Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Football Beat Reporter
SJSU football will be participating in bowl season for the second time in three years as they’re set to face Eastern Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 20 at 12:30 p.m.
Back-to-back California Bowl appearances in 1986-87 were the last time SJSU (7-4, 5-3 MW) accomplished this feat. The 1987 matchup was the last time both teams squared off and ended in a 30-27 Eastern Michigan win.
The Eagles (8-4, 5-3 MAC) went to four bowl games since then – all in the last seven years – but fell short in heartbreaking fashion three times.
The Spartans are 7-4 in bowl games. Their last appearance featured a 34-13 loss to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl and its last win came in the 2015 Cure Bowl over Georgia State.
Boise State and its blue ‘smurf turf’ will host both teams and its tradition for the winning head coach to receive a gatorade bath of french fries.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be going to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl,” said SJSU head coach Brent Brennan, who’s the second coach in program history to lead a team to two bowl games. “Boise is a great town and we’re excited to take our team there.
Free from COVID-19
The 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl experience will be a night-and-day from the 2020 Arizona Bowl.
In 2020, SJSU football was without 30-plus players due to COVID-19 protocols and couldn’t enjoy the typical bowl week festivities.
“It’s been a long time since our program has been in this position,” said Brennan following SJSU’s win over Colorado State to clinch bowl eligibility.
“The last time was during COVID and that felt nothing like this. We had games with no fans, we had no parents after games, none of our families got to see our kids. This is a whole different world for us, it’s really exciting.”
It was a bummer of an ending for SJSU football and its fans after the program’s first undefeated regular season and Mountain West title.
Face of old, faces anew
Defensively, the Spartans look nearly identical to the 2020 squad that allowed the third lowest points per game in the Mountain West (19.9).
Cade Hall, the 2020 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, just earned an All-Mountain West first team and his defensive end battery mate, Junior Fehoko, is 2022’s Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
Fehoko’s 18.5 tackles for loss were the most in the Mountain West and fourth-most in the nation. His nine sacks are second in the conference and 10th in the nation.
Hall (7.5 sacks) and Fehoko are one of two teammates to both finish top 30 in the nation in quarterback takedowns.
SJSU football still featured 2020 standouts like linebacker Kyle Harmon, cornerback Nehemiah Shelton and safety Tre Jenkins.
SJSU ranked sixth in red zone defense in the country at 71.4 percent, despite transitioning from dominant to maligned to end the season.
However, offensively it’s a completely new look.
Hawaii-transfer Chevan Cordeiro lit up the conference for a career-high 2,885 yards and a career-high 20 touchdowns this season which both lead the Mountain West.
The All-Mountain West second team signal-caller, who spent four seasons at UH before arriving at SJSU this winter, dashed for a career-high eight touchdowns which is the most for an SJSU quarterback in the modern era.
He’s a key reason as to why SJSU has +12 turnover margin – best in the Mountain West and sixth-best nationwide.
Nevada transfers All-Mountain West first team Elijah Cooks and honorable mention Justin Lockhart have also been phenomenal in their first season as Spartans.
Cooks finished with a Mountain West-leading 10 touchdowns and is second in the conference with a career-high 983 yards.
He went for seven touchdowns in his final four games of the season, including a hat trick against Utah State.
Lockhart was hobbled most of the year by an ankle injury, but still managed to snag 34 balls for 566 yards receiving, giving him the third-best yards per catch in the conference (16.6).
Quick look at EMU
EMU’s senior defensive end Jose Ramirez led the nation with 12 sacks and finished second in the nation with 19.5 tackles for loss.
The senior landed a 2022 MAC defensive player of the year award – the first such honor in program history.
The eight wins are the most in school history since the Eagles won the 1987 California Bowl.
“Our team is excited to represent our conference once again on a national level, and to play on the field together as a team one more time this season,” EMU head coach Chris Creighton said.
Eastern Michigan made headlines when they upset Arizona State which, the MAC’s first-ever win over the Pac-12.
SJSU is set to play Eastern Michigan two more times this decade – on the road Sept. 5, 2026 and at CEFCU Stadium on Sept. 1, 2029.
Western Michigan is the lone common opponent between both squads.
SJSU blew them out 34-6 earlier this season and EMU defeated them 38-19 to finish the regular season with a Michigan MAC title.
A Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win would add another rich layer to Brennan’s already impressive turnaround at SJSU.