By Matthew Gonzalez — Reporter
San Jose State football will face off against Nevada in its final and most important game of the regular season.
The game will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County.
“We thought coming down the stretch we would get to play two games in CEFCU Stadium which we were excited about,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “But that went away so now we got to do the best we can … what other choice do we have?”
The past couple weeks have been chaotic for SJSU football, athletic director Marie Tuitie voiced her experience with rescheduling the game this week and possibly for future games.
“I’ve got more plans and more protocols, it was exhausting to be honest,” Tuite said. “But I do think the conversations we’ve been having for months really prepared us for what we’ve been going through.”
The Spartans have never defeated the Wolfpack under head coach Brent Brennan but the last game came down to the wire in a 41-38 Wolf Pack victory.
Nevada is the subjectively the best passing team the Spartans will play this season. Quarterback Carson Strong ranks second in the Mountain West in total offense and has the best statistical wide receiver in the conference with Romeo Doubs who has racked up a total of 44 receptions and nine touchdowns.
Not only does the Wolf Pack have an aerial attack that matches up with the Spartans, Nevada running back Toa Taua ran all over the Spartans last season marking up 160 yards and a touchdown.
Coach Brennan has nothing but praise for the junior out of Lompoc, Calif but also has full faith in his improved defense.
“He’s such a good player [Taua], he combines a unique brand of physicality and speed for a body that big,” Brennan said. “So the most important part about that is playing good defense, guys being sound, being in their gaps and playing with physicality and I think our defense has done a good job with that.
The story of the Spartans’ win against Hawai’i was the rush attack, which will be crucial in the upcoming game against Nevada as the Spartans are at their best when the passing and running game are firing on all cylinders.
“We need to take care of the football and be balanced in our attack … that’s been such a big part of us this year in the games we’ve played against good people,” Brennan said. “I think defensively they have so many weapons, so we have to contain their big play people.”
Kickoff is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Follow Matthew on Twitter @Matthewmgonz01