By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
In a battle between two teams desperate to get on track, San Jose State (0-4) will take on the Colorado State (1-4) Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium in a big Mountain West Conference matchup.
It will be the first meeting between the two teams since last November, when the Rams won handily, 42-14 in Fort Collins.
The teams are both at the bottom of the conference in running the football. CSU averages a meager 92.6 yards per game on the ground, while SJSU ranks dead last in the FBS at only 54.5 yards per game.
The Spartans should be able to get their run game going in this one, however. The Rams allow 240 rushing yards per game, so senior running back Malike Roberson will be looking to break out for the Spartans in this game.
This game though, will come down to the aerial attack.
For the second-straight week, SJSU will face one of the nation’s top passing offenses. CSU senior quarterback K.J. Carta-Samuels leads the 8th-ranked passing attack of the Rams and has been having a terrific season.
Carta-Samuels has thrown for 1461 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games thus far, good for a 142.66 passer rating. He has only thrown for four interceptions in the season.
SJSU is tied for 11th in the nation with seven interceptions however, so the Spartan’s playmaking secondary will be something to watch against this efficient passing attack.
On the other side of the ball, it looks like the Spartan’s have found their QB. Senior Josh Love put on a show against Hawaii last week, throwing for a career-high 451 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Unfortunately for Love, he will be missing star receiver Bailey Gaither, who went down with a left ankle injury against Hawaii and will likely be missing the rest of the season.
He had been the Spartan’s big down-field threat with three touchdown receptions over 50 yards on the season.
The Spartans will however, still have Love’s favorite target on the field against the Rams.
Senior tight end Josh Oliver has asserted himself as one of the premier players in his position in all of college football this season. He leads tight ends in both receptions with 27, and receiving yards with 336.
He will likely take on an even larger role for the remainder of the season with Gaither out. Look for him to have a big game against the Rams.
After such a heartbreaking defeat to Hawaii last week, the Spartans will still be chasing that elusive first win of 2018.
They look to make a statement at home on Saturday against Colorado State when the game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt