Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Not only did the San Jose State Spartans suffer a heartbreaking 44-38 loss to the UC Davis Aggies this past Saturday, the Spartans–along with everyone else inside CEFCU Stadium–witnessed the top running back, Tyler Nevens, suffer a gruesome injury on the field. Nevens had been resting following his release from a local hospital, but it’s unclear as to when he’ll return to the lineup.

SJSU’s record is 0-1 (0-0 MW). The Spartans lost their season opener to UC Davis, 44-38, on August 30.

WSU’s record is 1-0 (0-0 Pac-12). The Cougars defeated Wyoming, 41-19, on September 1.

The Cougars lead the series, 7-4-1. These two teams are playing each other for the first time in the 21st century, resuming a series that began on November 12, 1955 when the two teams tied, 13-13, in what was later called “The Refrigerator Bowl.”

More recently, WSU won the last meeting between these teams, 52-16, on September 28, 1996.

All four SJSU wins in the series occurred in the state of Washington.

In each of the last six seasons, SJSU had a 1-1 win-loss record after two games. The Spartans needed wins over UC Davis (2012), Portland State (2016) and Cal Poly (2017) for their 1-1 win-loss record in those seasons.

The Spartans seek their first win over a current Pac-12 Conference member in 12 years. SJSU is 0-11 since defeating Stanford, 35-34, on September 9, 2006 in CEFCU Stadium. Since then, the Spartans lost to Stanford six times; Utah, twice; USC, UCLA and Oregon State, once each. The Pac-12 team was nationally ranked in five of those losses.

SJSU’s Josh Oliver was the leading pass receiver among FBS tight ends for the opening week of the season. Oliver caught a single-game career-best eight passes for 86 yards. Six of his eight receptions resulted in a first down. The John Mackey Award candidate came into the UC Davis game with 42 receptions in his first three seasons.

For the second consecutive season, Bailey Gaither’s opening game resulted in at least 100 receiving yards on six catches and two touchdowns. Gaither heads into the WSU game ninth nationally in all-purpose running with 213.0 yards per game.

SJSU is looking to get into the win column in this Saturday’s game against the Washington State Cougars at 8:00 pm PDT on Pac-12 Networks. The Spartans’ players and coaches were utterly disappointed after their home opener versus UC Davis, who pulled off the first FCS over FBS upset of the 2018 season.