By Jarra Gojolo — Staff Writer
As homecoming festivities are now in full gear, a group of guys will look to become royalty for a night.
The San Jose State Spartans (3-3, 1-2 MW) take on the San Diego State Aztecs (5-1, 2-1 MW) Saturday night in a battle of two prolific defenses.
The Spartans are coming off a tough loss to the University of Nevada, who won the game on a last-second field goal to send the Spartans back to .500 on the season.
Quarterback Josh Love, second in the Mountain West Conference in passing yards, threw for over 400 yards for the third time this season, spreading the ball to nine different receivers in the loss.
“It makes it tricky for people to push coverage one way or another,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “That gives a chance for everybody to win their one-on-one battle, and then for Josh to deliver the ball accurately.”
Senior wide receiver Bailey Gaither received the most “Love” last week, catching five passes for a season-high 131 yards and one touchdown.
Not many teams have been stingier on defense than The Aztecs, who allow only 13.2 points per game, eighth in the FBS. They allow only 270 total yards per game, which ranks ninth in the nation.
Brennan says SDSU is the Spartans’ toughest matchup yet.
“Coach Long has built an incredible program there over time,” Brennan said. “And year in and year out, they’re one of the best fundamentally-sound offensive and defensive teams we play.”
“Their defensive scheme is different, and they do a great job of mixing up pressure and sound defense.”
Saturday’s game is a matchup between the two top turnover margins in the FBS. The Spartans (-12) lead the FBS in interceptions with 13.
Defensive backs Nehemiah Shelton, Brandon Ezell and Bobby Brown II lead the team with three picks apiece.
While SJSU is doing it with sheer turnover numbers, San Diego State (-10) is doing it with a combination of good defense and ball security.
Cornerback Luq Barcoo leads the Mountain West, is second in the FBS with five interceptions and the team has only lost three turnovers on the season, good for second in the nation.
Brennan says ball security and ball control will dictate how the game plays out for both teams.
“When you have two teams that really have been opportunistic in terms of takeaways and protecting the ball,” Coach Brennan said, “the opportunities to get a turnover are gonna be much fewer.”
“We might just get one shot in the secondary, and we gotta make it.”
The Spartans haven’t beaten SDSU since 2012, when David Fales led a game-winning drive in San Diego to win 38-34.
Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.
Follow Jarra on Twitter @JarraGojolo