Spartans face stiff challenge against heavily favored Bulldogs
Ryan Buchan
Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: Sports
The last time the SJSU football team won at Fresno State, current starting quarterback Jordan La Secla was one month old.
This Saturday the Spartans travel to the site of their Central Valley rival where they haven't won in 22 years.
Even though the Bulldogs have lost to the Spartans only twice in the past 20 years, Bulldog head coach Pat Hill said a rivalry still exists.
"For all the old timers at Fresno State, San Jose State still is and always will be a big rivalry for us," Hill said in a teleconference Monday.
Fresno State is led by junior running back Ryan Mathews, who has run for 741 yards this season, almost 400 yards more than all the Spartan running backs combined.
"Ryan Mathews is just a sledgehammer," SJSU head coach Dick Tomey said.
Overall, the Bulldogs rank fifth in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing yards per game.
The Spartans have not proved they can stop the run, ranking third to last in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision for rushing defense.
Chris Carter, a junior defensive end for the Bulldogs, leads the Western Athletic Conference in sacks with four, and Spartan quarterbacks are tied with Hawaii for being sacked the most in the conference.
The Spartans strength so far this year has been the turnover battle, where they are the top-ranked team in the conference with a plus-5 turnover margin.
Last week, the Spartans were the first team this season to recover a fumble against the Vandals.
"At the time they were on the 1-yard line," Tomey said. "They were going into the end zone, so that would have been a touchdown. That was a huge turnaround for us."
SJSU has recovered nine fumbles and intercepted five passes this season.
Carl Ihenacho, a senior defensive end for the Spartans, leads the conference in fumble recoveries with three, and sophomore safety Tanner Burns is first in the WAC in forced fumbles with four.
SJSU has also shown this year that it excels on both sides of the ball when in the red zone.
The Spartans are the only WAC team to put up points every time they have driven inside the 20-yard line.
The defense is second in the WAC in red zone efficiency, as opponents have scored 73.9 percent of the time once they get the ball inside the 20-yard line.
The Bulldogs (2-3) come into the game with a better record than SJSU (1-4).
Last week Fresno State defeated Hawaii 42-17 on the island, while the Spartans could not come through in the fourth quarter, losing to Idaho 29-25.
"It was a devastating loss to everybody," Tomey said. "It was the kind of loss you go into the locker room after the game, and you look at people's faces, and you see a lot of guys that are really hurt.
"It is a reminder that in the game that we play, in the game that we love, the difference in the two teams in the game is probably just very little, and the difference in the way you feel is just enormous."
In Saturday's game the Spartans may have some help on the defensive line as senior defensive tackle Kalvin Cressel may be in the lineup after dislocating his elbow against Stanford.
Tomey said Monday the medical staff cleared Cressel to practice.
Last season when the Spartans played the Bulldogs, they went into halftime with a 10-3 lead, but Fresno State ran for 158 yards in the second half to go on to win 24-10.
"In last year's game (SJSU) dominated until the fourth quarter," Hill said. "Then we caught fire."
The last four times the Spartans have defeated the Bulldogs, SJSU has gone to a bowl game.
Only once have the Spartans been to a bowl game in a season when they lost to the Bulldogs.
This Saturday the Spartans travel to the site of their Central Valley rival where they haven't won in 22 years.
Even though the Bulldogs have lost to the Spartans only twice in the past 20 years, Bulldog head coach Pat Hill said a rivalry still exists.
"For all the old timers at Fresno State, San Jose State still is and always will be a big rivalry for us," Hill said in a teleconference Monday.
Fresno State is led by junior running back Ryan Mathews, who has run for 741 yards this season, almost 400 yards more than all the Spartan running backs combined.
"Ryan Mathews is just a sledgehammer," SJSU head coach Dick Tomey said.
Overall, the Bulldogs rank fifth in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing yards per game.
The Spartans have not proved they can stop the run, ranking third to last in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision for rushing defense.
Chris Carter, a junior defensive end for the Bulldogs, leads the Western Athletic Conference in sacks with four, and Spartan quarterbacks are tied with Hawaii for being sacked the most in the conference.
The Spartans strength so far this year has been the turnover battle, where they are the top-ranked team in the conference with a plus-5 turnover margin.
Last week, the Spartans were the first team this season to recover a fumble against the Vandals.
"At the time they were on the 1-yard line," Tomey said. "They were going into the end zone, so that would have been a touchdown. That was a huge turnaround for us."
SJSU has recovered nine fumbles and intercepted five passes this season.
Carl Ihenacho, a senior defensive end for the Spartans, leads the conference in fumble recoveries with three, and sophomore safety Tanner Burns is first in the WAC in forced fumbles with four.
SJSU has also shown this year that it excels on both sides of the ball when in the red zone.
The Spartans are the only WAC team to put up points every time they have driven inside the 20-yard line.
The defense is second in the WAC in red zone efficiency, as opponents have scored 73.9 percent of the time once they get the ball inside the 20-yard line.
The Bulldogs (2-3) come into the game with a better record than SJSU (1-4).
Last week Fresno State defeated Hawaii 42-17 on the island, while the Spartans could not come through in the fourth quarter, losing to Idaho 29-25.
"It was a devastating loss to everybody," Tomey said. "It was the kind of loss you go into the locker room after the game, and you look at people's faces, and you see a lot of guys that are really hurt.
"It is a reminder that in the game that we play, in the game that we love, the difference in the two teams in the game is probably just very little, and the difference in the way you feel is just enormous."
In Saturday's game the Spartans may have some help on the defensive line as senior defensive tackle Kalvin Cressel may be in the lineup after dislocating his elbow against Stanford.
Tomey said Monday the medical staff cleared Cressel to practice.
Last season when the Spartans played the Bulldogs, they went into halftime with a 10-3 lead, but Fresno State ran for 158 yards in the second half to go on to win 24-10.
"In last year's game (SJSU) dominated until the fourth quarter," Hill said. "Then we caught fire."
The last four times the Spartans have defeated the Bulldogs, SJSU has gone to a bowl game.
Only once have the Spartans been to a bowl game in a season when they lost to the Bulldogs.
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