Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
San Jose State running backs coach Alonzo “Zo” Carter is a man of mantras. His office whiteboard looks like a Jackson Pollock painting of football-inspired acronyms and slogans.
Amongst the scattering is ‘be the standard’.
There’s an infinite amount of places where it can be applied throughout SJSU football. Possibly the most relevant was the Spartans’ run attack in the fourth quarter of their 33-16 win over Wyoming.
On 14 attempts, the Spartans went for 84 rushing yards, five first downs and controlled the ball for 10:03 in the 4th quarter. Senior running back Kairee Robinson contributed 49 of them, ending with a season-high 102 on the ground.
Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro takes rightful ownership of the lone rushing score of the quarter.
On the surface, the play was meaningful because it shut the door on a Wyoming comeback.
But from a broader view, it pinpointed the vast strides the running game has made this season.
The play hinged upon whether or not Wyoming’s defense took the proverbial cheese and committed to stopping running back Shamar Garrett.
Through the first two games, the Spartans had rushed for a combined 103 yards in both tilts (only Colorado State and Boston College were averaging fewer rushing yards per game among FBS teams).
In essence, the block of cheese wasn’t enticing enough to rid a defender of his assignment.
However, with SJSU running the ball successfully, defenders took the bait, allowing Cordeiro to gallop into the end zone for his third touchdown of the day.
“You got to pick your poison with us,” said Carter.
“You know those run lanes are going to open up. We just be patient, do our role and have confidence that when it’s time for us to make a play we’ll make a play.”
When the home stretch rolled around and plays needed to be made running back Kairee Robinson certainly played his part.
Saturday’s 33-16 win became his second-consecutive game going for at least 80 yards on the ground.
“It was just all the O-line and me just following them and setting it up for us,” said Robinson.
Robinson’s closing performance helped right the ship of a less-than-stellar first half.
Before the fourth quarter began, Carter saw Robinson wasn’t winning his individual battles.
“It was blocked up real well by the O-line and tight end, but we didn’t hit it on a couple plays and left that money on the field.”
Eventually, “An angry Kairee” as Carter put it, came around.
Not only “angry,” but smart and mistake-free. Several plays showed Robinson staying between the tackles and away from the sidelines, milking the clock down second by second.
His milking of the clock put a cork in any chance of a Wyoming comeback. As well as setting the standard for what should happen the rest of this SJSU football season