By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter | Junior running back Floyd Chalk IV stiff arms a defender during SJSU’s 35-31 win against Nevada on 10/5. (photo by Mat Bejarano – Editor for The Spear)
San Jose State (4-2, 2-1 MW) faces off against Wyoming (1-5, 1-1 MW) in a must-win game for the Spartans.
SJSU is two wins away from being bowl eligible and after this game the schedule gets a lot harder.
Fresno State (3-3, 1-1 MW), Oregon State (4-2) and No. 15 Boise State (5-1, 2-0 MW) are the next three games slated for SJSU.
The Spartans have been a part of a few one possession games this season including last week’s 31-24 loss to Colorado State.
“We’re maybe three plays away from being undefeated and probably a play away from being three and three,” SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo said.
During the game against Colorado State the Spartans offense swapped between sophomore quarterback Emmett Brown and junior quarterback Walker Eget five different times before Eget settled in to finish the game out.
Niumatalolo said during the post game press conference that ideally the Spartans would want to stick with one signal caller starting and finishing the game. Going into this week it is still unclear who will be under center for the Spartans.
“Eget might be a little ahead right now but it’s nothing definitive,” Niumatalolo said. “We want to let practice play out.”
Offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann’s decision to swap quarterbacks frequently came because each player felt more comfortable in different situations.
“There were some things that Emmett wasn’t comfortable seeing and Walker had a missed throw,” Stutzmann said. “I don’t want to regret the next morning thinking I should have switched the guys.”
Despite the swapping of quarterbacks the past two weeks, senior wide receiver Nick Nash continues to have a career season. Nash was named to the AP midseason First-Team All-America Team on Thursday.
Nash leads the country with 10 touchdown receptions and is second in the country with 806 receiving yards.
Gearing up for the offense to face Wyoming, San Jose State will have to deal with some tough defensive ends. In their matchup against San Diego State junior defensive end Sabastian Harsh had four tackles for loss for the Cowboys.
“They got a really good third down package with different pressures,” Stutzmann said. “So it’s up to our guys up front to be able to see the different moving pieces.”
Last game against Colorado State the Spartans went 4-12 on third down.
The Spartans defense will be facing off against junior quarterback Evan Svoboda who is another mobile quarterback. The Spartans have struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season.
“I feel like we had a good start to the season with everyone doing their job and everyone communicating,” junior linebacker Jordan Pollard said. “I feel like it got a little sloppy the past two games with everyone communicating and staying on the same page.”
Pollard is currently tenth in the nation with 60 total tackles.
This week’s game against Wyoming is SJSU’s homecoming so the Spartans will hope to bounce back in front of an expected large crowd.
