The Fresno State–San Diego State football rivalry is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

between the

Fresno State Bulldogs football The Fresno State Bulldogs football team represents California State University, Fresno, in NCAA Division I FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. The green "V" on the Bulldogs' helmets, uniforms, and playing field symb ...

team of

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

and

San Diego State Aztecs football The San Diego State Aztecs football team is the college football program that represents San Diego State University (SDSU). The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS) as a member of the Mountain West ...

team of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(SDSU). Both schools are members of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

. The winner of the game receives "The Old Oil Can" trophy.

History

The rivalry dates back to 1923 when the two teams competed in the Southern California Junior College Conference. The Aztecs won 12–2 at home. Since then, the sides have met 52 more times, including every year from 1945 to 1979, when the two competed in the same conference or were independents. After not facing one another between 1979 and 1991, the schools resumed the annual series from 1992 to 1998, when both were members of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

. In 1999 the Aztecs were one of eight teams that left the WAC to form the

(MW), which put the rivalry on hold. The two teams however met in 2002 in Fresno. The Bulldogs defeated the Aztecs in a close game 16–14. The rivalry was stalled once again until the two teams met in 2011. The game resulted in an Aztec win 35–28. In 2012, the Bulldogs joined the MW, which renewed the rivalry once again. When the MW expanded to 12 football members and split into divisions for that sport in 2013, the Aztecs and Bulldogs were placed in the new West Division, ensuring annual games for the foreseeable future. San Diego State leads the series 31–27–4, including a 17–13–2 mark in San Diego, a 14–13–2 mark in Fresno and losing the only meeting in Carson.

Oil Can

The Oil Can trophy comes from a 1930s-era oil can hailing from

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

that was found at a construction site at

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. "The oil can likely came from a time when Aztec and Bulldog fans traveled to football games between the two schools via the old, twisting, precipitous

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

section of Highway 99 over

Tejon Pass The Tejon Pass , previously known as ''Portezuelo de Cortes'', ''Portezuela de Castac'', and Fort Tejon Pass is a mountain pass between the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains and northeastern San Emigdio Mountains, linking Southern Calif ...

," said Jacquelyn K. Glasener, executive director of the Fresno State Alumni Association. "Cars in those days carried extra

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and water to be sure they could make it through difficult trips," added Jim Herrick, executive director of the San Diego State Alumni Association. The two alumni associations made the oil can into a trophy and the teams started competing for it during the 2011 season.

Game results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fresno State-San Diego State football rivalry College football rivalries in the United States Fresno State Bulldogs football San Diego State Aztecs football 1923 establishments in California

History

Oil Can

Game results

See also

References