‘I hate them’: No love lost ahead of Boise State’s next battle for the Milk Can

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Nov. 1st, 2025, isn’t a date that’s remembered very fondly around the Boise State football facility.

“That was probably one of the worst days of my life,” senior defensive end Max Stege said on Tuesday.

“Brutal experience,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson concurred. “… Those moments hurt.”

What happened that left such a scarring impression upon key members of Boise State’s program?

No, they’re not talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers clinching back-to-back World Series on that date — as painful as that was for many a sports fan. But another California team has continued to haunt the Broncos’ memories almost a year later because of a game on that date: Fresno State.

The Bulldogs marched into the Treasure Valley last year and defeated Boise State 30-7 at Albertsons Stadium, handing the Broncos one of their worst losses on The Blue in years. And it’s not just the fact that it was a beat-down at home; it was against the team that’s arguably built a bigger rivalry with the Broncos over the last two decades than any other.

“When I played here previously, it was always like it came down to that game,” said Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter, who was an offensive lineman for the Broncos from 2007 to 2011. “It was always something that you thought about,” he continued. “It’s always been very, very competitive.”

From the Western Athletic Conference through the Mountain West and now into the new Pac-12, Boise State and Fresno State have fostered a back-and-forth rivalry that has festered into genuine dislike over the years.

The Milk Can Trophy has been awarded to the winner of the game since 2006, but it hasn’t been in the Broncos’ hands in a while. Fresno State has won the last three meetings between the two teams, dating back to the 2022 Mountain West Championship Game, in which the Bulldogs handed Boise State yet another brutal 28-16 loss at home.

Boise State hasn’t beaten Fresno State since October 2022. “I don’t even know what (the Milk Can) looks like. We haven’t had it in years,” Danielson said. “Shoot, I’m gonna have to Google Image (search) it to find out what it looks like.”

These built-up emotions make No. 23 Boise State’s trip to Fresno this weekend even more important for the Broncos. Boise State travels to the Bulldogs’ Valley Children’s Stadium this weekend for an 8:30 p.m. MT kickoff.

The last time Boise State made the trip to Central California, in 2023, Fresno State won 37-30 and the Broncos were accosted by a riled-up Fresno State crowd on their way back to the locker room.

“That walk from the locker room to the field, they’ll be heckling,” Danielson said. “They’ll be all over coaches and players, and it’s a big-time, home-field advantage for Fresno State.”
It’ll be no friendlier on the field, either.

Fresno State defensive end Jahzon Jacks was asked on Tuesday about how he feels about the Broncos, and his answer was fairly simple: “I hate them. Straight up, I hate them.”

Stege, who was raised in Germany and was a freshman during the 2023 trip, likened the atmosphere at Fresno State to what you’d see at a European professional soccer game.

The Broncos’ struggles against Fresno State in recent years have been a theme around the Boise State facility this week, with Danielson acknowledging that “we have not done a good job against Fresno State for years now.”

Only six players on the Broncos’ current roster have won the Milk Can, including starting quarterback Maddux Madsen, defensive end Jayden Virgin-Morgan, and wide receiver Ben Ford. But they were all fresh-faced underclassmen at the time, and Stege and the rest of his teammates know what’s at stake in the latest edition of this multi-decade rivalry.

“There’s so much history around it, and I feel like we kind of owe it to the players that came before us and won the trophy to get it back,” Stege said. “So as for paying my part in this program, yeah, it does matter.”