By Ernie Gonzalez: (@superego1012)
San Jose State will be in Reno Saturday to take on Nevada for its second game against a one-win opponent in three weeks.
The 1-8 Wolfpack were projected to win by nearly three touchdowns earlier in the week, listed as 19-point favorites, according to ESPN.
The Spartan struggles have been consistent throughout their two-month losing streak, as turnovers and injuries have plagued both sides of the ball.
“[On defense] there hasn’t been enough [turnovers],” said head coach Brent Brennan on Monday. “On the flip side, there’s been too much of it on offense.”
Brennan and Nevada head coach Jay Norvell have 20-plus years of coaching experience and were both hired as first time head coaches on December 7 of last year.
“I’ve known Jay a long time, he’s a good guy … we’ve overlapped a bunch,” Brennan said. “But he’s older than me, let’ get that straight,” he said jokingly.
SJSU is tied for the worst turnover margin in the country at -21, and going up against a Wolfpack team that feeds off of turnovers and can score points in a hurry, protecting the football will once again be vital for the Spartans.
Nevada enters Saturday’s contest averaging 25.9 points per game, carried by second-year beefy back Kelton Moore and lengthy senior wideout Wyatt Demps, who is tied for sixth in the nation with eight touchdown receptions.
One question surrounding the Wolfpack team is their defense, which struggles in the tackling department and allows close to 40 points per game.
Keys for the Spartans will be coming out aggressive and coming out fast, something similar to how they did week one against South Florida, or week eight in Hawaii.
“I think every coach in America will tell you that they prefer to start fast,” Brennan said.
Saturday will probably be the best shot the Spartans will have at a second win, as they face two Mountain division opponents in Colorado State (6-4, 4-2 MW) and Wyoming (6-3, 4-1 MW) to close out the season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m
