By Benny Garcia — Editor
San Jose State football (3-4, 1-2 MW) heads to Nevada to take on UNLV (0-6, 0-2 MW) on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Las Vegas.
It will be the first time the Spartans play on a Thursday since last season when they went up against Ball State University at the Arizona Bowl where they lost, 34-13.
It will also be their first regular-season matchup on a Thursday night since Aug. 29, 2019, when they opened the season with a win against Northern Colorado University, 35-18.
Strangely enough, that SJSU football team is not so different from the one taking the field against UNLV.
In 2019, the Spartans were 3-4 and entered the game fresh off back-to-back losses, the most recent of the two losses coming by the hands of the SDSU Aztecs on Homecoming night.
Nonetheless, the Spartans enter the game against UNLV after an exhausting double-overtime defeat to SDSU, 19-13.
While falling short to the Aztecs, in his weekly press conference head coach Brent Brennan said, “I thought our guys played really, really hard.”
He admitted that the team was disappointed that they couldn’t find a way to finish the game.
“You don’t have time to dwell on that,” said Brennan. “Because you have to get ready to play really, really quickly.”
After five days of rest, the Spartans must look ahead to their game against UNLV.
In their short history against the Runnin’ Rebels, SJSU is 6-2.
The most recent win was on Nov. 14, 2020, where the Spartans blew UNLV out, 34-17 at CEFCU Stadium.
It’s safe to say that the Runnin’ Rebels have not been playing their best football to date.
They’ve lost six straight games to open the year, with their largest margin of defeat being 45 points after getting routed by Iowa State on Sept. 18, 48-3.
Opponents have outscored UNLV, 210-117.
On average, the Runnin’ Rebels are scoring 19.5 points per game, while allowing opponents to score 35 points per game.
Look for junior quarterback Nick Nash to have a huge impact on the game, as UNLV has allowed 17 touchdowns and 1812 yards passing.
While the Runnin’ Rebels haven’t reached what seems like an elusive win, Brennan believes that they have been playing competitive football after watching them play against Utah State last Saturday.
“How hard they play, how they’re with the effort they’re playing with,” said Brennan. “I think that’s what makes them dangerous, they’re still making the effort to play good football and they’re not discouraged about where they’re at.”
Kick-off is at 8 p.m. on Thursday night in Las Vegas with the game being aired on the CBS Sports Network.
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