San Jose State’s dominant pass rush, efficient offense sparked win
Spartans tied atop Mountain West after strong showings from Hall and Starkel
Brent Brennan’s bunch officially has piqued college football’s collective curiosity.
With a 34-17 victory over UNLV, San Jose State has begun a season 4-0 for the first time since 1955 and received votes in the AP Top 25 poll released Nov. 15. The Spartans were named on five ballots, one fewer than Boise State, the Mountain West gold standard.
“Obviously 4-0 hasn’t happened here for a while and so we’re just excited,” Brennan said after Saturday night’s victory — a victory that surpassed the win total for his first two years as coach. “I love this team, they love each other, and we’re excited to keep seeing how far we can go.”
From establishing the run to harassing the opposing quarterbacks, San Jose State’s win over UNLV was arguably its most complete of the four.
Halfway through the shortened season, the Spartans are now guaranteed a .500 finish, their first under Brennan. Another measuring-stick game awaits them Saturday. SJSU, which passed its first big test two weeks ago at San Diego State, plays Saturday at Fresno State. The Bulldogs have won three straight since dropping their season opener against Hawaii.
Here are five observa
tions from the win over UNLV (0-4).
1. NICK STARKEL RETURNS
For SJSU, the big question all week was who would start at quarterback.
Last week against San Diego State, Nick Starkel was knocked out of the game during the first series with an undisclosed injury after taking a hard hit. Backup Nick Nash took over and led the Spartans to the upset victory.
After a week of uncertainty, Starkel returned Saturday to start for the Spartans, completing 17 of 28
passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
While the numbers were strong, Starkel wasn’t as sharp as his first two games. Along with the interception, Starkel nearly served up a pick-six to UNLV’S Aaron Lewis, who dropped the errant pass. Starkel also couldn’t connect with Tre Walker late in the game on what could’ve been another touchdown.
“I would not grade myself very well,” Starkel said. “Not satisfied with how I played. I played below-par.
I’m going to be my toughest critic. I’m never going to let somebody else go harder at critiquing me than I will myself.”
2. EFFICIENT RUN GAME
Every week, Brennan has emphasized the importance of the run game and his desire to make an imprint in that area of the offense. Saturday night, his plan came together as San Jose State had a season-high 176 rushing yards on 29 attempts.
Nash, primarily used on designed quarterback runs, led the charge with a career-high 94 rushing yards.
Tyler Nevens and Kairee Robinson combined for 85 rushing yards and each had a touchdown as well.
Brennan noted postgame how running the ball helps open up the passing game.
“It gives us a chance to be a little more balanced with our attack,” Brennan said. “It was really fun to see some of those big plays. It’s hard for a defense to prepare for both.”
Entering Saturday, San Jose State averaged 94.0 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the Mountain West. The Spartans nearly eclipsed that figure by halftime with 89 first-half yards on the ground. They finished with 176 yards on 29 carries.
3. PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK
San Jose State’s defense has been at the center of the team’s 4-0 start. In the first three games, the defense demonstrated its ability to stop the run, but on Saturday the Spartans got after UNLV’S quarterbacks.
San Jose State had seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss, both season highs.
Defensive end Cade Hall led the team with three sacks and four tackles for loss. Viliami Fehko had two sacks. Defensive end Christian Webb and linebacker Tysyn Parker rounded out the sack parade. Kyle Harmon added 10 more tackles to his resume.
“Our chemistry is just incredible right now,” Webb said. “We’re firing on all cylinders. We’re a tight unit. It’s really just fun to be out there with those guys.”
4. SHAMAR GARRETT’S SPARK ON KICKOFFS
Shamar Garrett, a true freshman f rom De La Salle, returned three kicks for 98 yards.
Garrett’s best return of the night came in the second quarter. After UNLV quarterback Justin Rogers found Kyle Williams for a touchdown on a blown defensive coverage to tighten the game to 17-10, Garrett returned the ensuing kickoff for 42 yards, advancing the ball to San Jose State’s 46-yard-line.
Garrett had a 37-yard return in the first quarter as well.
The freshman has quietly been one of the Mountain West’s best kick returners. Through four games, Garrett is second in the conference in average yards per return (26.8).
5. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PENALTIES
While San Jose State executed well on both sides of the ball, the team received help in the form of eight UNLV penalties for 84 yards.
In the second quarter, two Rebel penalties helped start and finish a touchdown drive. UNLV’S Kue Olatoa hit Bailey Gaither after a punt return when he was clearly down, resulting in a 15-yard personal foul penalty.
Later on the drive, Kolo Uasike roughed Starkel in the red zone, which set up Nevens’ two-yard rushing touchdown on the following play.
Two possessions later, UNLV was called for pass interference on consecutive plays as San Jose State drove down the field. The next play was Starkel finding Gaither for a two-yard touchdown.