San José State head coach Brent Brennan said every game in November is important, but this one might be the most consequential of them all.
The Spartans are scheduled to play San Diego State University on Saturday, a team that’s tied for the worst record in the Mountain West Conference with the University of New Mexico.
A win will not only get the Spartans to the six-win bowl game eligibility mark, but propel their chances to get to the Mountain West title game as they currently sit in second place in the conference.
“This is obviously a huge game for our football team,” Brennan said in a Tuesday press conference. “We have not had success against (SDSU) in the past. They've been the top program, the entire time I've been in this conference. They've done an incredible job.”
Despite the success in recent years, the Aztecs have not been great this season. They have just one conference win against the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and rank in the bottom of the Mountain West in almost every statistical category.
On Monday, San Diego State announced that head coach Brady Hoke will be stepping down at the end of the season.
“It's something that my wife Laura and I are looking forward to,” Hoke said about his retirement in a Tuesday news conference. “We've done this a long time. I'm proud of what we've done at each and every stop and here at San Diego State.”
Though the Aztecs have underperformed this season, the motivation of playing in Hoke’s final two games could give San Diego State some extra juice coming into this game.
“I would absolutely expect that,” Brennan said about anticipating more motivation from the Aztecs. “They love their coach. The other part of it is that every time we play these guys, it’s a hard-fought game. The truth is they’ve won them all except one, so they’ve been better than us.”
SJSU has only beaten the Aztecs once in the Brent Brennan era — a 28-17 win at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., during the 2020 season.
The Spartans run game has been surging in the last few weeks. Against Fresno State on Saturday, senior running back Kairee Robinson rushed for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Robinson is one touchdown away from breaking the SJSU’s single-season-rushing record. He is currently tied with Deonce Whitaker and Johnny Johnson with 15 rushing touchdowns.
“It definitely is an honor for sure for sure,” Robinson said about the record. “But like I've been saying all year, shout out to the big homies on the offensive line. They've been doing their thing all year and putting in the work this season.”
Saturday will also be the last home game of the season, meaning it will be senior day for many of the team’s graduating players.
Among the 17 seniors being honored are Robinson, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, offensive lineman Jaime Navarro and Anthony Pardue, twin defensive backs Tre and Andrew Jenkins, safety Chase Williams and defensive lineman Noah Lavulo.
“It's an emotional day for the guys who actually are realizing it's their last game at (CEFCU) stadium,” Brennan said. “The guys we're talking about are really special guys that have been very impactful on and off the field. I hope there's just a lot of people here to celebrate the seniors that are playing their last game.”
The game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at CEFCU Stadium.
