Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
Matt Weiner’s “Get Smart” column is here to prepare you for SJSU football tailgates and watch parties with three tidbits, bound to make you sound smart, sophisticated and interesting. If you bring up any of these three topics and no one’s intrigued, find some new company to keep.
Rebels With A Cause
Here’s a sentence no one has ever heard:
UNLV (4-1, 1-0) and San Jose State (3-1, 1-0) will be the best Mountain West matchup of week six.
While the Spartans have had their share of struggles, UNLV has been perpetually down bad.
How bad?
Down as bad as guys who pay $50 for a picture with Showgirls on the strip.
Since 2015, the Rebels have won at least five games once in a season and finished their last two seasons with a combined 2-16 record. The 2020 COVID-19 season saw them going 0-6.
Completely different story now.
Led by quarterback Doug Brumfield (stay tuned for Doug’s stats), the Rebels have become the darling of college football.
Heartwarming to see comments like this.
The UNLV hype train has been full steam ahead following last Friday night’s electric win, and is now pulling into CEFCU station with a perfect potential for chaos.
New Mexico put the hurt on UNLV early, going up 17-0 with 13 minutes to play in the half. But as a touching tribute to Las Vegas-based films , it would be the Lobos who were left loathing in Sin City.
The Rebels scored 24 straight points on three field goals from Daniel Gutierrez and touchdown runs from Brumfield and Aidan Robbins.
New Mexico snuck in a field goal to make the score 24-20 and had a chance to win. But as Las Vegas tradition goes, rarely does a winning chance actually result in a win.
The Matchup Within The Matchup
Last week’s stat section of Get Smart was a lazy performance. I went with my first read instead of moving out of the pocket and making a play happen.
Well, folks this week I got after it. Time to let it fly.
Spartans’ quarterback Chevan Cordeiro is only one of three quarterbacks in the country to have thrown for 1,000-plus yards without an interception.
But allow me to take this one step further.
UNLV is second in the nation with 11 interceptions.
This is a King Kong versus Godzilla moment.
Adding to that, the Spartans are one of only four teams without a turnover in 2022.
Opposing signal-caller Doug Brumfield has thrown two picks, but he’s been phenomenal thus far.
He leads the conference in passing yards (1,223), passing touchdowns (8) and QB efficiency (154.5).
Depending on how Friday night goes, 2022 could be the year of the Doug for college athletics.
SJSU Football Conversation Starters
Here are three SJSU football storylines so you don’t have to fake care and ask about someone’s kids or job to get a conversation going.
- SJSU head coach Brent Brennan was in UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo’s wedding. The two coached at SJSU together from 2005 to 2008, and according to Brennan, have very different sizes of biceps.
- Last week, defensive lineman Noah Wright went down for 20-plus minutes and left the field on a stretcher. Earlier this week, Brennan revealed something he’s “never heard of” take place afterwards.
- You might be interested to see the Spartans will face the Bulldogs down in Fresno next week. Now, don’t get too excited, business still needs to be handled Friday night against UNLV. But if the Spartans head down to 4-1 against Fresno State and win, maybe it’s … Mountain West ring season?
Consider yourself armed with enough SJSU football artillery to be an intellectual menace at any tailgate or watch party you attend this Saturday.