San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro (2) passes downfield against Nevada in the second quarter of a Mountain West football game, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
SAN JOSE – San Jose State has a chance Saturday night to accomplish something it hasn’t done since 1987:
Become bowl eligible twice in the span of three years.
The Spartans (5-2, 3-1 Mountain West) can become bowl eligible with a home win over Colorado State. SJSU is a three-touchdown favorite, and the Rams (2-6, 2-2 MW) are coming off a 39-point loss at Boise State.
SJSU played in the Arizona Bowl in 2020, the Spartans’ first bowl appearance since 2015. The only other time in the modern era SJSU has appeared in two bowl games over a three-year span was when it played in the California Bowl in 1986 and 1987.
SJSU is tied with Fresno State in the West division of the Mountain West. The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-1) have won four consecutive games and after a 17-10 win over the Spartans on Oct. 15 holds the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.
The Spartans host Colorado State a week after an emotional comeback win over Nevada, played eight days after the death of teammate Camdan McWright.
“The thing that is going to stay with us forever is going to be the loss of Camdan,” said head coach Brent Brennan this week. “That’s the hardest part and we are still working through that and that’s going to take a really long time.”
“All about this next one”
After the rollercoaster of emotions from the previous week, Brennan said it was important for the Spartans to prepare for Colorado State this week as normal as possible.
“We got back to the office Sunday morning and we were all about this next one,” Brennan said. “Everyone’s doing the best they can working through a really hard and sad deal.”
That is something the Spartans will have to delicately balance the rest of the season.
“We needed to grieve and work through that process for Camdan, but we also needed to get ready to play and we are still doing that now.”
Hall and Fehoko heating up
Defensive ends Cade Hall and Junior Fehoko delivered the breakout game many fans had been waiting for from the senior tandem against Nevada.
The two local products, Hall from Bellarmine prep, and Fehoko from St. Francis, combined for seven sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss.
Fehoko was awarded with a Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
The big day from Hall – he had a career-high four sacks – shot him up to second in the Mountain West in sacks (6.5) and Fehoko now leads the conference in tackles for loss (12).
Trading places
After three years as quarterback, Nick Nash’s hopes of becoming the full time starter were dashed when Hawaii transfer Chevan Corderio arrived last spring.
Nash, who had rushed for 100 yards multiple times as quarterback, made his season debut Saturday at wide receiver and had one catch for six yards and played special teams.
“It was funny, I was talking to our receiver’s coach E [Eric] Scott about it after practice last week and I said, ‘Hey, Nick looks ready to play’ and he started laughing and said, ‘He’s going to play.'”
Brennan believes it speaks to the team’s culture of how each player is willing to contribute and give “‘to the greater good.”
Same Cordeiro, new target
Cordeiro has thrown for nearly 600 more yards than any other Mountain West quarterback and has the best touchdown to interception ratio in the conference at nine-to-one.
His roommates, Elijah Cooks and Justin Lockhart, have been his two of his most frequent targets, combining for 60 catches and 1,010 yards. But a new option has emerged: tight end Dominick Mazotti.
Mazotti, in his third year, has caught 14 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns in his last three games, surpassing his season totals from 2021.
Brennan praised Mazotti for his work ethic, energy and said, “There’s no question that at some point in my career me or one of my former coaches or coaching friends will hire Dominick Mazotti to coach.”
Look at the tape, not the point spread
The Spartans are 24.5-point favorites at home for the second consecutive week.
But Brennan doesn’t want his team to overlook an opponent based on what Vegas has to say about the matchup.
“That’s for the fans and that’s for people to do that, but it’s not for us,” said Brennan. “We have to be honest about what we see on the tape, we have to assess the opponent.”
Fresh off a 49-10 loss to Boise State, opponents have outscored the Rams by 157 points. They scored 17 points in both of their wins – Hawaii and Nevada.
Although Colorado State is tied for third in the Mountain West Mountain division, they have the lowest-scoring offense in the conference (12.5 points per game) and have allowed the second-most points per game, 32.1.
Originally published at Matt Weiner