Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
Both San Jose State running back Kairee Robinson and Western Michigan cornerback Dorian Jackson were zeroed in on the goal line.
Each one braced for a bone-rattling collision, while also knowing there could only be one winner.
The two got behind their pads, dipped their shoulders and collided.
One player stood victorious. The other was blown to smithereens.
I’ll let you decide who was who here:
It was a physical, violent and downright primitive jubilee. But most importantly, it was all set up by an inexperienced offensive line that SJSU head coach Brent Brennan called, “A work in progress,” earlier that week.
Robinson’s aforementioned touchdown accounted for five of the Spartans’ 128 rushing yards. Which doesn’t seem like much in plain writing.
However, for offensive line coach Josh Oglesby it was “everything” he’s been looking for.
Right tackle Jaime Navarro clamped up WMU’s Braden Fiske moving him to the middle of the field and rendering him useless. When combined with tight end Sam Olson maneuvering his assignment completely to the left it opened up a gap that a school of whales could fit through.
“There were a few runs like that on Saturday where there was great movement at the line of scrimmage,” said Oglesby. “Once again, it goes back to the hard work those guys put in and the accrued reps of doing the same thing, over and over and over again.”
When Anthony Pardue says Oglesby was, “definitely pleased,” it might not sound like much.
After all, “pleased” is a word used to describe a halfway decent experience at a carwash.
But, in this pocket of the world, “pleased” is equivalent to popping champagne.
Following the Spartans’ first two games, “pleased” wouldn’t be a way to describe the O-line’s performance from Oglesby or any fan.
In the Spartans’ first two games, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro was sacked 14 times as Portland State and Auburn accrued 18 tackles for loss. Adding to that, SJSU running backs combined for just 80 total yards over both games.
It was barely enough to win one game, and not enough for the next.
The struggles were expected. SJSU came into the season having three of five players on their offensive line with zero true college football experience.
“There are so many new pieces and pieces that have never done it before,” said Oglesby. “Each game is a learning experience and I think you’ve seen the progression from week one to last Saturday.”
The giant step taken in the right direction was seen through Robinson’s career-high 81 yards on the ground. It also manifests itself in Cordeiro being given enough time to pick the Broncos’ secondary apart.
While taking necessary steps forward, there was also some backsliding along the way.
“Even if we had a good game, we know there’s things that need to get better and those things are glaring,” said Pardue.
Those “glaring” things are, “just technique things. Kickfoots on the tackles, hands, finishing the plays, small little missed assignments here, there. If we continue to do that, we could probably have run for 200 yards.”
This is why the Spartans team motto is ‘climb the mountain.’ It’s a war of upwards mobility where there’s nary a time to stay at the same spot or trek back.
The next test for the offensive line will take place in Laramie byway of Wyoming for the Spartans’ first conference game of 2022.