For the first time since 2017, the San Jose State Spartans will be traveling to Austin to face off against the No. 7 Texas Longhorns on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Both teams will be looking for their first victory of the new season after each team lost close games to open the year.
San Jose State dropped a heartbreaking 16-14 loss to Central Michigan after missing two fourth-quarter field goals. The Spartans fell into an early hole, but rallied with 14 unanswered points to grab
the lead before the Chippewas answered with a go-ahead field at the 4:13 mark, and San Jose State’s ensuing drive stalled at the 11-yard line, where a 33-yard field goal was tipped at the line. The Spartans got one last chance in the closing seconds, but a 56-yard attempt sailed wide right, sealing the win for the Chippewas.
Head coach Ken Niumatalolo turned the page quickly after the loss to Central Michigan.
“We have no choice but to bounce back,” Niumatalolo said. “We’re playing the best team in the country when we come back. Obviously, Central Michigan is a good team, but we’re playing the No. 1 team in the country. We’ve got to play better.”
Niumatalolo is in his second year at the helm after leading the Spartans to a 7-6 overall record and tying for the fifth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference. San Jose State lost 41-39 in a five-overtime thriller to South Florida in the Hawaii Bowl to end their season.
“Ton of respect for Kenny Niumatalolo, the job that he’s done throughout his career, the job that he’s done at San Jose State,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. “Just last year alone, they beat Oregon State, they beat Washington State, they beat Stanford, and they lose in five overtimes to South Florida in their bowl game. So he’s done a great job.”
The longtime Navy head coach took over the program after Brent Brennan left California to take the head coaching job at Arizona. Brennan struggled early in his tenure, but pushed the program to heights that hadn’t been reached in decades — under Brennan, the 2020 team won San Jose State’s first conference championship since 1990 and appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings. In 2022, the Spartans reached another bowl game.
The 2023 season was particularly impressive. After a 1-5 start, Brennan and his staff guided the Spartans to a six-game winning streak to close the regular season and secure a bowl berth. The consecutive postseason appearances in 2022 and 2023 marked the program’s first back-to-back bowl trips since 1986–87.
Niumatolo was hired to push San Jose State to even higher levels. Niumatolo is most notable for his tenure at the Naval Academy. In 15 years, Niumatolo amassed a 109-83 record, including six bowl victories, leaving Navy as the all-time wins leader.
Offense
Despite running the triple option at Navy, Niumatolo has adopted a more dynamic modern offense at San Jose State, opting to run a hybrid of the Run n Shoot and Air Raid known as the “Spread n Shred.” Offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann is the mastermind of this variation and has experienced success with it at Hawaii, Washington State, and Utah Tech.
“They’re going to throw a ball over the yard — it’s Run n Shoot at its finest,” Sarkisian said.
The Spartan offense relies heavily on quick decisions, wide receiver motion, and option routes, operating at an up-tempo pace while rarely huddling and is designed to punish a defense with the tempo and versatility of every play.
Leading the charge at quarterback is returning starter Walker Eget, a 6’3” redshirt senior from Santa Clarita (Calif.) who played in 12 games last year, including starting the final seven. He completed 188-of-328 (57.3 percent) of his passes last season along with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His season- and career-best performance came against No.13 Boise State, amassing 446 passing yards and three touchdowns on 50 attempts.
In his second year in the system, the expectations for Eget are higher, despite a new cohort of wideouts. Much of San Jose State’s success this year will ride on Eget’s shoulders.
In the season-opening loss to Central Michigan, Eget passed for 308 yards on 24-of-43 (55.8 percent) passing, including two touchdowns and two interceptions. Eget’s performance will need to be better against Texas and beyond for the Spartans to improve upon last year’s success.
One of the biggest challenges facing Eget and the entire offense is the departure of two superstar wide recievers — Nick Nash and Justin Lockhart. Nash was the collegiate triple crown winner last year, leading the nation in catches (104), yards (1,382), and touchdowns (16). A Unanimous All-American, Nash lost the Biletnikoff Award to Travis Hunter. Just behind Nash was Lockhart, who finished the season with 983 yards and five touchdowns.
Both players departed for the NFL, leaving huge question marks a critical position. Third option TreyShun Hurry also opted to depart via the transfer portal after catching 28 passes for 481 yards and two touchdowns.
To replace Nash, Lockhart, and Hurry, the Spartans turn to returning redshirt junior Matthew Coleman and transfers Leland Smith, Malachi Riley, and Danny Scudero.
Last year, Coleman was tied for third on the team with 34 catches and fourth in receiving yards with 401 along with two touchdowns.
After enrolling at Fullerton Junior College out of high school, Smith transferred to Purdue for a season as the No. 4-ranked JUCO wide receiver. He spent one season in the black and gold, recording six catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns. In the season opener, Smith recorded the team’s first touchdown.
Riley joins the Spartans after two years at Arizona. The redshirt sophomore recorded five total receptions after battling injuries for most of his second season.
Scudero is the final piece of the puzzle at wide receiver. Originally from San Jose, the 5’9, 174-pound pass catcher spent two seasons at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State this past offseason. Scudero is a reliable target, albeit undersized for a traditional wide receiver.
After one game, Scudero looks poised to fill the shoes of Nick Nash. Tallying nine receptions for 189 yards and one touchdown, Scudero put on a show against Central Michigan in his debut for San Jose State. Expect Scudero to a focal point of the game plan for the Spartans on Saturday.
Another key position for the Spartan offense is the tight end. Redshirt senior Jackson Canaan looks to lead the group after bursting onto the scene last season. The 6’2, 227-pound Sacramento native reeled in career highs in receptions (28), yards (314), and touchdowns (2) in 2024. Canaan is a key player for the Spartans whose value only increased after former Spartan Jacob Stewart transferred in the offseason. Stewart led the tight end room in receptions and touchdowns last seasons.
As the Spartans look to navigate the departure of so much talent on the outside, Canaan’s ability to create production from the tight end spot is critical to success. Against Central Michigan, Canaan proved to be a reliable target, reeling in five catches for 33 yards. Other than Scudero and Canaan, no other player caught more than two passes for the Spartans.
The running back position returns some familiar faces for the Spartans. Between senior Floyd Chalk and sophomore Lamar Radcliffe, the San Jose State offense returns 75.3 percent of their ground production from a year ago. Chalk leads the way for his second season as a Spartan after spending two years at Grambling State. He rushed for 721 yards on 154 carries and notched 10 touchdowns in his debut season at San Jose State.
Radcliffe will also be a factor in the ground attack after a promising end to his freshman campaign. The Sacramento product finished the year with 33 carries and 141 yards and one touchdown including a season ending exclamation mark against USF in the Hawai’i Bowl, where he ran for career high 65 yards and one touchdown.
Against Central Michigan, San Jose State ran the ball 24 times. Chalk received 11 carries and totaled 44 yards while Radcliffe rushed seven times for 15 yards.
While Floyd is the clear RB1, Radcliffe will see his fair share of carries, especially as San Jose State looks to balance the frequent passing of the Spread n Shred offense.
Up front, the Spartans return a wealth of experience and talent.
Left guard Sione Nomani and center Joseph Harbert are back to anchor the interior, while Peseti Lapuaho shifts from right tackle to left tackle for the 2025 campaign. Lapuaho comes into the season as a preseason first-team All-Mountain West selection. At right guard, Tyler Chen emerged during the offseason after starting five games last year following stints at Utah Tech and Weber State. On the edge, Nate Hale solidified himself as the top option at right tackle.
This unit came together early in spring ball, giving the coaching staff confidence in their cohesion and continuity. With both experience and skill, the group has had the benefit of working as a unit through spring and fall camp.
Against Texas, the Spartans will still be looking to figure out who will make plays for the offense. While they have key pieces returning up front and in the backfield, the questions at wide receiver remain unanswered given the frequency with which the Spartans attack through the air.
Defense
Defensively, the Spartans lost top-end talent in the secondary with the departures of DJ Harvey and Robert Rahimi, who transferred to USC and SMU, respectively. Redshirt senior Isiah Revis will look to build upon a breakout campaign last season to lead the secondary. He was third on the team in tackles, adding seven tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions.
Joining Revis with returning production is redshirt senior Jalen Apalit-Williams, who previously appeared in 35 games, recording 18 tackles, a sack, and interception last season. Against Central Michigan he was second on the team with eight tackles.
Expect redshirt senior Jalen Bainer, redshirt junior Kejuan Bullard, and redshirt freshman Jaylen Thomas to all get heavy action as well despite not seeing many snaps before this year. Transfer Caleb Presley was also brought in to compete for snaps at the corner position after spending a year at Washington.
While the secondary poses some uncertainty, the front seven should be much more consistent for the Spartans. At middle linebacker, senior Jordan Pollard recorded career-highs in tackles (115), tackles for loss (14), pass breakups (3), sacks (2) and also added an interception last year. Against Central Michigan, Pollard notched 15 tackles.
Beside Pollard is redshirt senior Taniela Latu, who started all 12 games last season and racked up 70 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. In his second year starting next to Pollard, Latu is poised to be a force.
Another name to monitor is outside linebacker Noah McNeal-Franklin, a senior looking to make a jump in production. After finishing 2024 with 53 tackles, McNeal-Franklin is already off to a hot start, recording eight against Central Michigan.
Up front, San Jose State will look to continue a historic 2024 season as the defensive line contributed 93 tackles for loss, which ranked 16th nationally and second in the conference.
Defensive tackle Gafa Faga is the most formidable threat. A preseason first-team All-Mountain West selection, Faga is coming off a career year during which he recorded highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks.
In addition, redshirt senior defensive end Quincy Likio is a player to watch. He missed nine games to injury last year and still set career highs in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. A preseason All-Mountain West selection, Likio will be an important member of the Spartan defensive line.
Against Central Michigan, Faga and Likio combined for six tackles up front. Pollard commented on the play of the two after the loss, “I feel like Faga had a great game. He was out there throwing stuff around, making big plays. So was Likio.”
Redshirt junior Justin Stearns will likely be a key contributor on the edge for the Spartans. The well-sized pass rusher finished last season with career-highs in tackles (28), tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (two).
Against Central Michigan, San Jose State failed to record a sack. The ability to rush the quarterback will undoubtedly be a focus this week and beyond as the Spartans look to disrupt opposing quarterbacks and help an inexperienced secondary.
Special teams
On special teams, San Jose State has talent. At kicker, Denis Lynch brings experience and skill despite struggling against Central Michigan. While starting at USC in 2023, Lynch went 65-of-66 (98.4 percent) on extra points and 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) on field goals. He did not kick last year and arrives for his first year at San Jose State.
Handling punting duties is Trent Carrizosa. He finished 2024 with 46 punts while averaging 43.2 yards and downing 12 inside the 20. Against Central Michigan, Carrizosa booted five punts while averaging 50.0 yards per punt, including a 68-yarder and one downed inside the 20. His leg is a weapon for the Spartans.
Expectations for the Spartans this year are high. Preseason polls predicted them to finish as high as third in the Mountain West Conference. But as the Spartans head into Austin, this matchup is undoubtedly an uphill battle for Niumatolo and crew.
Texas is currently a 35.5-point favorite against San Jose State, according to FanDuel.
“Good challenge, good opportunity for us, but this week is really about us and what we do if everybody in the organization is being coachable and striving to get better this week. So it’s a lot of internal focus for us,” Sarkisian said.
