SAN JOSE – Now that San Jose State has to win its final three games just to become bowl eligible, a matchup against the last place Nevada Wolfpack would seem to be just what the Spartans need.
But they’ll have to do something they haven’t been able to do in 25 years.
Saturday afternoon’s game is in Reno, where the Spartans have only won once in the history of the program. They’ve lost 10 straight in the foothills of Sierra Nevada since Jarmar Julien scored three rushing touchdowns in the final eight minutes to seal the Spartans’ 49-30 win in 2000.
San Jose State (3-6, 2-3 Mountain West) also has yet to win on the road this season and is coming off a frustrating home loss to Air Force.
“It’s not like we’re Ohio State, we’re struggling ourselves,” San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We just need to focus on ourselves. They’ve been in a lot of close games and had opportunities to win, just like us.”
The Spartans have let fourth quarter leads slip away in three of their losses. But in the 26-16 loss to Air Force it was the offense that struggled to keep the Spartans in the contest and helped send them to their third loss in the past four games.
The Spartans, who lead the FBS in passing yards per game (332.6), had three turnovers and allowed a safety. Meanwhile, the No. 8 ranked defense in the Mountain West (419.56 yards per game) limited the conference’s third-ranked scoring offense to seven points below its season average.
Entering the Air Force game, Eget had not thrown an interception since Sept. 7 when SJSU took on Texas. Against the Falcons, Eget threw two picks. FBS leading receiver Danny Scudero (1,126 yards) was held to just 41 yards receiving and did not find the end zone in the loss.
“It never felt in the game that the defense was stopping us,” offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann said. “We stopped ourselves.”
Up next is Nevada (1-8, 0-5 MW), which has played some of the top teams in the Mountain West close, including a 20-17 loss to Fresno State and a 24-22 loss to New Mexico.
Wolfpack defensive lineman Dylan Labarbera is second in the Mountain West in sacks with 6.5. SJSU struggled to give Eget time to throw the ball against Air Force, which resulted in lots of pressure on Eget and balls batted at the line.
In the Spartans three wins they have a plus four turnover margin and in their six losses they have a minus eight turnover margin.
Niumatalolo wants to emphasize the team getting off to a fast start against the Wolfpack. The Spartans defense achieved this last week against the Falcons forcing them to go three and out on their first two drives, but the offense was not able to match as the Spartans settled for a field goal and lost a fumble on their first two drives.
“Starting fast is our mantra every week,” Niumatalolo said. “Our offense came out fast against Hawaii but our players are human. It’s not like you can press a button and they will come out fast.”
The Spartans defense had one of their stronger showings of the season limiting the Falcons offense to 302 yards of total offense. Air Force is averaging 438 yards total yards of offense this season.
The Spartans, who have struggled in pass coverage this season, did not get tested too much against an Air Force offense that is an option heavy and had 63 passing attempts compared to just 10 rushing attempts.
This week against Nevada, SJSU faces off against the worst passing offense in the Mountain West. Nevada ranks last in the Mountain West in passing yards per game (153.67), last in total passing touchdowns (7), while having the most interceptions thrown (17).
The Wolfpack started the year with Chubba Purdy, brother of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, before giving the keys to the offense to true freshman quarterback Carter Jones after Purdy struggled.
Carter has thrown for 661 yards, three touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The Spartans defense ranks eleventh in passing yards allowed (281 yards per game) and defensive coordinator Derrick Odum hopes that the defense can build upon one of its better outings of the 2025 season.
“There have been some moments that we would have liked to get better at, that’s just football,” Odum said. “There’s been no pointing fingers. They’re a close knit group and always looking to improve every week.”
Nevada’s defense ranks around the middle of the pack in both rushing defense (152.89 yards allowed per game, sixth in the MW) and passing defense (230.67 yards allowed per game, seventh in the MW).
The Spartans offense hopes to get back on track after a rough outing against Air Force. Their wide receiving core sees Scudero paired with Kyri Shoels (680 receiving yards, fourth in MW) and Leland Smith (643 receiving yards, 6th in MW), making one of the most dynamic receiving rooms in the entire country.
Eget is also first in all of FBS with 2,941 passing yards.
While the passing offense has always excelled, the Spartans offense has seen a boost since freshman running back Steve Chavez-Soto has emerged as a part of a dual-headed backfield with Lamar Radcliffe.
Chavez-Soto got significant playing time during SJSU’s win against New Mexico on Oct. 3. The week prior he was on scout team, only getting playing time because Floyd Chalk IV redshirted, Jabari Bates got injured the week prior and Viliami Teu got injured on his first carry against New Mexico.
Since getting his shot, Chavez-Soto has 300 yards rushing, seven touchdowns and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry in five games played.
“He approached everything like he’s the starter from day one,” running backs coach Michael Smith said. “That builds confidence in not only me, but the whole coaching staff.”
With bowl eligibility on the line, SJSU cannot overlook any opponent over its next three games.
“We recognize it’s a hard place to win,” Niumatalolo said. “We’re looking forward to this challenge.”