With two losses on the conference record this season, the Fresno State Bulldogs’ odds of a Mountain West title have never been lower.
While the odds may be stacked against them, the ‘Dogs still have a slim opportunity at one final conference championship before heading to the Pac-12 next season.
As the Bulldogs nurse a two-game losing streak, having dropped a road game to Colorado State and most recently a 23-0 shutout at home against San Diego State, the team must face one of their toughest opponents yet — the Boise State Broncos.
“Until someone knocks them off, they are the best team in the league and one of the best teams in the country,” said Head Coach Matt Entz.
The ‘Dogs take on yet another historic rival, but this time on the road.
It will be newly named starting quarterback Carson Conklin’s first opportunity to lead the offense in a hostile environment.
In his first game as the starter, Conklin completed just under 50% of his passes and threw for 182 passing yards in the home loss to the Aztecs on Oct. 25.
Despite the loss, Entz acknowledged his new quarterback’s leadership abilities as one of the reasons that has cemented Conklin as the starting quarterback moving forward.
“You see the way he handles himself and the way he pours himself into his teammates, you know I appreciate that,” Entz said.
Coming off his first start where he threw two interceptions, Conklin will face a defense that knows how to create turnovers.
The Boise State defense forces two turnovers per game. The Broncos are fresh off a victory over Nevada, which saw the Wolf Pack finish the game with five turnovers.
One of the playmakers on this Broncos defense is defensive back A’Marion McCoy, who has the team lead in interceptions with four on the season, including two pick-sixes.
On the other side of the ball, the Bulldog defense will be going against a balanced attack.
Broncos’ quarterback Maddux Madsen has completed 60% of his passes for 1,997 passing yards. Madsen has thrown 15 passing touchdowns to go along with just seven interceptions and has also added three rushing touchdowns.
“He’s a winner, just the way he carries himself,” Entz said. “Multi-year starter [who] understands the intricacies of what they’re doing offensively.”
Maddux will be without two of his top targets.
Wide receiver Chris Marshall, who leads the team in receiving yards with 467, was suspended for one game following an in-game incident during the Broncos’ victory over the Wolf Pack last week.
Their third leading receiver, Ben Ford, suffered a season-ending injury against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Oct. 18.
In the backfield with Madsen is a plethora of running backs that Head Coach Spencer Danielson can choose from.
Dylan Riley has seen the most carries and has totaled 729 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per carry to go along with seven rushing touchdowns.
The Broncos’ third option is former Fresno State running back Malik Sherrod, who has 250 rushing yards this season.
The Fresno State defensive line can see plenty of work on Saturday as they try to win the battle in the trenches, but may have to do so without a key piece.
Defensive lineman Deijon Laffitte left in the middle of the San Diego State game with an apparent injury, but Entz said he is trending in the right direction to play this week.
“He is a great teammate right now,” Entz said. “You talk about his relationship with Martin [Owusu] and [Julius] Gandy, Logan [Goodspeed], Mordecai [Hines], all those guys up front, he’s the pulse of the group.”
While Laffitte may be good to go come Saturday, the defense will be without linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird for the rest of the season due to a broken bone in his arm. Thunderbird was the second leading tackler for the ‘Dogs with 32.
Fresno State will not only be travelling with a new quarterback, but some hardware as well.
The Bulldogs are the owners of the Milk Can, having beaten the Broncos in their last meeting back in 2023. With a win on Saturday, the Bulldogs would extend their streak over the Broncos to three games, matching their longest streak dating back to the first three games of the series in 1977, 1984 and 1996.
Having just lost out on the Old Oil Can to San Diego State, the Bulldogs are using the Milk Can as extra motivation this week.
”There’s a traveling trophy upstairs that reminds you every single day,” Entz said. “It’s over in the weight room now. It’ll be out at practice tonight.”
The Bulldogs will look to keep the Milk Can and end their two-game losing streak on Nov. 1 when the ‘Dogs travel to Albertsons Stadium to take on the Boise State Broncos. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. and will be streamed on Fox Sports 1.
