San Jose State's historical win over the US Naval Academy last week was the first time in school history they've won in the Eastern Time zone, but presents a unique obstacle for this weekend's homecoming game against Utah State.
Said to be the kiss of death by SJSU's Coach Mike MacIntyre, the game after a Navy defeat is the hardest one that often ends in a loss according to a statement he made in Rivals.com.
But he is optimistic. "They are so beat up because of all the cut blocking and chop blocking and the physicality of the football game," MacIntyre told Rivals.com. "To me, it was a perfect time for an open date.”
"We've got our work cut out for us," MacIntyre told KSL.com regarding their upcoming match against 8th highest scoring college football team Utah State.
Last week, freshman kicker Austin Lopez completed four field goals in the 12-0 victory over Navy, making it the first time in six years the Navy has been shut out at home according to the Navy Times.
And, despite narrowly losing to 17th ranked Stanford, the Spartans have held on to a successful first part of the season.
Lopez isn't the only player excelling in SJSU's football program. Sunnyvale native Travis Johnson, is the only player from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference named to the list of 25 quarterfinalists for the prestigious Lombardi Award according to the San Jose Mercury News.
SJSU's coach MacIntyre is noted top 25 votes in the USA Today national coaches’ poll for the third straight week, according to The Spartan Daily.
SJSU will host USU on Saturday, to open conference play. Kickoff is set at 2:00 p.m. MT and will be televised on ESPN Regional.
