By Austin Turner — Staff Writer
Following a tough loss in the elements at Wyoming last week, San Jose State (1-8, 1-4 MWC) will face another brutal road environment in Logan as the Spartans face the Utah State Aggies on Saturday.
The Spartans, who are still winless on the road so far, may be able to make the game more competitive than most think.
They look to be improving every week, thanks in part to the development of quarterback Josh Love. He struggled early on in the season, especially with turning the ball over, but has been steadily improving. After a rough first two starts, his last five have been solid with a 11-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
A key to Saturday’s game will be Love’s decision-making and accuracy. The USU defense is second in the nation in turnovers, and has 14 interceptions to only 12 touchdowns allowed. It punishes quarterbacks that don’t throw the ball with pinpoint accuracy on every dropback.
If the Spartans want to have any chance in pulling off the upset, Love has to be the quarterback he was in the Hawaii and UNLV games.
The Aggies have been one of the most impressive teams, not only in the Mountain West this season, but in all of the Group of Five conferences. Aside from an opening night loss in the final moments against then No.11 Michigan State, USU has been an explosive and exciting team to watch.
The Aggie offense is averaging 50.1 points per game, second in the nation only to Nick Saban’s Alabama squad. They devastate opposing defenses with a well-rounded attack, led by another J. Love.
Jordan Love, with no relation to the SJSU quarterback, is quickly establishing himself as a top passer in the conference.
He is efficient. With 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions so far, he rarely makes mistakes and can pick defenses apart.
The Spartan secondary will have one of its biggest challenges of the season yet against the methodical and accurate passing game of the Aggies.
USU’s run game is going to be another factor in this one. The one-two punch of running backs Darwin Thompson and Gerold Bright makes for a terrific ground game that defenses have struggled with all year.
Thompson, last week’s MWC Offensive Player of the Week averages 7.5 yards per carry on 93 touches this season and has seen the end zone 13 times with 702 yards on the ground. The explosive ball-carrier will surely be heavily involved in the game plan against the Spartans this week, who has been inconsistent against the run.
Bright has shined as well this season. He has seven touchdowns so far, along with 634 rushing yards. He and Thompson see action about evenly and play a similar style, relying on their elite speed. This dynamic duo will keep SJSU on its toes.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurnt