**Senior Day Edition**

Boise State University (-11) vs San Jose State University

Date: Saturday November 28th, 2020

Time: 2:00pm MT

Stadium: Albertsons “Bronco” Stadium (36,582)

TV: FOX

Commentators: Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman

Know Thy Enemy

2020 seems more like something Rod Serling would create than real life as Boise State meets up with San Jose State (4-0,4-0) in a Mountain West Conference match up that has major title game implications. The Spartans come into this week's game off of an unexpected ‘bye’ after their match up with Fresno State was canceled due to COVID trouble at Fresno State. San Jose State has taken the Mountain West by storm this season, winning each of their four games, taking out the likes of Air Force, New Mexico, San Diego State, and UNLV. The perennial cellar dwellers are tied for first in the conference and control their own path to what could be their first conference title in program history. The Spartans haven’t been this good since David Fales and company went 11-2 in route to their WAC championship in 2012. They also haven’t started a season 4-0 since 1955.

San Jose State will feature their pass heavy “Air Raid” offense which utilizes multiple receivers and quick developing routes to get the ball out fast and into the hands of their play makers. SJSU has a three headed receiving monster in Bailey Gaither, Tre Walker, and Derrick Deese Jr. All three receivers have multiple touchdowns and account for over half of their teams offensive yards. After losing reigning MW Offensive Player of the year Josh Love to graduation the Spartans dipped into the transfer pool once again to fill the void at quarterback with Nick Starkel the former Arkansas Razorback. The one downside to the spartan offense is they don’t have much of a run game. Their leading rusher is their backup quarterback Nick Nash who primarily gets his attempts through designed quarterback runs.

On defense the Spartans will continue to count on their multi-look 3-4 defense. Last season the Spartans relied heavily on their linebacker corps of Ethan Aquayo, Jess Osuna, and Kyle Harmon for production. This year Kyle Harmon is the only one left out of the three and is arguably the heart and soul of this defense. It seems like the Spartans have fixed their weakness in defending the run this season, only giving up 130 yards on the ground per game. However, it seems like if you can throw the ball and attack the edges of their defense you might be able to find success.

Boise State and San Jose State have faced each other 14 times dating back to 1978 when Jim Criner beat Lynn Stiles 30-15. The two teams have been conference foes in both the WAC and the MW. SJSU has never defeated Boise State.

San Jose State is led by head coach Brett Brennan. Brennan is in his fourth year with the program and after winning just three games in his first two seasons has the Spartans trending upwards finishing last season at 5-7 and starting this season 4-0.

What Happened Last Year

Coming off of a loss to BYU two weeks prior, Boise State headed to the heart of Silicon Valley to face Mountain West doormat San Jose State.

Well no one told quarterback Josh Love and the Spartans that they were supposed to roll over and play dead, as they took an early 14-0 lead. After getting back into the game with a punt return touchdown by Avery Williams and George Holani’s first rushing touchdown the Broncos went into half down 17-24.

The Broncos and the Spartans would go blow for blow in the second half with each team scoring at will. Boise State would lean heavily on the run game in the fourth quarter taking the lead for good on a 6-yard run by George Holani with 11:31 left in the game.

The Broncos then finally got a key defensive stop against the Spartans thanks to a sack by Curtis Weaver, and Andrew Van Buren provided some cushion with a 32-yard score that made it 45-34 with 6:24 to play. Holani would put the game away with his fourth TD of the game with 1:35 to play as the Broncos took down the Spartans in come-from-behind fashion 52-42.

Players to Watch

SAN JOSE STATE

SO., NICK NASH, QB #16

Nick Nash the sophomore out of Irvine, CA may be the backup quarterback, but this backup is leading the team in rushing yards and rushing attempts. Every time he comes into the game it seems to be for a designed quarterback run. The Broncos had a difficult time containing Hawaii’s quarterback Chevan Cordiero, allowing him to run for over 100 yards last week. The Broncos need to make sure they account for #16 when he is on the field.

GS., BAILEY GAITHER, WR #84

Bailey Gaither has pretty much been a permanent fixture in the SJSU football facility. The grad student from Paso Robles, CA is in his sixth year with the Spartans! Gaither has always been productive for the Spartans, but had a breakout season last year amassing over 800 yards on 50 receptions and scoring 6 touchdowns. This season he is producing once again, with his team leading 27 catches, 432 yards and four scores.

JR., KYLE HARMON, MLB #45

Kyle Harmon is the epitome of consistency. Through four games Kyle Harmon has made 20% of the team's total tackles. Harmon made 14 tackles against Air Force, 14 tackles against New Mexico, 14 tackles against San Diego State and 10 tackles against UNLV. You will hear Harmon’s name called a lot in this game, but hopefully it's after a big gain by a Bronco running back.

BOISE STATE

With Saturday being Senior Night for the Broncos all ‘Players to Watch’ will feature Boise State Seniors as a ‘thank you’ to their contributions to the Program.

SR., KEKAULA KANIHO, NICKEL #28

Kekaula Kaniho is just one of those “lightning rod” type players. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and is one of the emotional leaders on the team. Each week he seems to make some sort of highlight reel tackle that makes you go, “oooh.” Playing the nickel corner position means he comes off the edge as a pass rusher as often as he is in pass coverage. This season he is third on the team in tackles and also has 4 pass deflections. Look for Kanhio to get in Spartans passing lanes this week and maybe come up with a pick!

SR., RILEY WHIMPEY, WLB #44

His name might be Whimpey, but Riley Whimpey is anything but that. Whimpey is a cornerstone of this Broncos defense. Whimpey leads the team in tackles and tackles for loss. He also has one sack on the season. This week Whimpey and the rest of the linebackers will have a tough task in covering the short crossing routes of the Spartans.

SR., JALEN WALKER, CB #2

Jalen Walker has come a long way from the sophomore corner who got torched in the Oklahoma State game a few years ago. Walker only has one pass breakup this season, but that in large part, is due to the fact that most quarterbacks won’t throw to the receiver that he is covering. Not only is Walker a cover corner he also excels in defending the run. Walker is second on the team in tackles with 23 and also has a tackle for loss. Walker will be tasked with not only covering but shutting down SJSU WR1 Bailey Gaither.

Other Seniors:

Octavius Evans, WR #11

CT Thomas, WR #6

Brock Miller, WLB #9

Benton Wickersham, MLB #25

Avery Williams, CB #26

Nick Provenzano, WLB #45

Joel Velazquez, K/P #46

Bruno DeRose, MLB #48

Jake Stetz, OL #68

Donte Harrington, OL #71

Nick Crabtree, OL #73

Uzo Osuji, OL #77

Mason Sikes, TE #80

John Bates, TE #85

Evan Tyler, S #5

Sam Whitney, STUD #53

Focus Position Group:

Rev's Route to a Bronco Win

Second Half Surge

It’s been a tale of two halves for the Broncos defense this season. In the first half, the Broncos defense is more than adequate giving up an average of 8 points. In the second half the Broncos are giving up a staggering 22.8 points per game including giving up 29 points to Hawaii and 35 points to BYU. Both BYU and Hawaii are arguably the two best offenses the Broncos have faced. The Spartans are no push over either, so if the Broncos want to come out on top they will need to find a way to limit the scoring in the second half.

Airstrike

This season 12 different Broncos have caught passes. This week the Broncos go up against a San Jose State secondary that is allowing over 200 yards per game through the air. The Broncos need to continue throwing the football all over the field and getting multiple receivers involved so that the Spartans defense can’t key on just one guy.

Leave No Doubt

There’s no question San Jose State is loving their 15 minutes of fame. They haven’t played meaningful football in November in a very long time. Saturday will be a very emotionally charged day with a prime kick off time, being called by top-tier commentating crew, and on a channel all you need is a pair of rabbit ears to watch. Not to mention it’s Senior Day. The Broncos need to come out playing with their “hair on fire” leaving no doubt they are the class of the Mountain West.

Editorial Note

Coach Harsin said this week that he didn’t think you make it to the Mountain West championship game if you lose any conference games. He just might be right. As of right now the top three teams in the Mountain West are Nevada, San Jose State, and Boise State. All three teams are undefeated in conference play.

The Spartans are 4-0, but three of their four wins come against teams who are bottom four in the league. Air Force has won one game, New Mexico is 0-5, and UNLV is 0-4. Their best win is against San Diego State who currently is 3-2, but also doesn’t have a win against a team over .500. San Jose State is no doubt a much improved team and the presence of a SEC caliber quarterback has impacted the huddle. However, I’m not quite ready to call this year's Spartans championship level caliber quite yet.

There is also something to be said to the fact that San Jose State has NEVER defeated the Broncos. There is no doubt that there is a physiological part to sports. Whether it’s Sugar-Salem against Homedale or the Patriots against the Jets, sometimes you just don’t think you can beat the other team. The Broncos have that same mental edge when it comes to facing the Spartans and I don’t think that is going to change any time soon.

Broncos show up and show out on Senior Day.

Boise State 49, San Jose State 21

Rev's Rundown

Rev's Rundown 2020 Week Six: Boise State vs San Jose State Univeristy