The Cowboys will be looking to avenge their most recent loss to the San Jose State Spartan’s southern neighbors, the San Diego State Aztecs, after the Cowboys dropped a heartbreaker at home to the Aztecs to drop to 1-5 on the season and 1-1 in Mountain West play.
Get to know San Jose State
The Spartans currently sit at an impressive 4-2 overall record, and a 1-1 conference record after dropping their most recent contest against Colorado State. Wyoming head man Jay Sawvel has been impressed by the Spartans so far though.
“[They’re] two one possession games away from being undefeated,” Sawvel said of the Spartans.
The Spartans are led by quarterback Emmett Brown, who has been extremely productive at the position with 1,551 yards and has thrown for 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He has recently been interchanging at the position with Walker Eget, who has only 397 yards throwing the football with one interception.
“I see both of them having strong arms. I see both of them being pretty accurate [and] making good decisions,” Sawvel said of the Spartan quarterbacks.
Perhaps the biggest threat on the Spartans is their talented fifth year senior wide receiver, Nick Nash. Nash currently leads the nation in total receptions as well as receiving touchdowns, as he’s caught 62 balls on the season, including 10 touchdown grabs.
“They revolve around Nick Nash. He’s got 62 catches this year, which is kind of obscene in six games. He’s an excellent player, great at reception point, big body, an experienced player and a really good athlete,” Sawvel said in praise of Nash.
Linebacker Jordan Pollard is the clear standout defensively for the Spartans, as the junior has totaled almost more than half the tackles than the Spartans’ second leading tackler, with 60 tackles on the season so far with 31 of those being solo tackles.
How will the Cowboys slow down this explosive Spartan offense?
The Cowboy defense, despite a multitude of different injuries to different players, has finally been finding consistency after a rough start to the season. They will be facing one of their hardest tests in conference play against the Spartans, as their aerial attack is one of the best in the nation as they rank eighth in passing offense nationally.
“It’s a downfield passing team, [with] 331 yards a game passing the football. So it’s a major challenge in that regard there,” Sawvel said of the Spartan offense.
To add another layer for the Cowboy defense to deal with, the Spartans have recently begun running a dual quarterback system, similar to what Boise State ran just last year with quarterbacks Taylen Green and Maddux Madsen. The Cowboys struggled mightily against the Broncos and their quarterback duo a year ago, as they smacked the Cowboys 32-7.
Will the Cowboys have an answer to the dual quarterback system this year against the Spartans?
“They’re good on offense, and so we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Sawvel said.
Sawvel also mentioned that the Cowboys’ can’t get too caught up in the Spartans’ passing proficiency, as they still have a capable running game with running back Floyd Chalk IV.
“They have a good running back with Floyd Chalk. I think he’s a guy that, if you lighten the box too much, can create issues for you. So that’s obviously something there that we have to pay attention to,” Sawvel said.
Can the Cowboys find any consistency at the quarterback position?
In the Cowboys’ first win of the season against Air Force, starting quarterback Evan Svoboda looked comfortable and in control, taking care of the ball and completing 15 of his 21 passes in that one. At last, it seemed like he was going to step up and be the quarterback that Sawvel has been reiterating he can be.
Then, against the Aztecs last Saturday, Svoboda seemingly took another step back as he accounted for an Aztec touchdown as one of his two interceptions was taken back to the end zone. He also struggled to complete his passes consistently, completing around 39 percent of his passes in the contest.
“There’s five or six throws that need to be made from that game the other day, and he knows that,” Sawvel said of his quarterback.
Still, Sawvel will continue to ride with Svoboda, as he continues to harp on the quarterback’s potential and the playmaking abilities of this young offensive unit with outside threats such as Chris Durr Jr., John Michael Gyllenborg and most recently Jaylen Sargent, who had a massive 74 yard touchdown grab against the Aztecs.
“[Svoboda] gives us the best opportunity to be successful, and I’m going to stand behind that,” Sawvel said.
“When you make a change at that [quarterback] position, you typically don’t get that other guy back, you know.”
But, the question still remains. How many losses will the Cowboys suffer till Svoboda finally finds his footing in this offense?
Will the Cowboys’ road woes end in San Jose?
The Cowboys, since the start of the 2023 season, have only found a single road win in seven trips. That lone win came against a 2-10 Nevada team last season, in the final game of the regular season for both teams that meant virtually nothing for either squad.
Can the Cowboys finally find an elusive road victory against the Spartans this weekend, or will their road and season struggles continue to plague them?
