AUG 30 – San Jose State’s season opener turned into heartbreak. In front of nearly 15,000 fans at CEFCU Stadium, the Spartans fell 16–14 to Central Michigan in a game filled with missed chances and costly mistakes.. The high-flying offense of yesteryear was nowhere to be seen last night. The question marks surrounding the defense are now bright red warning signs. There were a lot of things that went wrong, and very few things that went right.
Scoring Recap
Let’s first go over the scoring. This game started and ended so chaotically in a way you only see at the collegiate level. In the first drive of the game, the Chips’ drove down the field via the run, only to miss a field goal. The Spartans then go the other way, and are denied at the 2-yard line after an endzone interception. The Chips’ were then able to net their first and only 7 points of the game. Leland Smith put the Spartans on the board in the 2nd, then Danny Scudero was able to catch-and-run for 45 yards and the lead, 14-13.
The 4th quarter came down to the wire. Central Michigan embarked on a 7-minute drive that would end in a field, reacquiring the lead at 16-14. With 4 minutes on the clock, the Spartans marched down the field and were stopped at the CMU 29 yard line with 1:13 left on the clock. However, the field goal attempt by Denis Lynch was tipped at the line.
At that moment, fans began leaving the stadium in droves. The Chips’ maintained their lead, and needing only a first down, they were in line for a win. ESPN analytics calculated SJSU’s win probability to be 0.01%. Incredibly, partially due to the Chips’ Lewis losing his helmet (and stopping the clock), the Spartans somehow got the ball back at their 29 yard line with no timeouts and 53 seconds left on the clock. They were able to get to the opposing 38 yard line, nearly not being able to spike the ball in time after a blunder from the officiating crew. On a 56 yd attempt, Lynch missed the attempt, and the Spartans lost in heartbreaking fashion.
Defensive Woes
So what exactly happened? What went wrong in this game that caused the Spartans to lose such a winnable contest? For starters, the defense was unable to do anything against the run. Last season, the Spartans were among the worst in the nation in stopping the run. We knew it would be a question mark this year. We also knew that Central Michigan consistently has great linemen groups, even more so under first-year head coach Matt Drinkall. Drinkall came over from Army after serving as the offensive line coach, with his group winning the Joe Moore Award last season (best offensive line in the country). Central Michigan was set to run the ball this game, and that they did. Nahree Biggins finished with 102 rushing yards on 18 attempts. Tulane transfer Trey Cornist had 99 yards on 13 attempts. Overall, the rushing attack put up 236 yards through the ground, averaging 4.6 YPC. The passing attack, for context, had just 13 attempts the entire game. At one point in the game, Central Michigan had more rushing yards than SJSU had passing yards.
Offensive Spark
Speaking of which, a slow start didn’t stop the Spartans from doing what they do best: passing. Walker Eget went 24/43 for 308 yards, along with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Because of it, the Spartans surprisingly had more total yards than CMU (383 – 351). The man who was responsible for 61% of the passing shares was none other than Sacramento State transfer Danny Scudero, who ended his night with 9 receptions, 189 yards, and 1 touchdown. If there was any bright spot, it was Scudero, who hauled in two beautiful long ball catches in a performance reminiscent of Nick Nash last year.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
So, the Spartans weren’t able to stop the run, and it proved fatal. The offense also got hot, but too little too late. There were two reasons as to why the Spartans offense couldn’t get things going. For one, the rushing attack was non-existent. The philosophy of the Spartan offense is simple: spread the defense with the pass, then shred them with the run. Unfortunately, the beefy seven-man front of the Chips’ did not allow the run to flourish, and in turn the passing attack suffered. At the end of the night, the Spartans combined for just 75 rushing yards. The lone bright spot of the rushing attack (and also a surprise) was true freshman Tama Amisone, who unexpectedly entered the game in the second half in certain packages, mainly on QB runs and keepers. Many agree that it was Amisone’s strong performance on the ground that gave the offense that spark they needed.
Then you have self-inflicted wounds. Eget tossed two interceptions, one from the two-yard line, and then fumbled the ball in their own territory. The Spartans also had 4 penalties this game, 2 of which were responsible for killing drives earlier on in the contest. When you keep shooting yourself in the foot, it becomes difficult to win the race.
Outlook
Overall, a disappointing loss last night. All credit to the Chippewas, they played hard and tough the entire way, and it wouldn’t shock me if they were to have a winning season this year. As for SJSU, this is a loss you can’t afford; they head to #1 Texas next week, and barring a miracle will likely start the season 0-2. Thankfully, other opponents in the conference have taken losses as well. Not to mention, the schedule is very forgiving. This loss isn’t the end of the world, but you hope that they figure out a way to stop the run; otherwise, last night could just be a little taste of what’s to come the rest of the season.
You can watch our full postgame recap here.
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