led to the suspension. Regardless, Danielson said that Marshall will be a part of the team again before the team heads to San Diego to take on the Aztecs.


Fresno State is coming off a rough conference schedule after two back-to-back losses. Fresno State lost to Colorado State 21-49 in Fort Collins on Oct. 10 and then last Saturday, the Bulldogs got blown out by San Diego State in Fresno with a final score of 0-23. The Bulldogs’ offense struggled throughout the game with San Diego State, with quarterback Carson Conklin making his first start, managing only minimal yardage and committing a pick-six in the fourth quarter while the defense couldn’t contain the Aztecs’ scoring drives. Fresno State is now 2-2 in conference play with a 5-3 overall record.

The Milk Can, a trophy debuting in the matchup between Boise State and Fresno State in 2006, changes hands between the school whenever a school wins a regular season matchup. The Bulldogs currently hold the trophy after beating the Broncos 37-30 in 2023. Fresno State is bringing the Milk Can to Boise on Saturday and it will stay here if the Broncos win. The tradition of the Milk Can was created by dairymen in the Treasure and San Joaquin valleys who also have a friendly rivalry with one another. 


The rivalry between these two schools has been long standing since Boise State joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2001. That year, the Broncos upset No. 8 Fresno State in their first in-conference matchup and the rivalry built up from there. Boise State and Fresno State have also met each other in conference moves, with both schools moving to the Mountain West Conference and the Pac-12 in 2026. Boise State moved to the Mountain West in 2011, and Fresno State followed in 2013. These teams have played each other in Mountain West championship games four times and in three of those four games, one team would win the regular season matchup, and the other would win the championship (2017, 2018 and 2022).

However, it is unlikely the same will happen this season. Fresno State currently sits at No. 5 in the Mountain West with two conference losses, while the teams in front of them have better overall and conference records. The Bulldogs would need some chaos to reach the championship.

The Broncos currently sit at the top of the Mountain West. If Boise State wins this week’s rivalry game against the Bulldogs and the following week’s road game against the San Diego State Aztecs, the Broncos would likely go undefeated in conference to host the conference championship at Albertsons Stadium again.


Scroll down or use the tabs at the top of this article to find pre-game events, game predictions, stat comparisons, players to watch, streaming and radio information, details on KTVB’s pre-game shows and post-game coverage and more.





Bronco Roundup:
Live from the Blue

Kick off game day with KTVB’s Jordan Smith and Austin Parr on the official TV station for Bronco Nation! A pair of pre-game shows are set to provide everything fans need to know ahead of the fifth conference game of the season. 

The first Bronco Roundup Game Day Show airs live at 9 a.m. Saturday on KTVB Channel 7, KTVB.COM, KTVB+ on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, and the KTVB mobile app.


Smith and Parr return ahead of kickoff with an exclusive look at players warming up, last-minute injury updates, sideline interviews and more. The in-depth preview from the Blue goes live at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on KTVB.COM, KTVB’s YouTube Channel, KTVB+ and the mobile app.  


Tune in for a preview with an up-close look at players taking the field, Boise State warmups, last-minute injury updates, sideline interviews, matchup storylines, comments from coaches and captains, and more.


POST-GAME COVERAGE 

KTVB will livestream Boise State’s press conference Saturday immediately after the game on KTVB.COM, KTVB’s YouTube channel, KTVB+ and the KTVB mobile app.