Spartans seek home win in push for bowl bid
The early-afternoon kickoff today against Wyoming is an opportunity for San Jose State (4-4, 2-2 Mountain West) to claim consecutive victories for the first time this season.
“It’s a 1 o’clock kick, which is a rarity in my mind for Spartan football,” Spartans coach Brent Brennan said earlier this week. “So we’ve got a big week ahead of us to prepare for a very good Wyoming team.”
The Cowboys (4-3, 0-3) are reeling after a perfect nonconference slate.
Their first loss came Oct. 9 at Air Force, 24-14. Backto-back home games failed to produce a touchdown — a 17-0 shutout by Fresno State followed by last week’s 14-3 setback to New Mexico.
Meanwhile, San Jose State performs its best at home.
The Spartans scored a season-high 45 points in the season opener on Aug. 28, spent the entire month of September on the road, returned to CECFU for a 37-31 shootout against New Mexico on Oct. 2, then pushed No. 21 San Diego State to the brink two weeks ago in a 1913 double-overtime loss.
The average crowd in attendance is just shy of 16,400 fans, with a capacity of 21,520 while the stadium undergoes renovations.
“Gameday here is becoming something really special,” Brennan said. “You see the large crowds in the stands, but really it’s the large crowds before the ball is ever kicked off.”
Here are a few keys to victory for San Jose State, which can inch closer to qualifying for a bowl berth with four games left in the regular season:
HIT THE REFRESH BUTTON >> The Spartans returned to their regular routine this week with confidence from last Thursday’s 27-20 comeback at winless UNLV.
After traveling nearly 10,000 air miles in September and coming off back-toback short weeks, the SJSU coaching staff gave its players two days off before resuming practice Sunday morning.
“I’m hopeful that gives us a little bit of a chance to get fresh — both physically and mentally,” Brennan said. NASH BRIDGES THE GAP >> Ever since San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel went down with an undisclosed upper-body injury on Sept. 25, junior Nick Nash took the reins of the offense.
The dual-threat QB is 2-2 as a starter, and last week displayed his versatility by going 17-of-28 for 213 yards through the air and rushing for a career-high 121 yards, including a game-winning 15-yard scramble midway through the fourth quarter.
“I think that quarterback position is one of the most unique positions in all of sports,” Brennan said. “And the only way to really get good at it is by playing. So to watch (Nash) kind of grow and develop, hopefully, that learning curve continues to accelerate with more game reps he gets.” DEESE BECOMING A FAVORITE TARGET >> Through the first four games of the season, San Jose State didn’t have a single 100-yard receiving performance.
Now it’s got three, but none by a wide receiver.
Tight end Derrick Deese Jr. no doubt improved his NFL Draft status during the month of October:
He posted a career-high 130 yards on seven catches against New Mexico State, had 113 yards on six catches against San Diego State and totaled 106 yards on six catches at UNLV.
“I just know that at least 80 percent of the time when I throw it up to him, he’s going to come down with it,” Nash said of Deese. “No matter who’s on, if he’s double covered, he’s just a huge target for me and I really love going to him in times of need.” MISMATCH ON PERIMETER >> Wyoming’s offense not only has size in the backfield with 6-foot, 198-pound senior Xazavian Valladay as its leading rusher, but its top targets are wide receivers Isaiah Neyor (6-3, 210) and Ayden Eberhardt (6-2, 195).
While San Jose State’s top cornerback Nehemiah Shelton stands 6-2, he only weighs 168 pounds. The next two options on the perimeter at both 6-0, 180 are senior Bobby Brown and sophomore Kenyon Reed.
“The good news is both of our corners do have some length to them,” Brennan said. “But the receivers from Wyoming are both bigger men than our corners, so we’re going to have to do a great job of playing good coverage, having our eyes on the right place and aggressively playing the football when it’s in the air.”