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The Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry, also known as the Battle for the Valley[2] is a college football rivalry between the Fresno State Bulldogs football team of California State University, Fresno and the San Jose State Spartans football team of San José State University. The two teams currently play annual, regularly scheduled contests as Mountain West Conference (West Division) opponents.

Quick Facts First meeting, Latest meeting ...
Fresno State–San Jose State football rivalry
First meetingNovember 19, 1921
San Jose State, 14–2
Latest meetingOctober 26, 2024
Fresno State, 33–10
Next meeting2025
TrophyValley Trophy (2013–present)
Statistics
Meetings total87
All-time seriesFresno State leads, 45–39–3[1]
Trophy seriesFresno State, 6–5
Largest victoryFresno State, 63–12 (1999)
Longest win streakFresno State, 12 (1991–2005)
Current win streakFresno State, 1 (2024–present)
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Locations of Fresno State and San Jose State

Since 1921, Fresno State and San Jose State have shared conference affiliation in numerous athletics conferences including the California Coast Conference, Far Western Conference, California Collegiate Athletic Association, Big West Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference.

The rivalry is likely rooted in the two schools' relatively close proximity to one another in the state of California. The city of Fresno is located approximately 150 miles southeast of San Jose. Both institutions are also members of the California State University system.

Additionally, Fresno State and San Jose State are both located in geographical valleys. Fresno is located in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley while San Jose is located in the Santa Clara Valley, which is now more widely known as Silicon Valley. The locations of the two schools account for the names Valley Cup, Valley Bowl and the Battle for the Valley.

As of 2024, Fresno State leads the series 45–39–3.

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Historical overview

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 the Mountain West Conference, behind only Colorado State–Wyoming.

The rivalry took a one-year break in 2012 after conference realignment temporarily separated the two schools, with Fresno State moving to the Mountain West Conference while San Jose State stayed in the Western 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.

In 2026, Fresno State will join the revamped Pac-12 Conference. meaning the schools will be in different conferences once again. the rivalry's future after 2025 is undecided as of December 2024.

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Statistics

More information Fresno State, San Jose State ...
Fresno State San Jose State
Games played 87
Wins 45 39
Ties 3
Home wins 23 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 1,953 1,894
Shutouts of opposing team 4 2
Source:[5]
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Game results

Fresno State victoriesSan Jose State victoriesTie games
More information No., Date ...
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See also

References

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