By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
The Mountain West conference has announced its complete schedule.
San Jose State will start its 12-game season hosting a game in August once again and will compete against a Division II Big Sky opponent for the second time in as many seasons Thursday, Aug. 30 versus UC Davis.
SJSU then heads north for a matchup against No. 18 Washington State for week two. It will be an early-season test for the Spartan defense as the Cougars were the second best passing offense in the nation in 2017.
Following the game in Washington, the Spartans will continue their PAC-12 challenge as they visit Autzen Stadium in Eugene to take on Oregon for the first time in two decades. The Spartans have not beaten the Ducks since 1982 and pose a 6-12 all-time record against them.
The bye week then follows in week four, something that will be interesting to see how second-year head coach Brent Brennan and his new staff treat, considering SJSU did not get its open week until eight games into 2017.
The bye will also give the Spartans an opportunity to prepare for their first conference game of the year against Hawai’i and will be the first of three consecutive home games for SJSU.
The Colorado State Rams visit CEFCU Stadium on Oct. 6 for the first time since the 2014 season. Last year, SJSU fell six touchdowns to two in Fort Collins and is will be one of many divisional redemption games for the Spartans.
The non-conference schedule will take a one-week break five games into the season for a special reason. On Oct. 13, the Spartans welcome the United States Army to San Jose for the first ever meeting with the Black Knights.
SJSU will hit the road for the only time in October in week 8, but will stay in California as they travel to SDCCU Stadium for their 42nd ever matchup against the Aztecs. San Diego State has a five-game win streak against SJSU and the Spartans have been kept to seven or fewer points in four straight contests against the SoCal rival.
The Spartans close out October with a home matchup against the UNLV Rebels. The Spartans lead the all-time series with UNLV 16-5, but last season the Rebels beat the SJSU for the first time since 1994.
Week 10 marks the beginning of November and SJSU’s first opponent of the month will be Wyoming, the only conference team it beat last season. The difference this season is that the game will take place in Laramie, however, the Spartans haven’t lost to the Cowboys since 1997.
The Spartans stay on the road to face another Mountain Division opponent, Utah State in week 11. The Aggies finished last season with a 4-4 conference record, tied for second-to-last in their division. SJSU owns the all-time lead 20-17 but have not beaten the Aggies in Logan since 2007. As always against Utah State, expect a physical one.
Senior Night for the Spartans will be against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Nov. 17. The Spartans are 9-20 all-time against the team from Reno and have just two victories in 15 tries against them since the 2002 season.
Nov. 24 already has stickers next to it on the calendar as the Spartans close out the season against the Fresno State Bulldogs with hopes of bringing the Valley Trophy back to San Jose. After it spent two seasons in the south bay, the Bulldogs came to CEFCU last fall and bussed it home following a 27-10 win over SJSU. It will be the 82nd meeting between the rivals.
The Mountain West championship game is set for Dec. 1.