The 89th edition of the Battle for the Valley will have different stakes from the last dozen games between San Jose State and Fresno State.
In a series that dates to 1921 (a 14-2 San Jose State victory), the teams have played each other as members of a half-dozen conferences, including the Mountain West, the WAC, the Big West and the California Coast Conference.
But Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium will be the Spartans’ first nonconference matchup against Fresno State since 1994, after the Bulldogs left the Mountain West to join the new-look Pac-12.
San Jose State players celebrate with fans after a 62-52 victory against Fresno State in an NCAA college football game on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
The Spartans have won two straight since opening the season with a 42-26 loss at USC. After the Bulldogs’ visit San Jose State gets a bye before opening conference play at Hawaii on Oct. 3.
“This is a huge game for us. It’s a rivalry game (and then) going into conference play we want to continue that positive trend that we’re going in,” Spartans head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I know it’s going to be hard, but I think this will be monumental for us for the rest of the season.”
Second-year Fresno State head coach Matt Entz’s roots are in the Midwest, but he has quickly embraced the regional rivalry.
“Always excited,” said Entz, who had the Battle for the Valley trophy on display during practice this week to “continually remind our kids what’s up for grabs. Winning bright, shiny objects is a cool thing in college football, so it’s our goal to be as competitive as we can and hopefully bring that thing home with us.”
The Spartans entered the season with 48 new players, making this the first time many have participated in this storied rivalry. Fresno State holds a 46-39-3 all-time edge and has won the past two games.
“We got a lot of new guys coming in their first time playing Fresno, and some of those guys don’t know what it means in this rivalry to hold that Valley Trophy,” SJSU veteran defensive lineman Justin Stearns said. “It’s really special. I think it’s going to be great winning as a team.”
Stearns is one of the few SJSU players remaining from the 2023 roster, the most recent SJSU team to win the Valley Trophy.
Fresno State offensive lineman Bula Schmidt holds up the Valley trophy after defeating San Jose State during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
The Spartans (2-1) enter this game with their first winning record since 2024. The Bulldogs (1-1) are coming off a win against Sacramento State.
So far this season, the Spartans have relied on running back Jabari Bates. In last week’s win over Cal Poly, SJSU finished with more rushing yards than passing yards in a game for the first time in the Niumatalolo era.
Bates is third in the nation with 319 rushing yards and is the first Spartan to rush for back-to-back 100-yard games since Kairee Robinson did it in four straight games during the 2023 season.
SJSU wide receivers Cooper Hoch and Carson Clark have become the Spartans’ most reliable targets. Hoch leads the team with 216 receiving yards, while Clark, a true freshman, has 213.
Hoch, who was a walk-on in 2023, leads the team with three touchdowns this season and will enter his fourth matchup against the Bulldogs.
“I played them three times. I know there are a couple of dudes that haven’t seen them at all, and they don’t understand how big the game is and how much we don’t like them and they don’t like us,” Hoch said. “Their fans don’t like us, and our fans don’t like them. It’s going to be a dogfight.”
Neither team scored a point in the first quarter this season, so starting fast could help the Spartans get a leg up.
“You don’t want to make it that big of a deal, and then it becomes one of those glitches in your offense,” SJSU offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann said. “I can say, in years past, we started off very fast, and we couldn’t finish. I’d rather take an offense that, when it’s crunch time, it finds a way to win.”
SJSU and Fresno State each opened their season playing USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. SJSU lost 42-26 in Week 0 after being shut out in the first half and rallying in the second half, while Fresno lost 39-0 in its Week 1 matchup against the Trojans.
San Jose State Spartans’ Cooper Hoch (13) celebrates scoring a touchdown with San Jose State Spartans’ Lavaka Taukeiaho (72), San Jose State Spartans’ Carson Clark (1), and San Jose State Spartans’ Jabari Bates (6) against the Cal Poly Mustangs during the third quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
The Spartans’ offense produced 336 yards of total offense while the Bulldogs managed just 155 against the Trojans. Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal made his first start after suffering a season-ending injury last year.
Fresno State’s rushing attack will be another test for the Spartans’ defense, which has held strong so far this season, allowing 3.84 yards per carry.
The Bulldogs’ offense starts with running back Bryson Donelson, who averages 6.1 yards per carry and has scored three touchdowns already this season.
SJSU’s defense has an interception in every game this season and will look to keep that momentum.
SJSU will look to clean up the undisciplined errors that haunted them in last week’s win against Cal Poly. SJSU has 18 penalties for 155 yards over the past two games.
“I got to do a better job of getting us to play more disciplined, especially next week obviously, with a rivalry game incoming. We gotta be smarter, but I’m proud of our guys finding ways to win,” Niumatalolo said after the win last weekend.