By Niles Hall (@n23hall) – Content Editor | San Jose State Spartans line up for drills at practice on Aug. 24. Photo by Max Garcia (@maxgarci09) – Spear Photographer)
The San Jose State Spartans kick off their 2026 campaign against a heavyweight opponent in the University of Southern California.
SJSU will open its 2026 season against its toughest-scheduled opponent, looking to upset the 38.5-point favorite Trojans, according to ESPN.
“You can’t control the environment, the people and the crowd noise. All you can control is between the white lines,” SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “So just focus on your assignments, your effort level. Just do that to the best of your ability, and the rest will take care of itself.”
SJSU’s offense looks vastly different from last season, led by transfer senior quarterback Luke Weaver with an almost entirely new wide receiver core.
“It’s my job and our coach’s job to get them to play to the standard of playing fast, physical, intelligent and relentless,” SJSU offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann said. “The last three years, we’ve also learned a lot about different plays and strategies and how to use our guys.”
Expect to see rotating skill players as the forecast calls for high 90-degree weather.
The Spartans will use this game to evaluate who stands out at wide receiver while using their depth in the hot climate.
“The plan is to play a lot of these guys and keep them fresh. We feel comfortable with a lot of the receivers that we have,” Stutzmann said.”But that’s just what you feel until we get there on Saturday and the Trojans roll out there and the game goes. We’ll find out what guys are real guys.”
At wide receiver, look to see how junior Jerry McClure performs, along with freshman Carson Clark and sophomore Jordan Anderson, who’ve had standout offseasons.
Junior Malachi Riley, one of the top additions to the 2025 transfer portal, will return to the lineup after suffering a season-ending injury in Week 1 of last season.
Expect to see how Stutzmann uses junior running backs Jabari Bates and Tyler Jacklich in the run game.
Stutzmann will unleash his new-look offense against renowned newly hired USC defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. Patterson formerly coached at Texas Christian University, where he led the nation in total defense five times.
Patterson is a pioneer of the 4-2-5 defense, with an aggressive man-coverage approach designed to match the speed of any offense.
“Gary Patterson, their defensive coordinator, is a Hall of Fame coach. He had eleven 10-win seasons. That’s unbelievable,” Coach Niumatalolo said. One of the best coaches in the country, forget being a defensive coordinator, he’s a guru.”
The Trojans’ defense has talent at every level, bringing in six three-star or better recruits through the transfer portal.
USC will return junior defensive end Kamryn Crawford, who led the team with 5.5 sacks last season, along with junior linebacker Desman Stephens II, who led the team with 89 tackles.
The Trojans ruled out sophomore defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who is expected to play a large role for the team.
SJSU defensive coordinator Bojay Filimoeatu will have his hands full in his first official game in this role against USC head coach Lincoln Riley and his offense, which has led the Big Ten in passing offense in back-to-back seasons.
The Trojans, led by redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava, will display a pass-heavy attack, testing the Spartans’ new secondary.
“I want those guys running to the ball … I want them to be striking at the point of attack, whatever it may be, blocking or running to the ball carrier. I want to see a physical, relentless type of tackle,” Filimoeatu said. In the safest way possible, I want to see all hats to the ball with bad humor.”
The Spartans’ defensive backs will need to make a big impact if the team wants any hope of earning this upset.
Senior safety Brian Dukes will either start next to sophomore Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa or Sophomore Pierce Walker.
The cornerback positions will be manned by seniors Caleb Womack, Kejuan Bullard, Jr., along with sophomore Isaiah Buxton.
The Spartans will battle the Trojans on the gridiron in a highly anticipated matchup at noon on Aug. 29 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
