By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
A week after earning its first victory of 2018, San Jose State (1-7, 1-3 MWC) is hungry for more.
This week the Spartans travel to Laramie to take on Wyoming (3-6, 1-4 MWC, the team which gave them their lone FBS win last season in a 20-17 game at CEFCU Stadium.
The Spartans are coming off of their first complete game of the season. They dominated UNLV from beginning to end. Senior quarterback Josh Love had one of his best performances of his career, tossing for 334 yards and four touchdowns with only one interception.
The Spartans also got their run game going for the first time all season. They ran the ball 40 times against the Rebels for 179 yards, including a huge 103 yard performance from sophomore Tyler Nevens. Against the Wyoming defense, they’ll need another strong rushing performance.
Wyoming’s defense ranks fifth in the Mountain West, allowing 25 points per game, a statistic that may be inflated because of the challenging schedule the team has had thus far.
The defensive unit is led by junior linebacker Logan Wilson, a run-stuffing tackling machine of a middle linebacker who leads the team in tackles with 79.
Luckily for the Spartans, they have a blossoming defense that is getting better each and every week. Last week’s Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week, senior cornerback Dakari Monroe, is terrorizing opposing quarterbacks every game.
He has four interceptions on the year, two of which came against UNLV. One of them was returned 50 yards for a touchdown.
Monroe and the rest of the Spartan defense have a big challenge ahead of them when they match-up with Cowboys senior running back Nico Evans.
He will likely pass the 1000 rushing yards milestone on Saturday, as he currently sits at 979. The small, shifty back averages 6.6 yards per carry and has explosive speed. He will challenge the front seven of SJSU, one that did a terrific job containing Lexington Thomas in its win over UNLV.
While the wins and losses column may not show it, SJSU has been ultra-competitive in conference play this season, with each game being within one-possession in the fourth quarter, aside from last week’s victory over UNLV.
The Spartans are a team that are better than their record, and they have a terrific chance to prove it on Saturday.
Kickoff in Laramie is at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt