Fresno State-Boise State already is a hot ticket. Will ‘Dogs sell out for first time since 2014?

Fresno State is leading the West Division in the Mountain West Conference after its 30-20 victory on Saturday at No. 21 San Diego State, beating a ranked team for the second time this season and trimming the ranks of the remaining unbeaten college football teams in the nation.

Now, they get the bitterest of rivals in Boise State on the home turf and what could be the first sellout since a 2014 season-opener against Nebraska when most of the red in Bulldog Stadium was worn by Cornhuskers fans.

Fresno State (7-2, 4-1 in the MW) as of Saturday afternoon had already sold more than 33,500 tickets for the Boise State game, which is more than it had out the door at kickoff for an opening 45-0 shutout over UConn (26,043 attendance) , a 63-10 victory over FCS Cal Poly (30,119) and a divisional showdown against Nevada (33,012).

Only a 38-30 victory over UNLV, coming after a win at No. 13 UCLA, had a higher attendance at 35,093.

Will the Red Wave fill Bulldog Stadium for the Broncos?

An athletics department source said those remaining tickets could go very fast, especially after the victory over the Aztecs. Only about 1,000 student tickets were included in the 33,500 already sold, and the students have sold out their allotment of 3,500 tickets for three games in a row.

If students sell it out again, that pushes the ticket number to 36,000-plus. The capacity of Bulldog Stadium is 40,727.

Fresno State couldn’t have a better drawing card than the Broncos, who are just 4-4 and 2-2 in conference play.

The Bulldogs and Broncos have not played since the 2018 Mountain West championship game, which Fresno State won 19-16 in overtime when Ronnie Rivers scooted into the end zone from 1-yard out.

Next for Bulldogs

Saturday: 4 p.m. vs. Boise State at Bulldog Stadium

TV: CBS Sports Network

Tickets: gobulldogs.com, 559-278-3647

This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 7:23 AM.