San Jose State Spartans Season Preview

Only one bowl appearance since 1991 for the Spartans just tells you how miserable life can be in college football.  Looking at 2000-2009 San Jose State is tied for 94th with Syracuse at 46-73 with a winning percentage of just 38.6 percent.

Mike MacIntyre took over for Dick Tomey who went 25-35 (6-24 WAC) through five seasons. His Spartans made it to the 2006 New Mexico Bowl, and they upset the Lobos in their own stadium (University Stadium).

MacIntyre went 1-12 in his first year under the helm, and though he has never had previous history of being a head ball coach, he has a ton of experience as an assistant. He had a short stint in the NFL with the Jets and Cowboys from 2003 to 2007. He also went to Georgia, Temple, Ole Miss and Duke.

San Jose State has gone just 3-22 the past three seasons, and with seven back on offense and 11 back on defense, you would think improvements made would be a foregone conclusion.

The offense was just 101st in total offense YPG averaging just 315. Incoming freshmen Joe Gray is expected to compete though the starter has been named it is Matt Faulkner. RB Brandon Rutley returns after he was the leading rush with just 461 yards and four TD’s. 

Both led the team and with six of the top seven pass catchers the passing game should improve upon its 2010 ranking.

Last season they were 45th averaging 236 YPG and the lack of playmakers killed this team at times. Noel Grigsby, Josh Harrison and Chandler Jones are all back, but going against solid competition (Stanford, UCLA, BYU, Hawaii and Nevada) will be no cakewalk. 

The defense was 117th in total defense yards allowed at 463 per game. However, all four return in the back four which gives them a slight edge for having the best secondary in the WAC!

They are led by Peyton Thompson who is a very active corner at 5’11", 180 with fluid hips and a nice burst of quickness. Duke Ihenacio at SS is a big hitter who has a great chance of making First-Team All-WAC as well. 

If these Spartans were as good up front as they were in the back four, I would pencil them in for six, perhaps as many as seven wins.

However, with an abysmal offense and a front seven that was just gashed game after game a season ago (104th allowed 203 YPG), there is no arguing another losing season is in order for San Jose State.

Predicted Finish: 3-9, 3-4

Predicted Bowl: None

Predicted order of finish in WAC: Fifth