On the Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason:
#1 Are the Warriors 2-5 just down on their luck or are they just outright a bad ball club since their offseason mass exodus?
#2 How much would would you allude to the Sacramento Kings’ struggle and their recent two straight wins? Were the wins looked at as encouraging for the Kings?
#3 The Cal Bears opened up their men’s basketball season against Pepperdine tonight at Haas Pavillion. The Bears are looking to have a much better season than they did last year.
#4 The San Francisco 49ers might be facing their toughest challenge this season yet when they host the Seattle Seahawks for Monday Night Football on Nov. 11th at Levis Stadium.
#5 The Oakland Raiders just got by the Detroit Lions with a 31-24 win on a Hunter Renfrow fourth quarter touchdown that help put the Lions away at the Oakland Coliseum.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State football shocked the general public with a narrow win over Army and a competitive game against #21 Boise State. So what’s next for the Spartans? The 4-5 team heads to the Aloha state to take on Hawaii on Saturday night.
Fun fact: Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich is from Daly City, Calif. Rolovich attended Marin Catholic High School (Kentfield, Calif.), where he won varsity letters in football and baseball; City College of San Francisco, where he led the Rams to a national championship in 1999; and University of Hawaii, where he served as a two-year letterman and replaced starter and future all-time NCAA career passing leader Timmy Chang in 2001. The 40-year-old was named one of two MVPs from the 2002 Hula Bowl.
Anyhow, here’s what you need to know before Saturday’s game.
Game #10
San Jose State vs. Hawaii
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, November 9, 2019, 6:00 p.m. HT
Spectrum Sports/Facebook Live
San Jose State record
4-5, 1-4 Mountain West. Most recently, San Jose State lost to Boise State, 52-42, in a Mountain West game.
Hawaii record
5-4, 2-3 Mountain West. Hawaii lost to Fresno State 41-38, in a conference contest.
Radio
KKSF (910 AM, Oakland), RealTalk 910, is the new flagship radio station for San Jose State Spartans football. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Hawaii broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. PT with a pregame show.
Television
Spectrum Sports and Facebook will provide broadcast coverage. Robert Kekaula calls the play-by-play. Rich Miano provides commentary. Scott Robbs is the sideline reporter. Broadcast coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. PT.
Series history
Hawaii leads the series, 21-19-1 with one cancellation in 1941. The Rainbow Warriors have won the last three games between these teams including last year’s 44-41 game that lasted five overtimes and is the longest contest based on number of overtime periods for both schools. San Jose State’s last win in the series was a 42-23 victory in 2015 at Aloha Stadium.
Playing for the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy
Though San Jose State and Hawaii have faced each other in football since 1936, this year’s game marks the first time the two schools are playing for the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy, named after the late head coach of each team during a 29-year NCAA Division I head coaching career. He passed away on May 10, 2019 in Tucson at age 80.
Tomey’s head coaching record was 183-145-7. His first head coaching position was at Hawaii where his teams from 1977 through 1986 compiled a 63-46-3 win-loss record in 10 seasons. He departed Hawaii for the University of Arizona where his Wildcat teams had a 95-64-4 win-loss record from 1987 through 2000. His third and final head coaching position was at San Jose State during the 2005 through 2009 seasons. The Spartans were 25-35 in those five seasons.
Tomey was the winningest head coach in Hawaii football history at the time of his departure. When he retired from San Jose State, he had more coaching victories in five seasons than any of his predecessors since 1989.
In the San Jose State-Hawaii series as a head coach, Tomey had a 2-5 win-loss record. The Rainbow Warriors were 1-1 against the Spartans in 1977 and 1978. The Spartans were 1-4 during he 2005 through 2009 seasons winning 20-17 at Aloha Stadium in 2008. He also was an assistant coach at Hawaii when San Jose State posted a 28-27 triumph in the 2011 game in San Jose.
Entering the 2019 season, his 183 victories ranked 41st among all head coaches at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. His 335 games as a head coach ranks 19th among all NCAA Division I FBS head coaches.
Another .500 mark, maybe?
San Jose State can be at the .500 mark for the fifth time this season with a win at Hawaii on November 9. The Spartans missed out on going one game over .500 for the fourth time this season in a 52-42 loss to Boise State. San Jose State was 1-0 after defeating Northern Colorado in the season opener, 2-1, following a win at Arkansas and 3-2 after topping New Mexico in a home game at CEFCU Stadium.
Can there be three road wins?
San Jose State can pick up its third road win this season at Hawaii. Earlier this season, the Spartans won on the road at Arkansas (31-24) in the Central Time Zone and Army (34-29) in the Eastern Time Zone.
The last time San Jose State won three road games in a season was in 2013 when the Spartans were victorious at Hawai’i (37-27), at Colorado State (34-27) in the Mountain Time Zone and at UNLV (34-24) in the Pacific Time Zone.
Points all over the scoreboard
With three regular-season games remaining, San Jose State has scored 269 points in nine games. The current point total is the most by the Spartans in a season since 2016 when San Jose State scored 293 points.
The last time the Spartans scored 300 points in a season was in 2015 when the team won the AutoNation Cure Bowl in a 13-game season scoring 363 points.
30-point games
San Jose State has scored 30 or more points in six of its nine games this season compared to four a year ago. The Spartans are 4-2 in games the team scored 30 or more points this season. The two losses were a 41-38 defeat at Nevada on October 12 and the 52-42 loss to #21-Boise State on November 2.
Two 100-yard receivers
The November 2 Boise State game marked the first time since the October 29, 2016 win over UNLV that two San Jose State players had more than 100 pass receiving yards in the same game. Tre Walker led all players with nine receptions for 193 yards. Bailey Gaither tied a personal single-game best of eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.
In the 2016 UNLV win, wide receivers Tim Crawley caught eight passes for 114 yards and Tre Hartley had five receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
calbears.com: Cal Bears Bednarik Semifinalist Award candidate Evan Weaver (89) goes in for the tackle as Weaver and the Bears prepare for the Washington State Cougars Saturday, November 9th.
On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:
#1 The Bears (4-4) were dismantled in their last game on both sides of the ball in Utah (7-1) 35-0, a shutout, a beating the Bears haven’t experienced this season.
#2 In the game in Utah, Bears quarterback Spencer Brasch threw 7-19 for 47 yards and the Bears simply didn’t get any yardage in the game in Utah.
#3 On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears defense was like butter for the Utes, who scored five touchdowns on the Bears in the first three quarters.
#4 In the fourth quarter, the Utes didn’t score a touchdown and played the bench. Was it their version of the mercy rule since the score was already 35-0?
#5 The Bears host the Washington State Cougars (4-4). It could very well be the Bears best chance at getting back in the win column. They haven’t won since Sept 21st against Ole Miss.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State football left West Point, N.Y. with a win over the Army Black Knights. Fast forward to Saturday night, where the Spartans returned home to the South Bay to host the then #21 Boise State Broncos. The Broncos represented the Mountain Division in the 2018 Mountain West Championship Game in which they lost to the Fresno State Bulldogs.
The Spartans hosted Dick Tomey Night in honor of the late head coach Dick Tomey (1938-2019). Tomey was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2019 and died from complications in May 2019. Tomey coached at San Jose State from 2005-09 and finished his tenure with a 25-35 record at SJSU.
Paying homage to the legend Dick Tomey at tonight's game. We play for the Tomey Trophy next weekend against Hawai'i. #SpartanUppic.twitter.com/RZIFyuo12X
San Jose State got on the board first, thanks to DeJon Packer. Packer ran for a 1-yard touchdown for an early 7-0 lead at 10:58. The Spartans followed up with a Josh Love 4-yard touchdown. Yes, Love ran for his own touchdown. Boise State, however, cut the lead in half with 15 seconds left. The Broncos came up with a huge stop on the third down, the Spartans punted for 49 yards and Avery Williams returned it for a 66-yard touchdown. The Spartans led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
San Jose State and Boise State exchanged scores in the second quarter. Matt Mercurio hit a 35-yard field goal to put the Spartans ahead 17-7 at 12:01. George Holani ran for a 1-yard touchdown to bring the Broncos within three with 7:58 left. Josh Love threw a pass to Isaiah Hamilton for a 16-yard touchdown and a 10-point lead with 1:13 left. Eric Sachse hit a 30-yard field goal to bring the Broncos within seven with 24 seconds left. The Spartans took a 24-17 lead to the locker room at the halftime break.
The exhilarating action ensued in the third quarter. San Jose State made the first score, once again. Matt Mercurio hit a 35-yard field goal to put the Spartans up by 10 at 10:27. Boise State scored two touchdowns to take a 31-27 lead. George Holani ran for a 6-yard touchdown to bring the Broncos within three with 9:13 left. Chase Cord ran for a 8-yard touchdown to put the Broncos ahead by four with 3:28 left. DeJon Packer ran for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Spartans up by three with 53 seconds left. The Spartans led 34-31 after three.
The fourth quarter was a thriller, but unfortunately, it was close, but it was “close, but no cigar” for the Spartans. George Holani ran for a 6-yard touchdown — his fourth rushing touchdown of the game — to put the Broncos ahead 38-34 at 11:31. Andrew Van Buren ran for a 32-yard touchdown to put the Broncos up by 11 with 6:24 left. Josh Love threw a pass to Bailey Gaither for a 9-yard touchdown and the Spartans’ two-point conversion was good, which brought them within three with 3:56 left.
However, the 3:56 turned out to be meaningless after Benton Wickersham intercepted a Josh Love pass with 1:25 left to seal the deal for the Broncos. The Spartans were competitive, but fell short in a 52-42 loss.
San Jose State fell to 4-5, 1-4 Mountain West. Boise State improved to 7-1, 4-0 Mountain West.
The Spartans head to Aloha Stadium to face the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, November 9 at 8:00 p.m. PST.
On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:
#1 The Stanford Cardinal (4-4) got a very needed victory over the Arizona Wildcats (4-4) last Saturday 41-31 and they chalked up their third win in four games. Coach David Shaw has to like the direction the club is taking?
#2 The Cardinal have won three of their last four games. The win over the Wildcats is good for the emotion going into the Cardinal’s next game in Colorado.
#3 After missing three weeks, Stanford quarterback KJ Costello was back in the line up and threw 30 for 43 for 312 yards and three touchdowns. Looks like the O-line provided him some time to throw the football.
#4 Cardinal receiver Simi Fehoko had three receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The running game was in full effect for the Cardinal as they accrued over 150 yards on the ground.
#5 The Colorado Buffaloes (3-5) have had some setbacks this year and they are looking for some offense, but it will be on both sides of the ball they’ll be concerned with. On the other hand, the Cardinal come in after that win against Arizona with some confidence as this game is Boulder.
Stanford fifth-year outside linebacker Casey Toohill was named a finalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy on Wednesday, announced by the National Football Foundation. The Campbell Trophy annually recognizes the best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
“Casey Toohill is a great example of what it means to truly be a scholar-athlete,” said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “His work ethic, attention to detail and the passion he plays the game with is matched only by his desire to excel as a student at Stanford University.”
Toohill, who is one of 12 members of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, will be recognized in New York during the 62nd Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, December 10. He will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, with one member of the class being declared the winner of the 30th William V. Campbell Trophy and having their scholarship amount increased to $25,000.
“This is the most prestigious honor I could have imagined receiving at Stanford,” Toohill said. “I am so honored to represent Stanford and to honor the legacy of Bill Campbell. My parents have always stressed the importance of academic pursuits and have been crucial in my development as a Stanford student-athlete. I owe it to my family and the structure they provided to help me succeed.”
A San Diego native, Toohill is a team captain who will graduate in December with a degree in political science. He’s a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic member and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2017. Toohill holds a 3.71 GPA and would like to attend business school following his playing career.
On the field, Toohill leads the Cardinal with 45 total tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He has added a forced fumble and nine quarterback hurries. He’s tied for fifth in the Pac-12 in tackles for loss while his sack total ranks third.
He’l become the 13th Cardinal in school history to earn NFF National Scholar-Athlete honors and the first since Jordan Richards in 2014. Toohill, Richards and Owen Marecic (2010) are the only three Cardinal to earn NFF Scholar-Athlete honors since 1997.
Stanford NFF Scholar-Athletes (13)
1967 John Root
1970 John Sande III
1976 Duncan McColl
1980 Milt McColl
1981 Darrin Nelson
1983 John Bergren
1992 Glyn Milburn
1994 Justin Armour
1995 David Walker
1997 Damon Dunn
2010 Owen Marecic
2014 Jordan Richards
2019 Casey Toohill
Gaither runs fast. Gaither talks fast. One cut, one wiggle and Gaither’s a blur down the field.
The slow slog of injury rehab, however, made the senior wide receiver appreciate that speed even more.
Last year as a junior, Gaither was off to a quick start, with six catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns against UC Davis. He had two more catches against Washington State and grabbed six balls for 90 yards at Oregon. In the Mountain West opener against Hawaii, Gaither had already made a 42-yard catch in the first quarter. Then, in the second quarter, the Paso Robles, Calif., native took a Josh Love pass 55 yards to the house for a touchdown. It was his last play of the season.
“I was running and a guy clipped the back of my foot and I landed funny,” Gaither said. “I had to hop in to the endzone. That was that.”
Gaither tore his Achilles tendon on the play. Just as he was starting to take off as the Spartans’ go-to deep threat, Gaither faced surgery and a long rehabilitation process.
Almost every day for seven months, Gaither got up in the morning and headed to the training room in the Simpkins Stadium Center. He’d do exercises to strengthen his repaired Achilles. Exercises to get the range of motion and flexibility back. It was a lot of heat and ice and work.
With all that, Gaither still thinks the mental part of rehab was the most difficult.
“Trusting myself, telling myself that I’m going to be okay, that I’ll get through it,” Gaither said. “Dealing with myself mentally.”
The mental side of rehab for Gaither included dealing with the false alarms. A string of good days would be spoiled by a painful morning. But that’s all part of the process.
“It’s such a tedious injury,” Gaither said. “It’s hard to tell people that you feel better one day and then worse the next. I didn’t like having to tell people that I was hurting, I wanted to be better. But I needed to be honest with myself. You push it one day and the next day it hurts. Sometimes if you went too easy it would hurt the next day. Rehab is a jagged line, it’s not smooth.”
Eventually, the ins and outs of rehab started to level out. Seven months after surgery, Gaither was able to do the thing he does so well. Run.
Gaither wasn’t able to cut yet, but the straight-line speed that has made him a weapon for the Spartans was still there. He could still get up and go.
“That was definitely the worst injury I’ve had in my life,” Gaither said. “I had my family supporting me through it and all my close friends. The rehab was tough, but it made me stronger.”
Gaither’s family includes his mom, dad and younger brother. Growing up, Gaither used his speed to become a multi-sport star at Paso Robles High School. The 6’1″ wide receiver racked up 3,277 yards receiving and 41 touchdowns over three varsity seasons. He was also the San Luis Obispo Country Player of the Year as a shortstop, hitting .500 his junior year with 32 stolen bases. With colleges calling with offers for both sports, Gaither decided to follow his friend and high school football teammate, Josh Oliver, to San Jose State.
After a redshirt season and limited playing time as a freshman and sophomore, Gaither was enjoying his breakout junior year until going down against Hawaii. The adversity has made his standout senior season even sweeter.
Heading into Saturday’s showdown against No. 21 Boise State, Gaither has been on the receiving end of 27 passes from fellow fifth-year senior quarterback Josh Love for 491 yards and four touchdowns. Love has experienced his own sets of ups and downs during his career, something the pair has bonded over.
“Me and Josh have been friends through this whole process,” Gaither said. “Both a little overlooked when we first got here. Not really in the picture. Kudos to him, he worked really hard for this. He deserves this. A bunch of different coaches and staffs, we’ve been through it all together. New beginnings have been good to us.”
Throughout Gaither’s rehab process, one goal he had was to get back to where he left off. Not only figuratively — starting a season strong and becoming a go-to target — but literally as well. He wanted to get back into the endzone, the place where we was helped off the field a year earlier.
It took a little while, until the Spartans’ fifth game of the season. Against New Mexico on October 4, Gaither showed off his trademark speed with an 80-yard touchdown bomb from Love. Crossing the goal line, Gaither couldn’t help but soak in the moment.
“It just felt so good,” Gaither said. “It felt so good, like this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Back to blazing down the field. Back in the end zone. It took a long time to get back to that place, but Gaither has made quick work of reclaiming his role as the Spartans’ deep threat.
Tavita Pritchard was not sure who his starting quarterback was going to be against Arizona until Saturday morning. He was hoping it would be senior K.J. Costello, who had missed the last three games due to injury.
When did Pritchard find out?
“When I showed up at the team hotel,” said Pritchard, the Andrew Luck Director of Offense and Kevin M. Hogan Quarterbacks Coach. “He didn’t know. I looked at him and said, ‘Yep, he’s going.'”
Costello was itching to get back on the field. He resumed practice this week on a limited basis, but was questionable until pregame warmups.
Once Costello got the go-ahead from Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, David Shaw, he jump-started the Cardinal offense. Costello’s experience, leadership, personality and right arm sparked Stanford to a 41-31 victory on Reunion Homecoming. Showing little rust, he connected on 30-of-43 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns in helping Stanford record a season high in points.
“It seems like it’s been an eternity,” Costello said. “Three, four weeks standing on the sideline, guys going down left and right. Being one of those guys, it doesn’t feel good. It feels awful, especially when you play this game because you want to do anything for your boys.”
Teammates loved having Costello back.
“He ran the ship today,” said junior offensive tackle Foster Sarell. “He’s fun to block for and I love playing with him. He’s got great energy.”
Added fifth-year senior running back Cameron Scarlett, who eclipsed 100 yards (102) for the second time this season and scored two touchdowns, “He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around. I know it was hurting him not to play but having him back shows how dangerous he and our offense can be.”
Shaw gave Costello a game ball afterward in the raucous locker room.
“I can’t say enough about K.J. Costello, him coming back, and it wasn’t just him throwing the football,” Shaw said. “Two-time captain, senior leader, felt his energy, felt his passion, pushing guys, talking to them, giving us great feedback. Can’t say enough about the juice he gave us.”
Once Costello made it through warmups, Shaw knew he was ready.
“We got over the hump this week in practice,” Shaw said. “Last week, he tried to go, and he threw the ball extremely well on Monday night, and the next day he couldn’t throw it. This week, we got past Monday and crossed our fingers for Tuesday; got past Tuesday and crossed our fingers for Wednesday. It was just one of those weeks.”
Costello, however, isn’t 100 percent.
“We gave him that opportunity and he went out there and played one of the better games of his career,” said Shaw. “Really, really proud of him.”
TEAM EFFORT
Costello had plenty of help. After allowing seven sacks the previous week against UCLA, the young offensive line surrendered zero against the Wildcats and helped the Cardinal accumulate 222 yards on the ground.
“It was awesome,” said Sarell. “We ran the ball right down their throat until the game ended. It’s what you dream about.”
Freshmen Walter Rouse (left tackle), Barrett Miller (left guard) and Jake Hornibrook (right guard) continue to learn and improve with every snap.
“I think as a whole, the O-line did a great job,” Rouse said. “There are always little things we can get better at. I feel like we have come a long way and still have so far to go.”
Apparently, the young unit’s fight surprised the Wildcat defense.
“I guess we underestimated their line,” said Wildcat senior safety Tristan Cooper. “We didn’t think their line was going to be that good. They came out balling. They’re better on the field than they are on film.”
RECEIVER, RECEIVER
Eleven Stanford players caught passes — 12 if you count a deflection Costello caught. Sophomore wide receiver Simi Fehoko hauled in three for a career-high 97 yards and two went for scores.
Sophomore wide receiver Brycen Tremayne made a one-handed grab in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown; junior Connor Wedington collected a team-high seven passes for 61 yards; sophomore wide receiver Michael Wilson caught six for 45; and junior tight end Colby Parkinson grabbed five for 68.
“I feel like it was just a long time coming,” Tremayne said. “We’ve been working so hard to make those plays and it’s finally clicking. Coach (Bobby) Kennedy said it was just a matter of time.”
It was the most downfield throws the Cardinal has attempted all season.
“Our guys knew it was a possibility and were ready for it,” said Pritchard, citing man-to-man and soft coverages they had seen on film. “We got those opportunities early and all of our guys capitalized.”
TWO PICKS
Junior cornerback Paulson Adebo intercepted two passes and is now tied for the Pac-12 lead with four on the season. He also ranks first in passes defended with 14.
“Big-time players make big-time plays,” said Shaw, who awarded Adebo a game ball.
Both of Adebo’s thefts came in the fourth quarter.
“It felt really good just to help my team and come out with a win,” he said. “It was fun to finish it at the end.”
TRIPLE DUTY
Freshman Ryan Sanborn joined a small club of Stanford players by doing all kicking duties against Arizona. He kicked off eight times, with six going for touchbacks; punted five times and averaged 43.8 yards; made both field goal attempts and all five extra points.
“The special thing is the game is not too big for him,” said special teams coordinator Pete Alamar. “You would hope a senior would handle it the way he handled it. He had one punt he’d like back, but everything else, he hit the ball pure.”
Sanborn’s role expanded when senior kicker Jet Toner was lost for the season against UCLA. Alamar limited Sanborn in practice and pregame warmups.
“We had to change everything we do just to keep him fresh,” Alamar said.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
UP NEXT
Stanford (4-4, 3-3 Pac-12) has a welcome bye next week and resumes play on November 9 at Colorado. The Buffaloes (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) fell to USC on Friday night, despite stellar performances from senior quarterback Steven Montez and junior wide receiver Laviska Shenault. The scrappy Montez threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, while the elusive Shenault caught nine for 172 yards, including a 71-yard score.
Colorado plays at UCLA on Saturday.
Blake Strenstrom, a redshirt freshman and the son of former Stanford quarterback Steve Stenstrom, spelled Montez briefly and ran once for 27 yards. Steve Stenstrom played five seasons in the NFL, including 1999 with the San Francisco 49ers. He was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL
Members of the 1999 Pac-12 Championship Stanford football team and head coach Tyrone Willingham were recognized on the field in the second quarter. The upstart team was the first to play in the Rose Bowl in 28 years.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
NOTES
Senior inside linebacker Andrew Pryts led the Cardinal in tackles with eight, while junior strong safety Stuart Head added seven … Stanford produced seven tackles for loss — two by sophomore defensive end Thomas Booker — and three sacks … Fifth-year senior outside linebacker Casey Toohill had a sack and now ranks third in the conference with five and fifth in tackles for loss with 7.5 … Wedington had two nice kickoff returns and ranks first in the Pac-12, averaging 28.4 yards per attempt. He’s also fifth in all-purpose yards (114.1) and 10th in receiving with 39 catches … The Cardinal ranks second in the league in red zone scoring at 92.3 percent … Stanford ranks first in the conference in kickoff returns and kickoff coverage … Former Stanford great Paul Wiggin was recognized as part of the program’s 125-year celebration of football. A standout defensive tackle, he received All-America accolades in 1955 and 1956. Wiggin played for the Cleveland Browns from 1957-67, then turned to coaching. He was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1975-77 and returned to The Farm as head coach of the Cardinal from 1980-83. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 … David Yankey, a stellar offensive guard/tackle for the Cardinal and a member of the 2013 and 2014 Rose Bowl teams, served as Stanford’s honorary captain. He started 40 games for the Cardinal and was a consensus All-American in 2012 and unanimous All-America in 2013.
Photo credit: gostanford.com
QUOTE
“It seems like an eternity.” — Freshman offensive tackle Walter Rouse on his progression since his first start against USC on September 7.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — After a horrendous win to Army last year, San Jose State bounced back with a 34-29 victory over the Black Knights this year. So what happens next? The Spartans will watch the tape and prepare for their next opponent, Boise State, this Saturday. The Broncos are currently ranked #21 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
Here’s what you need to know before Saturday’s game.
Game #9
San Jose State vs. #21 Boise State
CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
Saturday, November 2, 2019, 7:30 p.m. PT
CBS Sports Network
SJSU record
4-4, 1-3 Mountain West. Most recently, San Jose ended a two-game losing streak with a 34-29 win at Army West Point.
#21 Boise State record
6-1, 3-0 Mountain West. Boise State lost their first game of the season to BYU, 28-25, on October 19. The Broncos had a bye the week ending October 26.
Radio coverage
KKSF (910 AM, Oakland), RealTalk 910, is the new flagship radio station for San Jose State Spartans football. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Boise State broadcast begins at 7:00 p.m. PT with a pregame show.
KSJS (90.5FM, San Jose) also will carry a play-by-play broadcast of the San Jose State vs. Boise State football game. Air time is 7:15 p.m. PT with a pregame show.
Television
CBS Sports Network will provide broadcast coverage. Carter Blackburn calls the play-by-play. Aaron Taylor provides commentary. Jenny Dell is the sideline reporter. The CBS Sports Network presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Series history
Boise State leads the series, 13-0. The teams are meeting for the first time since the 2016 season when the Broncos won, 45-31, in Boise. Saturday’s game will be the seventh time the teams have played in CEFCU Stadium.
Of the 13 meetings, the 2004 and 2006 games in San Jose were the closest. In 2004, Boise State pulled out a 56-49 double overtime win. Both teams scored a touchdown in the first overtime. In 2006, Anthony Montgomery kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the game for a 23-20 Boise State win.
.500 again in 2019
For the fourth time this season, San Jose State’s at the .500 plateau with a 4-4 win-loss record. The Spartans have been above .500 three times and below .500 once.
Playing ranked teams the first weekend in November
Two of the biggest wins in San Jose State football history occurred on the first full weekend in November. The Spartans are 2-5 against nationally-ranked teams the first full weekend in November. Two of the five losses are to Boise State.
November 4, 2000 at San Jose State 27, #9/#9 TCU 24
November 1, 1980 San Jose State 30 at #10/#11 Baylor 22
Next opportunity for a winning streak
San Jose State has its 17th opportunity since the 2014 season to have a two-game winning streak when it hosts Boise State. The last Spartan two-game winning streak was a pair of victories hosting UNLV, 33-10, on October 4, and at Wyoming, 27-20, in overtime, on October 18, 2014.
2019 season win total matches 2016
The 34-29 win at Army West Point on October 26 gave San Jose State its fourth win of the season matching the win total of the 2016 season with four regular season games remaining. The last time the Spartans won five games in a regular season was in 2015 with a 5-7 record before capturing the inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl over Georgia State, 27-16.
Victories in three time zones
For the first time since 2015, San Jose State has victories in three time zones. The Spartans have two home field wins in CEFCU Stadium in the Pacific Time Zone, a 31-24 win over Arkansas in the Central Time Zone, and a 34-29 win at Army West Point in the Eastern Time Zone.
In 2015, the Spartans won regular-season games in the Pacific Time Zone, won at Hawaii, and defeated Georgia State in the AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
The win over Army West Point gave San Jose State three wins in its last four games and 3-7 overall playing in the Eastern Time Zone.
30-point games in 2019
San Jose State has scored 30 or more points in five of its eight games this season compared to four a year ago. The Spartans are 4-1 in games the team scored 30 or more points this season. The one loss was a 41-38 defeat at Nevada on October 12.
Points off of turnovers
After eight games, San Jose State has scored 58 points off of opponent turnovers compared to the opponent’s seven. Seven of the Spartan points came in the win at Army West Point in a 34-29 decision. The first opponent points off a Spartan turnover came in the October 12 Nevada victory on an interception return for a touchdown.
Penalty countdown
In San Jose State’s last three games, the Spartans were assessed nine penalties — five at Nevada, one versus San Diego State, and three at Army West Point. In the first five games, San Jose State was charged with 33 penalties. The Spartans enter the Boise State game ranked 23rd nationally in fewest penalties per game at 5.25 per game.
Finding the quarterback
Despite just 12 quarterback sacks on the season, San Jose State has seven of them in the two most recent games prior to the Boise State contest.
The Spartans had two against San Diego State on October 19 and a season-high five in the win at Army West Point on October 26.
Five possessions lead to five first-half scores
For the first time this season, San Jose State scored every time it was on offense in the first half of a game. Against Army West Point, the Spartans scored two touchdowns and kicked three field goals to build a 23-10 halftime lead.
Adding a two-point play to the scoring column
For the first time since the 2016 season, San Jose State successfully converted a two-point PAT when quarterback Josh Love completed a pass to wide receiver Tre Walker in the October 26 win at Army West Point. The Spartans are 1-for-2 on the season on two-point conversations.
photo from sfgate.com: Utah’s Zack Moss (2) reaches the end zone while scoring one of his two touchdowns in his a win over Cal in Salt Lake City.
On The Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris:
#1 In one of the most difficult games of the season for the Golden Bears (4-4) and no doubt their worst of 2019. The Utah Utes (7-1) went to work on the Cal scoring the opening volley with a touchdown. Running back Zack Moss carried for a 4-yard run at 4:50 in the first quarter.
#2 Cal would remain scoreless in the first half as the Utes would score three more touchdowns in the second quarter on a Utes quarterback Bryan Thompson 40-yard pass to Tyler Huntley, a Jason Shelly 1-yard run, and a Brant Kuithe 1-yard pass to Jason Shelly. At the half, Cal could have asked for the mercy rule. It was 28-0.
#3 In the second half, the Utes picked up one more score in the third quarter at 9:26. Zack Jones carried for ten yards to put the frosting on the cake as the Utes would win it 35-0.
#4 Morris, what best explains best why Cal just simply couldn’t get any offense going and did quarterback Spencer Brasch, who went 7-19 for 47 yards, lack enough time and protection to throw the ball?
#5 Washington State (4-4) is up next. Cougars lost to Oregon on Saturday 37-35 and are 1-4 in their last five games. Taking some of WSU’s defensive issues under consideration, do you see Cal with a light at the end of the tunnel to win this game this coming Saturday?
