Battle for the Valley
First meeting | November 19, 1921 San Jose State, 14–2 |
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Latest meeting | November 11, 2023 San Jose State, 42–18 |
Next meeting | October 26, 2024 |
Trophy | Valley Trophy (2013–present) |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 86 |
All-time series | Fresno State leads, 44–39–3[1] |
Trophy series | Tied, 5–5 |
Largest victory | Fresno State, 63–12 (1999) |
Longest win streak | Fresno State, 12 (1991–2005) |
Current win streak | San Jose State, 1 (2023–present) |
TheFresno State–San Jose State football rivalry,also known as theBattle for the Valley[2]is acollege footballrivalrybetween theFresno State Bulldogs footballteam ofCalifornia State University, Fresnoand theSan Jose State Spartans footballteam ofSan José State University.The two teams currently play annual, regularly scheduled contests asMountain West Conference(West Division) opponents.
Since 1921, Fresno State and San Jose State have shared conference affiliation in numerous athletics conferences including theCalifornia Coast Conference,Far Western Conference,California Collegiate Athletic Association,Big West Conference,and theWestern Athletic Conference.
The rivalry is likely rooted in the two schools' relatively close proximity to one another in the state ofCalifornia.The city ofFresnois located approximately 150 miles south ofSan Jose.Both institutions are also members of theCalifornia State Universitysystem.
Additionally, Fresno State and San Jose State are both located in geographical valleys. Fresno is located in the agriculturalSan Joaquin Valleywhile San Jose is located in theSanta Clara Valley,which is now more widely known asSilicon Valley.The locations of the two schools account for the namesValley Cup,Valley Bowland theBattle for the Valley.
As of 2023, Fresno State leads the series 44–39–3.
Historical overview
[edit]San Jose State led the series from 1949 to 2001, but Fresno State tied it at 32–32–3 with a victory in 2002 and recaptured the lead in 2003. The Bulldogs and Spartans first played each other in 1921, making the rivalry series the second oldest in theMountain West Conference,behind onlyColorado State–Wyoming.
The rivalry took a one-year break in 2012 afterconference realignmenttemporarily separated the two schools, with Fresno State moving to theMountain West Conferencewhile San Jose State stayed in theWestern Athletic Conference.It resumed as a conference rivalry in 2013 when San Jose State joined the Mountain West and is assured of being an annual matchup since both schools are in the West Division. Beginning in 2013, the winner of the game is awarded the Valley Trophy.[3][4]The trophy features a silver letter V, with an electrical transistor pattern down one side, and a grape vine pattern down the other, representing each school's representative geographic region.
Statistics
[edit]Fresno State | San Jose State | |
---|---|---|
Games played | 86 | |
Wins | 44 | 39 |
Ties | 3 | |
Home wins | 22 | 22 |
Road wins | 22 | 17 |
Consecutive wins | 12 | 7 |
Most total points in a game | 114 | |
Most points in a win | 63 | 65 |
Most points in a loss | 52 | 30 |
Fewest total points in a game | 0 | |
Largest margin of victory | 50 | 42 |
Smallest margin of victory | 1 | 1 |
Total points scored in series | 1,920 | 1,884 |
Shutouts of opposing team | 4 | 2 |
Source:[5] |
Game results
[edit]Fresno State victories | San Jose State victories | Tie games |
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"Winsipedia - Fresno State Bulldogs vs. San Jose State Spartans football series history".Winsipedia.
- ^Weiner, Matt (October 16, 2022)."Bulldogs retain Valley Trophy, as SJSU football suffers 17–10 loss".The Spear SJSU.RetrievedOctober 20,2023.
- ^San Jose State Athletics (December 6, 2013)."Spartan Football Weekly presented by Una Mas 1.12".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2021.RetrievedJune 1,2014.The trophy is shown at the 0:30 mark.
- ^Durkin, Jimmy (November 6, 2014)."Clearing up some Valley Trophy questions".Spartan Central.Mercurynews.com.RetrievedNovember 6,2014.
- ^"Fresno State Bulldogs vs. San Jose State Spartans football series history".Winsipedia.RetrievedJanuary 27,2018.