By Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear Reporter | Photo via SJSU Athletics
Hello and welcome to Matt’s Monday Mailbag™ your go-to destination for all pressing SJSU football and men’s basketball matters.
Enough chit-chatting. Let’s get into it.
Ricky Delgado: @RickyDe70535587
“That game last night was odd. They had 20 days to prepare for this CCU team. CCU showed some unique looks defensively. I’ve never watched them play before but were those looks something that was on tape for our coaches to dissect, or did they bust those looks out for this game?”
San Jose State scored a season-low 14 points because of roster fluctuation – not Coastal Carolina’s defensive scheme. If key run game cogs in left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr. and tight end Dominick Mazotti didn’t transfer to Arkansas and Massachusetts, respectively, I doubt that same meager performance would’ve transpired.
Some may say ‘But they put up 159 total rushing yards.’ I call it misleading because 59 came via scrambles from quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. This leaves running backs Kairee Robinson (67) and Quali Conley (33) to combine for 100 rushing yards – their lowest total since the Boise State loss that sunk SJSU to 1-5.
Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587
“Kairee had an uncharacteristic game but don’t let it take away what he did this year. I don’t remember the last time we had a thousand yard back and he definitely will be considered one of the greatest RB’s in the last 30 years. Thank you to him, Chev and all the other seniors.”
I straight up feel terrible for Kairee. How could you not?
Sure, he had two costly fumbles in the Hawaii Bowl, including one on first-and-goal, however, by breaking the single-season rushing touchdowns mark (18) and total touchdowns mark (20) he flung the Spartans from 1-5 to the Hawaii Bowl in the first place.
A bitter end to an otherwise sweet career where he finishes third all-time in rushing yards (2,713).
Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587
“Well it’s basketball season now. At the beginning of the year I thought we (basketball) were going to be good defensively but lacking offensively without Omari. But, we can actually score and have contributors everywhere. Any concerns with the defense or will they figure it out?”
I’d say I’m concerned, but the 81-78 upset over Santa Clara (No. 105 in NET) is encouraging heading into conference play. Maybe “figuring it out” means allowing 71-74 points per game and relying heavily upon the offense to squeeze out a .500 record?
Moving forward, the hope for SJSU’s defense is that its inexperienced front-court rotation of freshman Diogo “DJ” Seixas and sophomores William Humer and Adrame Diongue have garnered enough reps to establish a feel and confidence. Keep in mind Diongue’s the only one with game experience and that was just 6.3 minutes per game at Washington State last year.
“The Hawaii Bowl to me was a missed opportunity for @SanJoseStateFB. Way too many mistakes. Too many passengers. Maybe a little too much time on the island to boot. SJSU did rally late but it would not be enough. Not their best game of the season by any means. #MissedOpportunity.”
Yes, a major missed opportunity – especially since SJSU was a 10.5-point favorite. But if you’re saying a tropical atmosphere plagued SJSU then how can you explain the loss in the 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl? SJSU looked even more ill-prepared for that game than it did on Saturday.
Ricky Delgado @RickyDe70535587
“Do you have any updates on Iggy Mitchell or other injured players on the basketball team? I know RP and Rob are done for the year which is unfortunate, but what about the other guys?”
No updates on them right now, but expect one from me soon.
Inspired by the gif, here’s a Dewey compilation video to lift the spirits.
Also, is Malcolm in the Middle the most slept-on sitcom of the 21st century?
