After an hour-long meeting that could’ve been settled with two emails, you walk over to the water cooler for a little chit-chat with coworkers. Immediately you find yourself waterboarded with drivel and personal tragedies. For some that’s fine, but not you. You’re someone who just wants to talk about Spartan football.
I present to you: Water Cooler Talk. A column that supplies you with three (hopefully interesting) topics about SJSU football for the optimal shuck and jiving experience by a beat reporter inside the arena.
Plenty to write home about
SJSU’s Tarren Schive’s onsides kick with 2:11 minutes left, mirrored a bocce ball;
The football sped along the grass, never skipping up and taking a fortuitous hop.
When the ball landed out of bounds, the Spartans were dead to their rights.
Before, it was anybody’s ball game.
“That’s a tough pill to swallow to fly all the way across the country, to play your ass off and not finish. It is disappointing,” said SJSU head coach Brent Brennan following SJSU’s 24-16 loss.
The Spartans went into the half, leading 10-7 and their biggest deficit of the day was 11 points. A margin that could be matched, or flipped, in a heartbeat.
But, in the fourth quarter, the Tigers never turned the ball over, committed a penalty or allowed a single sack.
All things found by Abby from “NCIS” if she were to do a forensics report on a losing team following a monumental upset.
Something you’d find all too often this past weekend…
On the other hand, the Spartans deserve their flowers for not trailing off.
That started with never letting Auburn running back Tank Bigsby turn into his namesake. Something that Mercer couldn’t say the same for last week.
Auburn did get their piece of the pie, running for 210 yards, but Bigsby only chipped in for 51 in their ground attack.
I say only because he did this to Mercer last week:
But SJSU’s front line turned him into memeable material:
SJSU’s defense kept every single player at bay.
Quarterback T.J. Finley threw for 167 yards, one touchdown and one pick, and Ja’Varrius Johnson had a team-high 41-yards receiving. All numbers that the naked eye glazes over.
Although four passing plays went for 15-plus yards and seven rushing plays went for 10-plus yards, none of them gained more than 35 yards nor resulted in a touchdown. No play reminded you that this was a Group 5 team stepping into SEC country.
It was there for the taking
First and foremost, SJSU deserves credit for coming close to upsetting Auburn. The flip side of that is identifying what stopped them from pulling off mayhem.
When it comes to leaving points on the field, you immediately look at Tarren Schive’s missed 40-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.
Should he have made it? Yes.
Would it have helped? Absolutely.
Was this what stood between SJSU head coach Brent Brennan and a Gatorade bath? Nope. Not even close.
Schive redeemed himself by making his next three attempts. But that’s the problem. Schive shouldn’t have attempted four field goals on the night.
When the Tigers’ first four drives resulted in 16-yards and two interceptions, SJSU only tacked on three points
The offense’s drive after Chase Williams’ jaw-dropping interception is a glowing example of not sucking the marrow out of each opportunity.
Williams’ stellar snag, gave quarterback Chevan Cordeiro and the offense starting field position at Auburn’s 28-yard line.
Three plays later the offense had a first-and-goal from Auburn’s one-yard line.
First down Cordeiro rushed for no gain, second down running back Kairee Robinson was stymied in the backfield for a one-yard loss leading to a critical third-and-goal.
What proceeded was a blood-boiling, eye-scratching and nightmare igniting ensemble of football.
Just. Can’t. Happen.
The Spartans were in arms reach of Auburn’s student section so that potentially influenced the timeouts and false starts.
Still, if you want to play spoiler, you have to “be the one who knocks.”
That means hitting paydirt close to the endzone, something the Spartans would do later in the first half.
Good news! They swam
It was the storyline all week:
How would SJSU’s offensive line, containing three players who’d never played a down of college football entering 2022, fare against Auburn’s front?
They were completely outmatched physically.
The Tigers’ starting offensive line averages out at 6’5 and 314-pounds, while SJSU has no one over 300 pounds.
It was a true sink or swim scenario. The time for wearing bright, dinosaur floaties and splashing around in an inflatable, two-foot deep kiddie pool was over.
When the dust cleared, the offensive line put on a confidence-bolstering display of football.
Drives were able to progress down the field. Receivers Charles Ross, Justin Lockhart and Elijah Cooks had time to operate. Cordeiro wasn’t blown to bits, constantly fearing for his life like a soldier who ignored the minefield memo from his sergeant.
However, improvements in the run game are still needed.
The Spartans rushed for 54-yards and never had a single rushing attempt for 10 yards or more.
Work needs to be done moving forward.
However, they were much better at not moving backwards.
Portland State’s 11 tackles for loss and 7 sacks compounded for a whopping 65 yards lost.
Against Auburn, a front that’s unequivocally better, SJSU gave up six tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 43 fewer yards lost.
The game-to-game improvements didn’t require a wishful thinking expedition, where the truth was bent and loosened every step of the way.
Nope. Not here. These are palpable, cold-hearted stats.
There you have it. Three topics to take your small talk levels to heights that go beyond this stratosphere. Now stop procrastinating and get to work before Mr. Bossman catches you nodding off.
Just like SJSU, Water Cooler Talk will also be on the bye week.