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| Photo by Kavin Mistry |
For the first time in 12 years the Spartans will make a trip to Oklahoma to match up with Tulsa University to open their season against an upstart Hurricanes team.
Tulsa is coming off a roller-coaster season that ended in a thrilling 55-52 loss in the Camping World Independence Bowl against Virginia Tech.
“They were also a bowl team, it is a tough opponent,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “We are looking forward to it; it will be a tough matchup on the road back in Tulsa, but one that our team is looking forward to.”
The Hurricanes boast a potent offensive running attack, which will give the rejuvenated Spartans defense an early test to begin the season.
“We just want to come out there and show them Spartan football,” said Spartan running back Malik Roberson. “We will set a tone for the whole Mountain West.”
Tulsa’s high-powered offense put up a remarkable 37.2 points per game, but its defense struggled to keep opponents out of the endzone.
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| Infographic by Kavin Mistry |
“They play at such a high paced offense,” Caragher said. “People are more familiar with Baylor with the tempo they play at, but Tulsa plays at the same tempo and upbeat, so we need to do a good job in practice simulating that.”
The Spartans plan to counter the Hurricanes with a potent offense of their own. SJSU scored 27.9 points per game last season using a balanced attack of running and throwing to stifle opponents’ defenses.
“We are definitely focused on (Tulsa) and not worrying about looking past that,”said Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter. “We have been watching film on them and scheming to prepare.”
Last season, the team scored 24 touchdowns on the ground and 21 through the air. The rushing touchdowns were in large part due to the work done by now-NFL running back Tyler Ervin, who scored 13.
The previous meeting between the two teams occurred over ten years ago on Nov. 20, 2004, when the Hurricanes defeated the Spartans 34-24.
It will be up to SJSU’s new defensive coordinator, Ron English, to lead the Spartans’ defense to improve its run defense against Tulsa. The Hurricanes averaged 174.2 rushing yards per game and scored more than half their touchdowns on the ground in 2015.
“They like to spread everybody out and then run it up the middle,” said Spartans cornerback Andre Chachere. “We are sort of putting ourselves out on an island outside and then trying to stop them up the middle.”
The biggest obstacle the Spartans will face in week one will be the fast paced offense of the Hurricanes. They tend to run plays quickly to leave opponents’ defenses scrambling to make changes to counter not only the passing game but also a stout running attack.
“Tulsa runs the football well,” Caragher said. “We saw them consistently throughout the year think of the uptempo offense as a passing team and they do that well, but it is the running game that can get you in the end.”
The team knows that this will not be an easy game to start the season and they will have to come out ready on day one of the season.
“They have lost some seniors at some key positions, but we know that they have recruited well and have some good players coming up,” Caragher said. “They are coached well and we are definitely going to have to play at the top of our game.”
Expectations too high for running backs?
Hoping that one of the running backs will put up the same kind of production as Ervin is quite an unfair expectation.
Ervin was the pinnacle of the offensive attack in 2015. He set a school record with 300 rushing yards against Fresno State and finished last season with 1601 rush yards.
Now Caragher and the rest of his staff will rely on another running back to step up and fill the void left by Ervin. The Spartans will look to senior Shane Smith and Roberson for their ground attack.
Caragher said during summer training camp that the team will be working with a running back by committee scenario, but Roberson will be one of the backs they lean on.
Roberson, who is coming off a knee injury that he was rehabbing during the summer, said he is feeling about 100 percent and ready to go.
“Coming back from my knee, taking the brace off this year I feel a lot faster,” Roberson said. “So that is definitely an advantage for me.”
92 total yards and just 3.8 yards per carry in 2015 are not eye-popping stats by any means, but Roberson’s playing time was limited due to the workload carried by Ervin and only time will tell if he can increase those totals this season.
“Right now we have a committee going on at that position and Malik is one of several returners,” Caragher said. “Zamore Zigler, who redshirted last year, brings a burst of acceleration to the position and a transfer Deonte Cooper from the University of Washington (...) he brings a lot of speed and leadership to the position.”
What to expect from the 2016 Spartans
The Spartans have 15 returning members of its bowl-winning team from a season ago including Potter and defensive captain Christian Tago.
SJSU will have a new-look offense hoping to utilize Potter more until they have found a sound running back that they can count on, along with mixing in transfer students Deontae Cooper (running back, University of Washington) and Dontonio Jordan (wide receiver, Stanford University).
“It looks better, we have a lot more playmakers on the field,” Roberson said. “It will be hard to shut down one side because the other side is just as competitive.”
Potter said his goals this season are to win games and win the Mountain West, that is what the team has been preaching since day one and it has not changed.
The schedule for the Spartans is not as daunting as it was last season when they faced two teams that were ranked in the FBS poll during the year. It does however pose some challenges to a team hoping to improve on a five-win season.
Some games of note this season are week three when University of Utah comes to CEFCU Stadium and road showdowns with San Diego State, Iowa State and Fresno State.
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