What went well and what needs to continue after Spartan football’s opening night thriller
By Navin Sunjay Krishnan (@NavinKthespear) – Spear Opinion Columnist
Lady luck showed up last Thursday as the Spartans’ football team were able to secure their first win in their bout with the Portland State Vikings. It was a thriller and SJSU fans slithered out of CEFCU stadium wide-eyed and confident.
The Spartan’s home stadium nearly broke an attendance record (16,291) in nearly a decade (Sept. 17, 2011).
When all eyes were on starting quarterback and Hawaii transfer Chevan Cordeiro and the offense as he passed for 239 yards and took the game into his own hands, rumbling and stumbling for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Cordeiro made a game-winning play as he bolted for the end zone with 1:11 left in the game. The SJSU crowd exploded as the starting quarterback slashed through the seams of a porous Vikings defense.
Despite the challenging anomaly they will face on Sept. 10 against Auburn, the Spartans have a chance to come away with a victory. In order to produce an intimidating effort, the Spartans must key in on five aspects.
One: Junior cornerback Keyon Reed must play big-time football. Reed forced the first interception for SJSU at the nine-yard line. The Spartans forced two interceptions and recovered a fumble. They did not turn the ball over, a stat that must be consistent this season in order for SJSU to be prosperous.
Two: Senior running back Kairee Robinson has to be aggressive. Robinson had a virtuous beginning to his season with SJSU’s first advancement: a nine-yard run. Robinson tallied 85 yards throughout the season-opener. It seems all Robinson didn’t do was score a touchdown, but fans should keep their eyes peeled as he had one touchdown during the 2021 season and two touchdowns in his 2020 tenure.
Three: Clutch play must continue. SJSU had their flaws, but they were locked in and determined to get a win. The Spartans had multiple chances to tie the game up when they were down 17-14. Part of this was Portland State’s seven penalties versus three for the Spartans. Determination isn’t an element that shows on the stat sheet, but it was easy to see SJSU charge forward rather than hang their heads. Senior linebacker Jordan Cobbs picked off Portland State late in the fourth quarter to give the Spartans all the juice they needed to pull out their home-opener.
Four: All-around defense is key. It may sound redundant, but defense can flip-flop a goliath-type game into a winnable effort. Every time the Spartans needed to limit the Vikings offense, their defensive line was locked in. An example of this was the end of the first half, when SJSU stopped Portland State in their tracks dangerously close to a touchdown as the clock ticked out of time. Graduate student linebacker Kyle Harmon led the defense with 11 tackles and Cobbs had eight tackles to intimidate the Vikings’ offense. Their defense wasn’t perfect, but it was significant enough to secure a win.
Five: Communication and chemistry will be a key factor in future games. Portland State put out a valiant effort in their visit to San Jose, but the Spartans will need to assimilate their efforts if they want to prove people wrong. Cordeiro was able to open the game strong, running 32 yards for a touchdown of his own to put the Spartans on the board. But if SJSU are to maximize their potential, it won’t be stardom or single efforts. Winning plays are made together, and the Spartans flexed just that. A pass to Robinson gave SJSU the yardage they needed to survey the field. Eventually, this set up junior tight end Sam Olson for a touchdown to put the Spartans up 14-7. Senior punter Travis Benham did an excellent job of punting the ball on Thursday. He would pin the Vikings at the one-yard line and had a total of 223 punt yards.
Auburn is a game Spartan nation should look forward to as their football team test their limits against an SEC powerhouse. The game on Sept. 10 will be aired on ESPNU at Jordan-Hare stadium in Alabama at 4:30 p.m.