Starting the year off 0-2 is not ideal for San Jose State, but there is optimism that the team could score its first win of the season against Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo on Saturday at home.
The Spartans, who lost to No. 6 USC and No. 18 Oregon State in their first two games of the season, face a team who shouldn’t be as big of a challenge.
Cal Poly is a part of the Football Championship Series of NCAA Division I football. FCS schools are considered to be “lower tier” comprising mostly smaller schools with budgets smaller than SJSU.
It’s easy for fans and media to look over Cal Poly, but head coach Brent Brennan said that is not the case for the Spartans. SJSU was in a nail biter of a game against FCS Portland State last season in which they won on a last-minute drive.
“We know that every team can beat us and we can beat every team,” Brennan said in a Tuesday press conference. “It’s football, it’s why you play the game. So it doesn't matter if we're playing Portland State or the Green Bay Packers, we have to be ready to play.”
Cal Poly is coming off a win against the University of San Diego, defeating the Toreros 27-10 at home last Saturday.
The Mustangs are led by former University of Washington quarterback Sam Huard who transferred last season. Huard is a former five-star recruit and was a big get for the Mustangs in the transfer portal.
Against San Diego, Huard passed for 368 yards and a touchdown.
“He's a really talented guy, he's a pure passer,” Brennan said. “They've surrounded him with good players. They had a couple guys have big days last week against San Diego. And so it looks like they're doing a good job getting him going. And I think that we're gonna have to learn on the fly as we go.”
Saturday’s game will give SJSU’s defense an opportunity to bounce back after a tough start to the season. The Spartans’ defense gave up 98 points and 974 yards of total offense in two games.
SJSU has struggled to get to the quarterback thus far. The Spartans averaged 3.5 sacks a game last season and have recorded just 2.5 sacks in two games this season.
“We always want to get to the quarterback as much as we can, but [the front seven] is working really hard,” said SJSU defensive coordinator Derrick Odum. “They’re eager to go out and just have another game to prove it.”
Offensively, the Spartans will look to get their running game back on track. After rushing for 107 yards against USC, junior running back Quali Conley rushed for only 34 yards in 11 attempts on Sunday against Oregon State.
The offense was without starting senior running back Kairee Robinson on Sunday and his status for Saturday’s game against Cal Poly is still unknown.
Conley will likely get the majority of the reps in the backfield, but freshman Jabari Bates did get a few snaps last game and could continue to get more playing time if Robinson is unable to go.
The Spartans are scheduled to play at 1 p.m. on Saturday at CEFCU Stadium. This game will be the first and only game broadcasted on NBC Bay Area this season.
