By Matthew Gonzalez — Reporter
Coming off of an impressive 17-6 victory over Air Force (1-1, 0-1 MW) the Spartans now face a much more ambiguous opponent in the Lobos, whose season-opening game at Colorado State was canceled due to COVID-19, and who have not played a game since the 2019 season.
Droughts To End
The Spartans have not started a season 2-0 since 1987 when they defeated Eastern Illinois and California to begin their 10-2 season. The Spartans have also been unable to win back-to-back games since the 2014 season. These are a couple stats that the Spartans will undoubtedly be looking to erase from the history books moving forward.
Who Are The Lobos?
The Lobos finished last in the Mountain division in 2019 (2-10, 0-8 MW), but return to the 2020 season with a facelift of sorts, as head coach Danny Gonzales, offensive coordinator Derek Warehime and well-known defensive coordinator Rocky Long are all in their first season with the Lobos. Spartans head coach Brent Brennan had high praise for both Gonzales and Long, saying Gonzales’ insights and ideas are great, as well as calling Long “the best defensive coordinator in the Mountain West.” Brennan acknowledged the lack of intel on how the Lobos will play stylistically. “There is no game film to go off of week two, so we have no idea how they are going to play offensively,” Brennan said. However even with uncertainty surrounding the Lobos, he says the Spartans will be “excited to play.”
How The Spartans Come Out With The Victory
The Spartans are coming off of a stellar defensive feat against a physical Air Force team, but a big area of concern for the Spartan offense is the run game. “I thought we didn’t run the ball well enough, 2.3 [yards] a carry is not good enough” Brennan said. The aerial attack however did pay dividends in last weeks’ matchup, as Spartans transfer quarterback Nick Starkel connected with graduate student wide receiver Bailey Gaither eight times, for a total of 110 yards, priming two touchdowns for senior tight end Derrick Deese Jr.
Catch the game on FS1 at 4:00 p.m, live from CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
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