San Jose State makes the trip to Romey Stadium to take on Utah State Friday night. This will not be an easy game for the Spartans as the Aggies are playing extremely well despite being on their fourth-string quarterback. So, what does San Jose State have to do to pull off the huge upset against Utah State. In short, it will take a lot for the Spartans to rebound from being shutout at home against Hawaii to playing a defense that could easily be categorized as the best they have played all year.
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Story line
San Jose State has lost four in a row and Utah State has won four straight. San Jose State quarterback Joe Gray is unlikely to play because of a shoulder injury, meaning senior Blake Jurich — who started the first three games this season — probably will get the call to face the Aggies, who are in a three-way tie atop the Mountain Division. Because of injuries, Utah State is on its fourth starting QB of the season, freshman Kent Myers.
There's nothing tangible left on the line for San Jose State after its loss to Hawaii a week ago ended any chance at a bowl game. The last time the Spartans played a game without postseason implications was 2011, and that came about after losing a 34-33 heartbreaker to the Aggies in Logan. That was also the last time they faced Utah State on the road and the loss dropped them to 3-7, although they won their final two games to finish 5-7. They would love to accomplish the same this year.
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INJURY UPDATE: San Jose State -- DE Eugene Taylor (knee), TE Billy Freeman (leg/ankle), OL Keith Bendixen (undisclosed), RB Jarrod Lawson (suspension), RB Thomas Tucker (foot), DT Keenan Sykes (disciplinary), LB Moses Saucedo (knee), LB Jared Leaf (burns), OL Nico Aimonetti (shoulder) and OL Oscar Barron (concussion) are out. QB Joe Gray (shoulder/foot) and DT Tony Popovich (concussion) are doubtful. OL Fernando Villanueva (concussion) is probable. Utah State -- QB Chuckie Keeton (knee), QB Darell Garretson (wrist), QB Craig Harrison (knee), LB Kyler Fackrell (knee), WR Brandon Swindall (Achilles), WR Hayden Weichers (suspension), LB LT Filiaga (undisclosed), WR Shaan Johnson (Knee), LB Alex Huerta (shoulder) are out. LB Nick Vigil (hamstring) and LB Torrey Green (ankle) are questionable.
What to watch for
Jurich hasn’t played since a 24-7 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 20. He threw two interceptions in that game and two in a loss at Auburn on Sept. 6. A daunting stat for Jurich and the Spartans: Utah State leads the Mountain West in interceptions this season with 18.
Myers has started the past three games. He didn’t throw too often in the first two, but when he did, he preferred to be accurate: He went 14-for-15 at Hawaii on Nov. 1 and 13-for-16 at Wyoming on Nov. 7.
San Jose State punter Michael Carrizosa figures to get on the field more often than he did in the Spartans’ 13-0 loss to Hawaii on Saturday. It’s almost impossible to not score and not punt in a game, but the Spartans somehow managed to do so.
Stats that matter
San Jose State's turnover and red-zone issues keep getting worse. After a minus-2 effort against Hawaii, the Spartans are minus-11 on the year. That's worst in the Mountain West -- UNLV is next at minus-6 -- and 117th in the country. SJSU is an awful 25 for 37 in the red zone, a 67.6 scoring rate that's 121st nationally. The Spartans' touchdown rate of 43.2 (16 for 37) is the worst in the conference.
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