The San José State football team seeks its first win of the season after losing to Central Michigan, but faces a tough obstacle against No. 7-ranked Texas, which started the season at No. 1 in the country.
The Spartans are facing a Longhorns team that is also 0-1 after losing its opener to the reigning college football champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, according to ESPN.
Texas is still projected to win by 36.5 points, per the same source.
Both teams are coming off last week’s losses marked by offensive struggles: Texas, which averaged 34.5 points last season, scored only seven, while SJSU, which averaged 27.3, managed just 14.
The Longhorns are led by sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, who is projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft if he declares, according to an Aug. 20 Yahoo! Sports article.
Spartans head coach Ken Niumatalolo said he views this game as an opportunity to stand out on a national stage, as it marks SJSU’s first appearance on ABC since 2006, according to an SJSU athletics webpage.
“Super excited for this opportunity to play against a great Texas football team,” Niumatalolo said. “One of the blue bloods with a great coaching staff, a ton of five-star players, and guys who are going to get drafted, a roster full of future NFL players.”
The Spartans hope to rewrite history after their 56-0 defeat against Texas in 2017, according to a Texas Longhorns webpage.
A win would mark the highest-ranked team the Spartans have ever beaten.
In 2000, the Spartans defeated No. 9 TCU, and a victory over No. 7 Texas would top that achievement.
The last time SJSU played a team ranked as high as No. 1 was in 2010, when they fell 48-3 to top-ranked Alabama.
Spartans starting quarterback Walker Eget said he is approaching the game without overthinking it, treating it like any other matchup.
“We know it’s gonna be loud, we know we’re in their territory,” Eget said. “Everybody do their one 11, just execute the little things, and I think that’ll help us get off to a fast start.”
The Spartans are coming off a struggling run game, finishing with just 75 rushing yards compared to the Longhorns’ 166.
However, SJSU offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann believes the run game will turn it around.
“The encouraging thing is we’ve got a lot of football left to play,” Stutzmann said. “Our guys are hungry to get better, and I thought today at practice was the best we’ve had in a long time.”
Both teams are scheduled to enter the game without forcing a turnover last week; however, the Longhorns ranked second in the nation last season with 31 takeaways, according to Fox Sports.
SJSU defensive coordinator Derrick Odum praised the Texas offense and acknowledged the level of competition the Spartans’ defense is up against.
“They got a lot of good players, that’s for sure, they’re loaded,” Odum said. “You got All-Americans everywhere, their offensive line is big and strong, they’re a formidable outfit and, you know, we’re working to kind of prepare for those guys right now and we’ll see what happens on Saturday.”
The Spartans have one final practice today before they are scheduled to play the big game on Saturday at 9 a.m. PDT at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
