After being thrashed by Tulsa on Saturday, the Spartans look to turn it around at home

Infographic by Kavin Mistry

Despite the offseason goal of establishing a defense that could stop the run, the Spartans (0-1) had no answer against the Tulsa (1-0) running attack which ran over SJSU for 306 yards.

San Jose State’s new defensive coordinator Ron English watched his defense get man-handled on Saturday by Golden Hurricane running back D'Angelo Brewer, who ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

“We did have a really good fall practice,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “We had a really good week in preparation for the Tulsa game.”

It didn’t help the Spartans that defensive captain and leading tackler over the last two years Christian Tago was out because of a knee injury and safety Maurice McKnight had to sit out the first half because of a targeting penalty he received in the Cure Bowl last season.

“I think we just kind of got beat to the punch,” said wide receiver Tim Crawley. “We came out a little flat and once they scored quick, we put ourselves in a hole we unfortunately couldn’t get out of it”

The first possession of the game for the Hurricane was a sign of things to come for the Spartans defense, when Brewer exploded for a 38-yard touchdown.

While the defense continued to struggle, the offense provided little to no support.

“They ran away with it and they took advantage of our mistakes and now we’re here,” said Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter.

The Spartans were only able to score one touchdown and were unable to give the defense much time to rest on the sidelines.

The one bright spot defensively for the Spartans was their pass defense.

Tulsa’s quarterback Dane Evans was bottled up in the passing game, finishing a mere 12 of 23 for 198 yards, a severe drop off from his 332 yards per game in 2015.

Sophomores Frank Ginda and Owen Roberts led the pass rush for the Spartans, each recording two sacks in the game.

While it is easy to look at a 45-10 score and blame the defense, 21 of the 38 points Tulsa scored in the first half were due to Spartan miscues. An interception return, a fumble recovery in the end zone and a fumble by Spartans running back Deontae Cooper lead to easy points for the Hurricane.

“It was costly,” Caragher said. “We made a lot of mistakes and sometimes first year players make mistakes, it happens, but in this case veterans did in this case and that was frustrating.”

If not for those three key plays, the Spartans would have been right in the game with Tulsa, but the mistakes added to an already-horrific first half. Thirty-eight points allowed in the first half was the most SJSU has allowed in the opening half of a game since 2014 against Auburn.

“The good news is it was only one game,” Caragher said. “The team will launch forward as a result of that game and get clear of what we need to do and how we can get there.”

The Spartans will have to put Tulsa behind them as they prepare to take on an FCS opponent in Portland State this weekend in the home opener at CEFCU Stadium.

In its last 36 games against Division 1 opponents, Portland State is 4-32. Despite a lowly record, the Vikings should not be taken lightly. The Spartans still have to fix the holes they have on defense and sharpen their special teams play.

Infographic by Kavin Mistry

“We need to have a good week of practice to prepare for Portland State who is perfectly capable of creating big plays as well,” Caragher said. “They have some good players, not just guys they recruited, but a number of transfers.”

If SJSU wants to take care of business at home, it will be up to the offense to limit the mistakes while the defense will need to create takeaways and stop the run.

Injury Update

Tago completed his surgery and is now working with the team doctors on getting back into football shape so he can be ready to take the field.

Caragher said he will be out for week 2 against Portland State, but will hopefully be active when the Spartans welcome the University of Utah to CEFCU stadium next Saturday Sep. 17.