Despite 1-7 record, SJSU competitive

Wyoming coming off its first Mountain West win of year

San Jose State’s convincing 5037 win over UNLV last week was a good indicator of why the 1-7 Spartans aren’t overlooked by opposing teams, including Wyoming, which hosts SJSU today.

“Each coach that I have talked to that has played San Jose says they’re a lot better than their record,” said coach Craig Bohl, whose Cowboys are 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West.

“And after digging in with long hours on tape, I would agree with that.”

The Cowboys’ story this season is about unrealized potential until Bohl switched to freshman quarterback Sean Chambers against Utah State earlier this month. Wyoming lost that Oct. 20 game to the now-18th-ranked Aggies 24-16, but got its first conference victory last Friday at Colorado State 34-21.

“You can say all you want as a coach, but when you start making changes, it changes some dynamics,” Bohl said. “And with the leadership on our team, they were fed up and we challenged them all as a coaching staff. It was a trifecta there and we need to make sure we do that again this week.

“We have a hungry football team that’s getting better right now and our focus is doing whatever we have to do to beat San Jose. They beat us last year and our guys know they’re a good football team.”

Against Colorado State, Chambers was 7 of 10 passing for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 22 times for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Feedback from opposing quarterbacks says playing the Spartans is confusing, as defensive coordinator Derrick Odum’s play-calling keeps things creatively unpredictable.

“There’s always adjustments, because you never know how they’re gonna attack you.” Odum said. “So you have a plan with what they have a tendency to do and they could just change what they do and you have to adjust.”

SJSU offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven’s wide-open game plan could also be a key today.

“I’m trying to manufacture some defensive looks for our quarterback and some of the reads from the past game and I’m trying to manipulate it from what we’re doing with the scout defense.” McGiven said. “It gives me a perspective of where the quarterback is taking his eyes and watching from behind, you can totally see that and I can kind of dictate where the ball’s going to go based on the defensive structure I’m giving. So, I’m trying to control the defense and then watch the offense to make sure we’re lined up right and executing plays at the same time.”