By Brant Daughtry
State of confusion
San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan is a San Jose native, and returned to his hometown in 2017 to coach the Spartans. He’s been good to the team, as he won the Mountain West Conference title in 2020, the Spartans’ first conference title of any kind since 1991.
Auburn and San Jose State have played twice, with the first coming in 2014. Auburn was dominant in both showings, relying heavily on the ground game in both matchups.
Last year, however, the Spartans had a harder time. They went 5-7 on the year, and 3-5 in conference play. They also lost their last three in a row, with the last two not being close.
This season, San Jose is 1-0, grinding out a tough 21-17 win over Portland State in week 1. The problem, though, is that San Jose State was a 21-point favorite in that contest, and forced three turnovers while committing none. Despite that, they still only won the game by 4. The struggles of the offense were an issue for the Spartans, as new starting quarterback Chevan Cordeiro only completed 50% of his passes, and the leading rusher on the squad had only 44 yards.
Their defense was very effective though, forcing three turnovers and limiting production. They have big linebackers and defensive backs, and give Auburn more of a challenge offensively. I’m very interested in the play of Tate Johnson in this game. San Jose State runs a defense that uses a true nose guard, a defensive lineman that lines up directly over the center. A lot of the Auburn running game will be reliant on Johnson handling that nose.
Players to Watch For
Wide Receiver Elijah Cooks, #4- Looking at stat lines, it’s possible to say that Cooks is the only offensive player that had a game worth remembering. The 6’4″ Nevada transfer brings a lengthy list of accomplishments to California with him, and he looks to be the focal point of the Spartan offense, as he caught six passes for 123 yards in the season opener.
Linebacker Kyle Harmon, #45- Harmon has been a mainstay at linebacker since his 2019 freshman campaign, and has the accolades to prove it. The 2-time All-Mountain West player looks to put a stamp on a long and storied career this season. He led the team in tackles last fall with 174, double the number of the next closest player.
I think this will be an interesting matchup, as much a soul-searching game for San Jose as a clean-up game for Auburn. While the Tigers attempt to fix mistakes and build on week 1 in preparation for a big-time matchup in week three, the Spartans will be attempting to find their offensive identity. I think both teams are alike in that regard a little as well. Auburn will have a noticeable talent advantage, and that should manifest itself early. The Tigers are 22.5-point favorites at the time of this writing, and I would expect the Good Guys to cover.
