Spartans give Ducks an unexpected battle
EUGENE, ORE. >> When the talent and depth of 20thranked Oregon crashed into the youth and inexperience of San Jose State, the 35-22 loss for the Spartans was no surprise — except it wasn’t the pushover game the Ducks were expecting.
The Spartans came out energized with a physicality that surprised the Ducks and the 50,049 in attendance at Autzen Stadium. It was a Ducks team probably looking at the game as the last dress rehearsal before it starts Pac-12 play next week against Stanford.
If anything, it probably leaves more questions for the Ducks, as they kept most of their starters playing into the fourth quarter, when they were expecting to get the second and third stringers in. And though Oregon QB Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns, two of them on broken coverages, the Spartans intercepted Herbert twice and made his 16-for-34 and 309 yards day look relatively pedestrian.
A 13-point win for the Ducks just wasn’t the blowout they and their crowd was expecting.
For the Spartans, it was about good defense and rotating quarterbacks. Spartan QB Josh Love was the surprising starter over Montel Aaron. Love played well enough to play most of the second half, going 15-of-31 for 238 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the game.
“I thought Josh Love played well. He and Montel (Aaron) played well at times and that’s what we were going with.” said Spartans head coach Brent Brennan.
The idea for two QBs was less on individual assessment and more based on the scheme from firstyear offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven according to Brennan.
“One of the challenges coming into this week was the trouble we had with the defensive front at Washington State and we’re thinking Oregon’s defensive front was even better, so I thought coach McGiven did a good job moving the quarterback, mixing in the screen game and the combination to prepare for two quarterbacks slowed them down at times and kept things difficult.”
The Spartans defense was impressive against the Ducks offense and that wasn’t much of a surprise considering how it played in the first two games. If not for coverage breakdowns, and an early interception, SJSU could have only been down 7-6, instead of 21-6 at halftime.
The key takeaways:
1. DEFENSE >> Linebackers Kyle Harmon and Jamaal Scott each had nine tackles followed closely by Ethan Aguayo and Jesse Osuna. The defensive line, anchored by Boogie Roberts and Bryson Bridges, held the Ducks’ run game in check (134 yards and no runs going for more than 9 yards).
2. THE TURNOVERS >> For the second straight game, the Spartans did not lose the turnover battle, which is a big sign of improvement Brennan insists they’ll maintain. Though each team gave up two turnovers, both on interceptions, the Spartans were also able to sustain drives and keep time of possession relatively even, which is a better sign.
In fact, there were a couple more Spartans interception opportunities. But the coulda-woulda-shoulda chances are only signs of an opportunistic defense, yet another good sign.
3. STILL NO RUNNING GAME >> Without Tyler Nevens and DeJon Packer, the Spartans were light at the running back position with only Malik Roberson and freshman Brendan Manigo leading the way. While only mustering 29 yards on the ground, the running attempts were just enough of a counter in the bigger offensive picture in McGiven’s plans.