Tag: San Jose State

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

Oh where do I begin? Saturday night was a time for the San Jose State Spartans to redeem themselves, which they did against the San Diego State Aztecs, but fell short 16-13 at SDCCU Stadium. The Aztecs avoided an upset, thanks to their senior kicker John Baron II, who finished with a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, including his late, go-ahead field goal that sealed the deal for his team.

Here are my three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State.

Second week in a row
Senior kicker Bryce Crawford helped the Spartans to an early 6-0 lead after the first quarter. Crawford converted field goals of 42 and 24 yards, respectively.

This was the second week in a row where the Spartans scored first on a Crawford field goal. The Spartans gave everything the Aztecs were able to handle, and while their record hasn’t shown dominance, Crawford’s one heck of a kicker who’s one of the bright spots on the Spartan roster.

Not a great return
Quarterback Josh Love returned to the field following a concussion sustained against the Army Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, October 13.

Love was intercepted once on a fourth quarter pick by the Aztecs’ sophomore safety Tariq Thompson, who returned the ball to midfield. As a result, 15-yard penalty was assessed for a horse collar tackle, which placed the ball on the Spartan 35-yard line.

Limited amount
The Spartans limited the Aztecs to just 293 yards of total offense. This was the fewest yards the Spartans have given up to a FBS opponent since their 16-14 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs to close out the 2016 season.

Even though the Aztecs had three time consuming possessions that turned into scores and squeaked out a win in the end, the Spartans had almost nothing to be ashamed of. The Spartans simply have to watch the tape and prepare to host the UNLV Rebels inside CEFCU Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 pm PT.

San Jose State shows no quit, but San Diego State prevails 16-13 on Baron’s late field goal

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans left for sunny San Diego on Friday. Of course, the main reason behind their most recent business trip was to take on the San Diego State Aztecs at SDCCU Stadium in a lopsided Mountain West matchup on CBS Sports Network on Saturday night.

San Jose State, however, has to win the turnover battle. Last week, San Jose State fumbled the ball over four times and each one of those fumbles gave Army great field position and one fumble resulted in a scoop and score. San Jose State also had to improve their running game by bolstering their blocks and pass protection.

Enough about the San Jose State’s needs (and wants). Let’s get to the game recap, which has been written below.

San Jose State had one thing on their mind tonight and that was to beat San Diego State. That, of course, caused most, if not all, Aztec fans to openly laugh. Anyways, San Jose State’s locker room was decked with the players’ signature blue and gold helmets, which has always made a fashion statement. However, San Jose State was there to play San Diego State, not strut their stuff for a fashion show.

Spartans head coach Brent Brennan decided to make Josh Love the starting quarterback. The Aztecs won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

The Spartans wasted no time as Bryce Crawford opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:56 left in the first quarter. Just 2:31 later, Crawford made it a 6-0 game with a 24-yard field goal. Somewhere between those field goals, Jesse Osuna notched a fumble recovery, sparking San Jose State’s offensive prowess.

The Spartans led the Aztecs 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. But San Jose State had to be wary as they held a 3-0 lead over Army at the end of the first quarter last Saturday and then gave up 52 unanswered points.

Things escalated quickly as the Aztecs took advantage of the Spartans early in the second quarter. Chase Jasmin jumped into the end zone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and John Baron kicked in the extra point to get ahead 7-6 at the 13:11 mark. After that, red fireworks lit up the clear, dark San Diego sky.

Baron kicked in the 36-yard field goal to put the Aztecs up 10-6 with 16 seconds left in the second quarter. The Spartans had a 1st and 10, but they took a knee to conclude the first half. San Diego State took a 10-6 lead to the locker room.

Baron kicked in the 22-yard field goal to expand the Aztecs’ lead 13-6 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. There were a lot of critics who were surprised the game was this close, but the Spartans’ offense and defense was able to tread water this time around.

Before everyone knew it, San Jose State evened the score 13-13 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Malike Roberson ran for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and Crawford kicked in the extra point to tie the game.

The Aztecs, however, went ahead 16-13 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter. Baron kicked in the 51-yard field goal that sealed the deal.

San Jose State hasn’t won a road game since November 26, 2016 at Fresno State. The Spartans fought in a game that was supposed to be a blowout for the Aztecs, but their efforts simply weren’t enough as the Aztecs won a tight game, 16-13. With the loss, San Jose State falls to 0-7 (0-3 MW), while San Diego State improves to 6-1 (3-0 MW).

Notes
Spartans’ tight end Josh Oliver continues to be the national leader among tight ends. Oliver is #1 in the nation among tight ends with 5.5 receptions per game, #2 in the nation among tight ends with 66.8 yards per game and in the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference among all receivers in receptions as well as yards per game.

Spartans’ defensive end Boogie Roberts isn’t just a talented defensive end. Roberts is also a naturally born leader who is very well-spoken and that’s why he has been able to elevate his team’s performances on and off the field.

Up Next
The Spartans return home to host the UNLV Rebels next Saturday, October 27 at 3:30 pm PT on ATSN and KLIV 1590 AM.

San Jose State to meet with San Diego State on Saturday night

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The winless San Jose State Spartans are coming off a tough loss to the Army Black Knights. Their next opponent, the San Diego State Aztecs, likely won’t make it any easier for them unless if they run out of gas. The last time these teams played each other, San Diego State blewout San Jose State 52-7 inside CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s conference game between these teams.

Basic facts
San Jose State at San Diego State
Saturday, October 20, 2018
San Diego County Credit Union Stadium, San Diego, Calif., 7:30 pm PT
CBS Sports Network

San Jose State record
0-6, 0-2 Mountain West. Most recently, San Jose State lost to Army 52-3, on October 13. San Jose State’s last win was a 20-17 victory over Mountain West member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.

San Diego State record
5-1, 2-0 Mountain West. San Diego State made it five wins in a row with a 21-17 win over Air Force on October 12.

Series history
San Diego State leads the series, 20-19-2. San Diego State has wins in the last five meetings between these teams including a 38-34 triumph in San Diego on September 22, 2012 to end a 60-year winless streak in San Diego.

Play-by-play details
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. San Diego State’s broadcast begins at 7:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

Television
CBS Sports Network will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State at San Diego State game. Carter Blackburn calls the play-by-play. Aaron Taylor provides analysis. John Schiffren is the sideline reporter. The live telecast is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.

Road trip
For the first time since the September 22 game at Oregon, San Jose State has a road game. San Jose State recently completed their first three-game homestand in 11 seasons. Recently, San Jose State hosted Hawaii on September 29, Colorado State on October 6, and Army West Point (52-3) on October 13. In 2007, San Jose State hosted UC Davis, Idaho and Hawaii on consecutive weeks.

Road victory, maybe?
San Jose State’s last win on the road was a 16-14 victory over Fresno State to wrap up the 2016 season. Since then, San Jose State has been 0-8 on the road.

Feast or famine
In its last two games, San Jose State outscored its two opponents, Colorado State and Army, 30-24, in the third quarter. Against Colorado State, San Jose State overcame a 28-0 halftime deficit to take a 30-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Against Army West Point, a 14-3 halftime deficit mushroomed into San Jose State trailing 38-3 after three quarters.

Interception streak ends
San Jose State’s six-game streak intercepting a pass, which began with the 2017 regular season finale against Wyoming ended following the Army West Point loss. Army was 2-of-5 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown. San Jose State has nine interceptions in the first six games this season and are tied tenth nationally in pass interceptions.

Three offensive lines so far
After six games, San Jose State has used three different starting offensive line combinations. Although Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski and Jake Colman have started in every game this season, none of the three have started every game at the same position.

Snyder opened the season at right tackle and has been the starting left tackle since the Washington State. Kowalski moved from left tackle to left guard and Colman moved from left guard to right guard in the same game.

Trevor Robbins had started each of the first five games at center. Kyle Hoppe replaced Robbins in the starting lineup against Army West Point. Deano Motes now has five starts at right tackle. Jesse Chamberlain started the opener at right guard.

Spartan nation, don’t forget you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State football tickets. Enjoy Saturday’s game on CBS Sports Network and/or KLIV 1590 AM.

San Jose sports podcast with Ana Kieu: Yet another loss for the Earthquakes…and SJSU

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On the San Jose sports podcast with Ana:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes wrapped up a friendly against Cruz Azul FC in a scoreless draw last Saturday. What are your three takeaways from the match?

2. The Quakes host the Colorado Rapids on Sunday and close out the season on the road against the Seattle Sounders the following Sunday. What do you see the Quakes doing and what are your score predictions for these matches?

3. The San Jose State Spartans suffered their sixth straight loss 52-3 to the Army Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium last Saturday. You already wrote your three takeaways from that tough loss, but what else can you say about this team?

4. There has been a lot of speculation from the fans and media that San Jose State’s only win will happen versus UNLV at CEFCU Stadium on October 27th. Do you agree with those folks?

Ana does the San Jose sports podcast each week for SportsRadioService.com

Brent Brennan talks San Jose State’s upcoming game at San Diego State

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As you should already know, San Jose State got pummeled by Army 52-3 in a nationally televised game at Levi’s Stadium last Saturday afternoon. SJSU will hit the road to deal with a tough customer, San Diego State, at SDCCU Stadium this Saturday night at 7:30 pm PT on CBSS.

But, in the meantime, Spartans head coach Brent Brennan held his weekly press conference at Simpkins Stadium Center inside CEFCU Stadium on Monday afternoon. Brennan went over a lot of things with the media, but let’s just go over my Q&A with the second-year head coach.

1. Last week, San Jose State had a great week of practice, but it led to a letdown at Levi’s Stadium, which was disappointing to say the least. How will you, and the rest of the coaching staff, make sure that this week’s practice will be even greater?
That started yesterday. We started at six in the morning and brought everybody back early. It gave us a chance to address the issues that we were dealing with during the game and put that game to bed and turn our attention to San Diego State…They’ve been the top–or one of the top–programs in our conference for a long time and it’s a really good opportunity for us to get a start on them and get ready to go as they’ll present you with lots of different challenges because they’ve been so good and they’re so well-established and that’s why we play–we get a change to play with good people. We’re going to have a great week of practice…We had a great team meeting yesterday so that’ll give us a chance to get our team where we want them to go.

2. The Spartan offensive line has to improve in run blocking and pass protection, but what does the Spartan defense have to do in order to keep the team intact?
I think one of the things that was frustrating was late in that game it seemed like we didn’t tackle as well as we should’ve so obviously that’s a big focus for our staff. Our defensive staff right now has been talking about that. The flip side of that is the big picture as an offense you can’t turn the ball over four times in 10 plays and you can’t give them the ball on their side of the 50-yard line three times. We gave it to them on the 25, 25 and the 42…That’s asking too much of your defense to put them in that spot…We just gotta make sure that we’re tackling and getting everybody to the football.

3. Spartan nation watched a game that they’d rather forget. A couple of fans told me that the Spartans should do less fighting and more coaching and practicing of football. What do you have to say to the fans and the critics in general?
Fighting hasn’t been happening during the practices at all. I’d say that I understand the frustration and I’d hope that they’d understand mine. We’re working really hard to try and get on the right track. The best thing about that I can say is buy a ticket, come to a game, support the kids, take a leap of faith with our program and come support these kids who are working so hard.

Spartan nation, don’t forget that you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State tickets. If you’re a San Jose State student, you can visit this link: 

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s blowout loss to Army

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

A San Jose State Spartans football game versus the Army Black Knights? Yeah! There’s a first time for everything.

The Spartans played in a large stadium that’s also the home of the San Francisco 49ers. SJSU, however, got run over by Army 52-3. Bryce Crawford scored an early field goal, but that was all the home team got. The Black Knights basically took over from there.

Here are three takeaways from SJSU’s blowout loss to Army.

Inability to close out a game 
Once again, SJSU was unable to close out a game. As I’ve mentioned in the introduction, the first quarter belonged to SJSU. But, of course, a 3-0 lead wasn’t a comfortable one. Army scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to snatch a 14-3 lead at halftime.

The Spartans never re-energized and brought the fire to the Blue and Gold crowd unless if you’ll count the U.S. Army Officer Ceremony as well as the Spartan Cheer Squad and Spartan Marching Band.

Spartans head coach Brent Brennan said, “It’s really impressive to see where they were and where they came from. Early in the game, I thought our defense was playing great. We were moving the ball on the offense, but there were a couple of costly penalties that hurt our ability to stay on the field and keep their offense off the field, which was really disappointing. The hard part about that scheme was the consistent monotony of it and the infuriating intricacy of how different it was. In the third quarter–after our second or third or fourth turnover–I felt like the dam broke a little with our defense but they played pretty well until then.”

Repeat fumbles
The Spartans suffered from four fumbles, which was disappointing to say the least. Just moments after quarterback Michael Carrillo checked in to the position, a fumble occurred. Carrillo was then sacked from his blindside. Aaron went to the field in hopes of fixing things up for SJSU, but no, Aaron lost the ball at the end of a run.

Okay, the subtraction of these four fumbles wouldn’t have made a significant difference, but SJSU would’ve put up points on the board that they could’ve earned.

Vanishing defense
The Spartans were unable to stop Black Knights quarterback Kelvin Hopkins, Jr., who had the best game of his career thus far. Hopkins, Jr. scored four touchdowns. Hopkins, Jr. also ran for 99 yards along with a season-high three touchdowns and threw for a fourth. It was the first time an Army quarterback has scored three rushing touchdowns in one game since A.J. Schurr had four against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on November 23, 2013.

As a result, Hopkins, Jr. exposed the Spartans’ defense as the Black Knights cruised to a blowout win.

“He made some good runs and yards after contact,” Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken told Fox Sports. “He’s been a much more effective runner than maybe we even anticipated. His physical maturity has helped him, too. He’s a lot stronger than he was a year ago.”

The Spartans took a tough loss from the Black Knights, but there’s nothing they can do about the final score other than to move forward. SJSU will travel to Southern California to take on SDSU next Saturday at 7:30 pm PT on CBSS.

San Jose State gets run over by Army 52-3

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — If you’re a San Jose State football fan, chances are you’ve heard the term “revenue games.” SJSU, a FBS and Mountain West school, has relied on such games to fund its athletic departments. Saturday’s non-conference matchup was another example as the Spartans took on the Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.

Sure, SJSU fans and media members were fired up for this game. After all, it was held in Levi’s Stadium–one of the best, high-end stadiums in the country–and the food has never skimped on flavor! But the Spartans were unable to achieve their goal of defeating the Black Knights.

The Spartans decided to start Montel Aaron as their starting quarterback.

The Spartans got on the board first as Bryce Crawford kicked in a 49-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 4:14 left in the opening quarter. SJSU led Army 3-0 at the end of the quarter.

The Black Knights immediately responded with a 41-yard passing touchdown from Jordan Asberry. Jordan Abercrombie kicked in the extra point for a 7-3 lead just seven seconds into the second quarter. The Black Knights struck with a late touchdown–a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Kelvin Hopkins, Jr.–and another extra point kick from Abercrombie with 12 seconds left in the quarter. Army carried a 14-3 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Black Knights got off to a good start to open the second half. Hopkins, Jr. notched his second touchdown of the game–a 24-yard rushing touchdown–and Abercrombie kicked in the extra point for a 21-3 lead with 9:06 left in the third quarter.

Turnovers, however, affected the Spartans like in previous games. SJSU’s first turnover of the game led to an Army scoring drive. At the time, the Black Knights were unable to add a touchdown, but they settled for a 33-yard field goal from Abercrombie, who added to the scoreboard 24-3 with 7:39 left in the quarter.

But the Black Knights weren’t done yet. Darnell Woolfolk bowled into the end zone for a one-yard rushing touchdown and Abercrombie kicked in the extra point to expand Army’s lead 31-3 with 6:18 left in the quarter.

Hopkins, Jr. scored what appeared to be his third rushing touchdown of the game–a four-yard rushing touchdown–but the play underwent a review. After further review, the ruling on the touchdown stood and Abercrombie kicked in the extra point to enlarge the lead 38-3 with 1:44 left in the quarter.

Following the Army touchdown, Aaron returned to the field and replaced Michael Carrillo. Aaron completed a pass to Thai Cottrell for seven yards to the SJSU 39 for a Spartan first down and then completed another pass to Tre Walker for nine yards to the SJSU 32. The Black Knights led 38-3 at the end of the quarter.

The Spartans committed another turnover that led to a Black Knights touchdown–a 52-yard fumble touchdown from James Nachtigal–and a PAT kick from Abercrombie, who made it 45-3 just 28 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Spartans opened the scoring, but the Black Knights took the lead and never looked back. Army defeated SJSU 52-3 and it wasn’t even close.

“I thought the personal foul at the end of the game was embarrassing and awful and wrong,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “I’ve already addressed it with the team as there’s no place for that.”

“This was a total gut punch for our program, Brennan added. “I thought we were making great progress and I was actually encouraged about our practices and what it shows is that we’re not ready to make the next move.”

Aside from Brennan, the Spartan players had other thoughts on this game.

“We’re ready to move on,” defensive lineman Bryson Bridges said. “We played to the best of our abilities.”

When asked about pursuing the next level, cornerback Dakari Monroe responded, “Yes. Definitely. Since I came here, I’ve always wanted to play at the next level. I definitely want to pursue that.”

Last but not least, running back Tyler Nevens closed out the postgame press conference. Nevens reflected on his injury, asserting the media members, “I’m feeling good. I’m feeling more comfortable. My injury took me a lot of time to heal and get back to being the football player that I am. I showed them what I got.”

Notes
The Spartans’ possible starters were JaQuan Blackwell, Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski, Trevor Robbins, Jake Colman, Deano Motes, Josh Oliver, Josh Love, Tyler Nevens, Thai Cottrell and Tre Hartley on offense and Bryson Bridges, Boogie Roberts, Sailosi Latu, Jesse Osuna, Kyle Harmon, Ethan Aguayo, Jamal Scott, Dakar Monroe, John Touissaint, Tre Webb and Jonathan Lenard, Jr. on defense.

Up Next 
The Spartans will travel to Qualcomm Stadium to take on the San Diego State Aztecs next Saturday at 7:30 pm PT on CBSS.

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Not much left for San Jose to salvage

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On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana:

1. The Quakes lost to the Red Bulls 3-1 at Avaya Stadium this past Saturday. What are your three takeaways from San Jose’s loss to New York?

2. The #WondoWatch continues as Chris Wondolowski scored his 144th MLS goal in the Quakes’ loss to the Red Bulls. Wondo’s just two goals away from matching Landon Donovan’s career-scoring mark of 146 goals.

3. The Quakes host the Colorado Rapids this Saturday and wrap up the season on the road against the Seattle Sounders FC. What are your three keys to a Quakes win for the final two matches?

4. Time to flip the script to San Jose State football. The Spartans lost to the Colorado State Rams 42-30, despite putting up 30 unanswered points in the second half. With the loss, San Jose State lost its fifth straight game. What’s the bottom line for the Spartans?

5. The Spartans head to Levi’s Stadium to face off against the Army Black Knights this Saturday. What does going into a well-known stadium with five consecutive losses mean for San Jose State?

Ana does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

San Jose State to host Army at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans are set to host the Army Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 pm PT on ESPNU and Watch ESPN.

In case you missed it, check out head coach Brent Brennan’s most recent press conference regarding the Spartans.

Here’s what you should know coming into Saturday’s matinee:

San Jose State’s record
0-5, 0-2 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost to Colorado State, 42-30, on October 6th.

Army West Point’s record
3-2. Most recently, the Black Knights defeated the Buffalo Bulls, 42-13, on September 29th.

What channels will the game be on?
ESPNU and WatchESPN will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-Army game.  The live telecast is scheduled for 12:30 pm PT.

What stations will the game be broadcasted?
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary.

The Army broadcast begins at 12:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

SJSU’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

For the first time
This will be the first meeting between the two teams. SJSU and Army are slated to play a home-and-home series through the 2021 season. The Black Knights would be the home team in 2019 and 2021.

38th school
SJSU will become the 38th school to play the three FBS service academy teams (Air Force, Army and Navy) with the completion of the Army game.

30 points
SJSU’s one of at least two teams to score 30 points in a quarter this season with its 30-point third quarter in its recent 42-30 loss to Colorado State.

North Texas scored 31 points in the second quarter of a 58-16 win over Incarnate Word on September 8th.

The last time SJSU scored 30 or more points in a quarter was a 35-point second quarter in a 69-41 win at UTEP on November 3, 2003.

Safety first
For the first time since playing in the 2012 Military Bowl, SJSU was credited with a two-point safety when Boogie Roberts tackled Colorado State running back Izzy Matthews in the Rams’ end zone on a first-down rushing attempt that started at the two-yard line.

National leader
Dakari Monroe’s the FBS national leader in passes defended with his 2.4 average. Monroe was credited with a personal single-game best four pass break-ups in the Colorado State game on October 6th.

For the season, Monroe has two pass interceptions and 10 pass break-ups.

The Josh Oliver factor
For the fifth consecutive week, Josh Oliver is the leading pass receiver among FBS tight ends. Oliver is averaging 6.20 receptions a game and has 31 catches for the season.

Oliver’s the only tight end listed among the FBS’ top-50 pass receivers in games played through October 6.

22 of Oliver’s 31 receptions this season resulted in a SJSU first down.

Oliver and Stanford’s Kaden Smith share the national lead for receiving yards by a listed tight end at 382 in games played through October 6th.

#22 is #2 again
For the second consecutive week, Thai Cottrell ranks second nationally in kickoff return average at 33.9 per return.

This season, Cottrell has returns of 96 at Oregon, 72 versus Hawaii and 44 yards versus Colorado State. Cottrell’s previous long return was 28 yards during the 2017 season.

Five-game streak in 2018
For the first time since the 2013 season, SJSU has a pass interception in five consecutive games in the same season.  With a pair of interceptions in the final game of the 2017 season, the Spartans have a six-game streak going intercepting a pass.

SJSU added two interceptions to its total versus Colorado State on October 6th. The Spartans have nine for the season–three more than in 2017–to rank seventh nationally among FBS schools.

Spartan nation, keep in mind that the Spartans have the heart, grit and energy. All the Spartans need to top off their actions is to put more than two wins in the win column this season.

San Jose State looks forward to Saturday’s game vs. Army at Levi’s Stadium

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This past weekend, San Jose State flipped the script by putting up 30 unanswered points versus Colorado State. While the Spartans saw a boost in their confidence levels, the “C” grade went to the Rams, who won last Saturday’s game 42-30 for a strange victory.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon, where head coach Brent Brennan gave his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center at CEFCU Stadium.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. It appears that the Spartans don’t have a strategy to close out football games. Has the coaching staff found a way to ensure the team won’t allow the next opponent to retake the lead and eventually win the game?
The goal is always to win the game. The hard part is closing out a game. I think everyone we play is good. It’s hard to beat anybody. So what it comes down to is being locked in and finding a way to either get a stop or move the football. We had multiple chances in the last two games to do that, so obviously that’s something that we’ve been talking about a lot.

2. The Spartans’ on-the-field confidence looks like it has increased. How can the team continue to ride high on its momentum coming into Saturday’s game vs. Army? Army most recently blew out Buffalo 42-13.
Army’s got a really good football team. I think everybody knows that. I think they have the total respect of everybody in this country. For us to continue to build some momentum, continue to develop as a football team, the biggest, most important thing is how we practice tomorrow. That’s the next chance for our players to get coached up and watch the film and get some comfort with what we’re doing, so tomorrow’s a really important day and the best way for us to build on our momentum is to continue to practice our tails off and continue to put in the work that’s necessary to win.

3. There’s a chance there will be an increase in fans and viewers for Saturday’s game at Levi’s Stadium. Do you think the extra crowd noise will be a positive factor for the Spartans?
Yes, absolutely!

Spartan nation, don’t miss out on the VIP-style events this week. The Spartans will be hosting Casino Night at Santana Row this Thursday. All proceeds will benefit the Spartan Athletic Fund. You can register through this link: . After that, San Jose State will take on Army at Levi’s Stadium for a Saturday matinee at 12:30 pm PT. If you can’t make it Saturday, you can watch the national stream on ESPNU or listen to the local broadcast on KLIV 1590 AM.