It was no secret going into Saturday’s matchup against Utah that SJSU would have to play its best football to beat the Utes.
 |
| Photo by Kavin Mistry |
Considering how well the Spartans bounced back last weekend against Portland State made the idea of a upset in week 3 more intriguing. The Utes defense left all those thoughts in the dust Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium.
It was nearly impossible for the Spartans to find any consistency on the offensive side of the ball, especially when the Utes’ D were flying across the line and attacking the quarterback.
“They have an outstanding defense,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “That is how we sputtered, especially playing a team with a defense that good.”
Utah’s defense and special teams caused three Spartan turnovers resulting in 17 points. Utah also sacked SJSU quarterbacks 10 times (Utah school record).
“They did a good job getting our quarterbacks,” Caragher said. “We tried changing it up to a three step drop to get the ball out more quickly and they still got pressure on the quarterback.”
The Spartans’ offensive line had no chance against the size and speed of the Utes’ defensive line which gave Spartan quarterbacks little to no time to make a play with the ball.
Quarterback Kenny Potter spent countless plays maneuvering in and out of the pocket with the football to avoid taking big sacks.
 |
| Photo by Kavin Mistry |
“Their defense upfront is pretty impressive,” Potter said. “We did a good job fighting even though we made mistakes including myself, and I take ownership of those.”
The Spartans starting QB was forced from the game after a long scramble play late in the third quarter resulted in him hitting the ground hard and he came up limping.
“I was just trying to make a play,” Potter said. “I told my guys I am going to keep competing and I was going to go for the first down no matter what it looked like.”
Despite all the struggles offensively, SJSU could have found its quarterback of the future.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Love stepped up in the third quarter after Potter left the game and showed signs of life in the passing game.
“He did some nice things,” Caragher said. “He made some throws and made some plays.”
Love finished the game with 184 yards passing on 11 of 21 completions and connected with running back Zamore Zigler on a 46 yard touchdown.
 |
| Photo by Kavin Mistry |
The running game was a lost cause against the Utes only recording 56 yards. The rushing attack has been up and down after going from 53 yards in week 1 to 409 in week 2.
The Spartans will have to gather themselves and check their wounds as they prepare for a tough road game against Iowa State on Saturday.
“We are optimistic about ourselves going forward,” Potter said. “We showed signs of good football out there but we just could not put it all together.”
The missing link
While the Spartans defense had another disappointing showing against the running attack, linebacker Christian Tago could be the answer.
“He does a great job on the sidelines as an extra set of eyes for us,” Spartans linebacker Frank Ginda said. “We are excited for him to come back soon.”
 |
| Photo by Kavin Mistry |
Ginda said without him they are doing a pretty good job defensively, but he will only help them improve once he is able to get back on the field.
Tago is still on the mend from injury and Caragher said he will be out again this week against Iowa State, but once he returns, he will make an immediate impact.
No comments:
Post a Comment