On Friday at 1:00 PM PT on CBS, Stanford football will take on the San Jose State Spartans on the road for the Bill Walsh Legacy Game. Stanford comes in at 3-8 overall and 2-6 in the ACC while San Jose State comes in at 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the Mountain West.
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Last time out: Stanford fell to Cal 24-21 in Berkeley on Saturday in the 127th Big Game.
RECAP: Stanford gives up late lead to Cal in 127th Big Game
On San Jose State: The Spartans have had a solid season this year as they have clinched bowl eligibility. They don’t really have any impressive wins, but they’ve pretty much taken care of business in the games they are supposed to win. They did have a heartbreaking 52-54 double overtime loss at Washington State, who has been ranked for much of the season though just fell out of the AP Top 25 rankings.
The Spartans have a pretty solid offense, averaging 26.9 points per game, which ranks 79th in the nation. Their defense ranks 78th with 26.0 points allowed per game, so their offense and defense are pretty even.
San Jose State redshirt junior quarterback Walker Eget has completed 55.2% of his passes for 1839 yards, seven touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Emmett Brown has completed 57.6% of his passes for 1621 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. It seems like the Spartans have had a bit of a quarterback controversy over the season with Eget getting the go in their most recent game.
The top receiver for the Spartans is redshirt sophomore wide receiver Nick Nash, who has 96 receptions for 1291 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s been fantastic all season long. Redshirt senior wide receiver Justin Lockhart has 48 receptions for 925 yards and four touchdowns, making him the number two receiver on the team.
The go to guy in the backfield for the Spartans is junior running back Floyd Chalk IV, who has rushed for 652 yards and nine touchdowns on 135 attempts per game. He’s averaging 4.8 yards per carry, doing a nice job of moving the chains.
The top tackler for the Spartans is junior linebacker Jordan Pollard, who has 103 total tackles (52 solo), 10 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, and one interception. Senior safety Robert Rahimi is number two in total tackles and is the top ball hawk on the team with 73 total tackles (43 solo), 1.0 sack, and four interceptions. Defensive backs Isiah Revis and DJ Harvey have each returned an interception for a touchdown, so across the board the Spartans do a nice job of getting interceptions and making plays on defense. As for special teams, senior kicker Kyler Halvorsen has gone a perfect 37-37 on extra points, but only 7-12 on his field goals, so there is some vulnerability there.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Nick Nash. He’s by far and away the top offensive weapon for the Spartans. If Stanford can contain him and if in turn, Stanford wide receivers Elic Ayomanor and Emmett Mosley V can have big games, that would be huge for Stanford’s chances.
Secondly, Stanford needs to keep up their pressure on defense. Stanford has been doing a great job of getting after the quarterback lately with guys like Zach Buckey, David Bailey, and Tristan Sinclair making plays in the backfield. If that continues, Stanford should be in a good spot to win.
Finally, Stanford needs to play clean. A fumbled hold on a field goal is what likely cost them The Axe last week. Stanford needs to play clean in all three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. If Stanford can simply play clean and not beat themselves, they should have a real chance to win this game.
Prediction: I’m going to go out on a bit of a limb and pick Stanford to win this one and pick up their fourth win of the season. Stanford has been playing much better the last two weeks whereas San Jose State has lost two straight games and hit a bit of a rough patch. Stanford 31 San Jose State 27 is how I see this one going.
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