Coming into the offseason, there were questions about whether San Jose State’s defense could replace the production of its defense from last season.
The Spartans lost all-conference players Junior Fehoko, Cade Hall, Kyle Harmon and Nehemiah Shelton to graduation and the NFL draft, leaving fans to wonder who will step in to fill those shoes.
Those questions seem to still be unanswered after SJSU’s 56-28 loss to No. 6 USC on Saturday in Los Angeles. The Spartans gave up 501 yards of total offense while giving up 35 second half points.
Saturday’s defensive performance was the worst under the Brent Brennan era since SJSU lost to Utah State 62-24 in 2018.
“I think it falls back to the fact that we just need to make more plays, myself included,” said sophomore defensive lineman Tre Smith. “We all just got to getgel together as a cohesive unit and start making plays.”
The Spartans were playing one of the best offenses in the country with 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams manning the USC offense, but SJSU still failed to put any significant pressure on Williams and were helpless in the run game.
For a team that was ranked 30th in the nation in total defense in 2022, the Spartans recorded just 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss as a team. The Trojans averaged 4.7 yards per carry as a team to go along with 160 total yards rushing.
SJSU head coach Brent Brennan said that tackling was one of the issues that contributed to Saturday’s loss.
“Whenever you play those guys, the number one thing that you're trying to do is keep Caleb [Williams] and the offense and all those skill players off the field,” Brennan said. “We missed some tackles today against good people. If you miss tackles against good people, they end up making big plays. Trying to keep them off the field was the goal and those things really hurt us.”
The workload for the defense does not get any lighter in the next few weeks. SJSU will face No. 18 Oregon State, the University of Toledo, Air Force and Boise State in the next five weeks who all boast offenses that are dangerous in their own respects.
Oregon State, who the Spartans will face on Sunday in a nationally televised CBS game, presents a challenge similar to USC, also having a highly-touted quarterback under center to command its offense.
Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State this past season and will look to have a bounce-back campaign after an underwhelming performance with the Tigers.
Uiagalelei was brought into Clemson to replace former national championship winning quarterback Trevor Lawrence but could not bring the Tigers back to the College Football Playoff.
Despite similarities in their talent, head coach Brent Brennan said the preparation for Uiagalelei will differ from how SJSU approached Williams.
“I don't think DJ and Caleb are alike outside of the fact that they're both heavily recruited kids,” Brennan said. “I think DJ is a different kind of problem. He's a much bigger man. A little bit more of a pure thrower. I mean he’s as big as a tree, so bringing him down will be hard also.”
