This Boise State RB helped Fresno own the Milk Can. He wants BSU to get it back
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boise State hosts Fresno State in rivalry game with Milk Can trophy on line
- Boise State leads series 17-9 but Fresno State won the last two meetings
- Transfer RB Malik Sherrod returns to face former team and chase Milk Can
If you’ve ever wondered how Fresno State football players feel about Boise State, there aren’t many better resources than running back Malik Sherrod.
“Same thing you guys think of (Fresno State) — dislike each other very much,” Sherrod told the media gathered on Tuesday afternoon.
The Broncos (6-2, 4-0 Mountain West) and Sherrod — a transfer from Fresno — host the Bulldogs (5-3, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon in the latest rendition of a fierce rivalry that’s bubbled and simmered for much of the 21st century.
The two met three times between 1977 and 1996, with Fresno State winning all three games, but in 2001, Boise State joined the Western Athletic Conference and upset No. 8 Fresno State in their first conference meeting.
The Broncos have dominated the series since, winning 17 of 23 games, including victories in the 2014 and ‘17 Mountain West championship games. However, Fresno State has struck back in recent years, defeating Boise State in the league titles games in 2018 and ‘22. The Bulldogs then won a regular season matchup in 2023.
The rivalry led to the creation of the Milk Can Trophy in 2005, awarded to the winner each time they play. It resides with Fresno State now.
“The Milk Can meant everything,” Boise State offensive coordinator Nate Potter said Monday.
Potter played at Boise State from 2007-11, triumphing over the Bulldogs each of the five times they met.
“That was a huge game when I was playing,” Potter continued. “Just because it felt like every year kind of came down to that game as far as who’s going to win the conference.”
The Broncos are two-time defending Mountain West champions, but Fresno State is the reason that isn’t three-time. The Bulldogs won the Mountain West title in ‘22 with a 28-16 victory on The Blue, and a year later they scored a 37-30 win over the Broncos in California.
The trophy was actually well-traveled in 2022, because Boise State had a regular-season win over Fresno State before losing in the championship game.
“You’re going to get Fresno State’s best,” BSU head coach Spencer Danielson said this week.
“They are going to have a very talented team. They’re going to be well-coached. They’re going to be hungry. That’s why they beat us the last two times we played them.”
Danielson has been at Boise State in some capacity since 2017, and was the defensive coordinator for the past two losses.
A big reason for that one-possession loss in 2023 was a man who will be wearing a Broncos uniform this Saturday.
Sherrod, a sixth-year running back, transferred to Boise State in the offseason after five years at Fresno. The last time these teams met, he returned a kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half.
Understandably, that touchdown and lifting the Milk Can in the Fresno State locker room remain some of Sherrod’s favorite memories. But now he’s determined to help the Broncos end what he helped the Bulldogs start.
“As a Bronco, all I can say is bleed blue, go Broncos, and we’ll see them when they get here on The Blue,” Sherrod said.
Sherrod still has some old friends who’ll be wearing red and white Saturday, and the trash-talking has already begun. Sherrod’s talking ability is a trait many of his Boise State teammates cite — both before he arrived in Idaho and after.
His old roommate, senior corner Jakari Embry, is one of those former teammates he’s chirping with this week.
“He’s like, ‘Man, you come out, I catch you on that boundary, it’s gonna be a problem,’” Sherrod said. “And I was just giving it right back to him like, ‘You’re not even gonna see me, next thing you know, I’m gonna score.’”
Sherrod said both teams approach the Milk Can game with the same mentality: blue-collar teams that have a goal of winning together. But in a few months at Boise State, he has identified one difference between the two sides.
“It’s a little bit different around here,” he said. “(Boise State) wins a little bit more, so it’s the Mountain West championship and CFP,” referring to the College Football Playoff.
Boise State vs. Fresno State
- When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Albertsons Stadium (32,796, turf)
- TV: Fox Sports 1 (Noah Reed, Robert Smith)
- Radio: KBOI 670 AM / 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
- Records: Boise State is 6-2, 4-0 Mountain West; Fresno State 5-3, 2-2
- Series: Boise State leads the series 17-9
- Betting line: Boise State by 17.5
- Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy, 12% chance of rain
