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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State football team is finally coming home to CEFCU Stadium after back-to-back brutal weeks on the road at Texas and at Utah.
The Spartans lost 56-0 in Austin on Sept. 9 and then lost 54-16 this past weekend in Salt Lake City at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“The Utah game was tough," SJSU head coach Brent Brennan said. "They were good. They beat us fair and square. I was proud of our team. I thought they fought and battled to the end.
"Now we’ve kind of sorted that game out with our team and we’re excited about coming home to CEFCU Stadium and playing in front of our fans and friends and family in our home stadium," he added. "So it’s going to be a great day Saturday and excited to see Spartan Nation turn out and show up and support these players.”
San Jose State now hosts Mountain West Conference foe Utah State in the conference opener for both teams on Saturday night in a game that will be broadcast live on Facebook.
"We're excited to get home and play against Utah State," Brennan said. "I'm hoping that playing against those tougher teams, those so-called big schools, will help our guys be battle-tested. They've gone against good people. They've played against high-caliber talent."
The lone win for the Spartans came in the season-opener against FCS opponent Cal Poly. San Jose State had 482 yards of total offense in the win while holding the Mustangs to just 211 total yards of offense.
In the three losses, the Spartan defense gave up an average of 557 yards per game. South Florida racked up 548 total yards in its season-opening win over San Jose State. Texas gained over 600 yards and Utah had 501 total yards. It is something that Brennan knows is an issue and one that needs to change quickly, especially with an up-tempo offense like Utah State.
"I think we got a great challenge ahead of us," Brennan said. "They've got good players and I'm glad we're at home after being on the road for two weeks, I'm glad we're at home to start the conference. But we've got a great challenge ahead of us."
Utah State is coming off a disappointing 46-10 loss at Wake Forest. It is the second loss against a Power 5 conference opponent where the Aggies have been blown out. Ninth-ranked Wisconsin scored 59 unanswered points in the season-opener to beat the Aggies 59-10 in Madison.
However, Utah State has won the last six meetings between the two teams, including a 41-7 blowout win in Logan in 2014. San Jose State's last win in the series came in 2013 when the Spartans beat the Aggies 30-7 in San Jose.
Saturday's matchup is the fifth time the two teams have met in the conference opener dating back to when both schools were members of the Western Athletic Conference and Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
SJSU linebacker Frank Ginda is the first FBS player to be credited with at least 50 tackles on the season. Ginda has 57 tackles in four games and recorded a game-high 15 tackles against Utah. Ginda is averaging a nation-leading 14.25 tackles per game.
"Frank Ginda has been fabulous all year," Brennan said. "He's been tremendous. The effort that he plays with, he's such a sure tackler. We're really fortunate that he's here and a part of our program … the great thing about him is he's the leader of the defense. He plays super hard. He's kind of the gold standard we are looking for in effort and finishing on our defensive side of the ball."
Kickoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. MDT and can be seen through the live stream on Facebook. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
