Date/Time: Friday, October 3, 2025 – 7 PM PDT
Location: CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, CA
Broadcast: Fox Sports 1
Radio: 860 KTRB AM
Head-to-head: San Jose State leads the all-time series 15-1-5
Spread: Spartans favored by 2.5 (O/U 58.5)
San Jose State (1-3, 0-0 MW) comes into the next phase of their season opening up Mountain West conference play Friday night against a surprising New Mexico team (3-1, 0-0 MW).
Considering preseason polls, expectations are currently a bit flipped — but as the saying goes, ‘It’s
still early.‘
First-year Lobos’ head coach Jason Eck, formerly head coach of the Idaho Vandals, literally started from scratch after Bronco Mendenhall departed New Mexico after only one season (Mendenhall is now Utah State’s head coach).
“With coach Ecks doing what he’s doing starting from ground zero with the player exodus after coach Mendenhall left is impressive,” said Spartan head coach Ken Niumatalolo on UNMs fast start. “We’re going to have our hands full Friday night.”
San Jose on the other hand has been on the slow road of progress this season.
“Our offense last week against Stanford is what I saw all of spring ball and fall camp,” said Niumatalolo. “I see us going up on that trajectory and I like the way we’re playing right now on offense.”
It’s an offense Niumatalolo and staff were expecting right out of of the gate since the opening loss to Central Michigan that could have / should have been a win…as the saying goes.
“At 1-3, we’re not where we want to be obviously,” said Niumatalolo. “With two of our losses at a combined three-points, we recognize we were just two plays away from being 3-1.”
Or an analytics nerd can also be look at losses like aviation crashes, where it’s typically almost always the result of a chain of contributing factors, rather than a single incident, leading to a crash — in this case a loss. Of course, human error is the most frequent cause either way.
For San Jose State’s heart-breaking loss last week, as phenomenal as the offensive fire power was, a series of events in that loss could be connected back to a handful of defensive miscues, critically dropped passes, and a couple of makeable field goals that, if even half-executed, could have been a decisive win over the Cardinal.
A notable fall-out after last week is the demotion of kicker Denis Lynch after two chip shot field goal misses and six misses overall. Mathias Brown will take over.
“As tough as last week was to lose it like we did after leading for most of the game, we’re ready to press forward and get into conference play,” said Niumatalolo.
Niumatalolo is also certainly paying attention to the minutia of the game by calling strategic time outs, adjusting play-by-play and noting weaknesses and imbalances on the spot — but again…as the saying goes, it all still comes down to execution on the field.
The Lobos
New Mexico enters with balance and momentum having won three straight games, including a convincing 38-20 win over rival New Mexico State last week.
The UNM offense is buoyed by running backs Scottre Humphrey and Damon Bankston who provide a solid ground game (174-yards per game avg., 4.5 yards per carry). QB Jack Layne, who also came from Idaho, has been highly efficient, completing 69% of his passes, throwing for 818 yards with seven TDs (3 INTs).
On defense, the coaches’ son, linebacker Jaxton Eck, leads the team in tackles, while DT Keyshawn James-Newby provides the Lobos’ pass-rush presence. New Mexico is among the top in sacks in the MW with 11.
The elder Eck employs a pro-set, ball control offense that aims to chew away clock and minimize risk. Defensively, UNMs 4-2-5 scheme focuses on putting pressure on the quarterback.
The Spartans’ counter
Against Stanford, who had 10 sacks coming into last week’s encounter against the Spartans, SJS’ offensive line gave up zero sacks; opening up QB Walker Eget to a career day with 473 yards passing and three touchdowns.
The expectation for the offensive line is for more of the same this week, if this trajectory is to meet its apex, as it is clear as it ever was that the Spartan’s strength lies in their passing game.
Eget’s amassed 1,187 yards to top targets Danny Scudero (33 catches, 520 yards) and Kyri Shoels (23 catches, 269 yards) with Leland Smith reaching his first 100-yard receiving game last week.
It’s a passing smorsgabord that has more weapons and more dimensions if they find a stable stride on this trajectory ride.
The running game has been less consistent, though Jabari Bates has been a surprising go-to (92 yards, 2 TDs).
Unfortunately, Bates will not play this week due to injury. Floyd Chalk IV, Lamar Radcliffe with doses of freshman QB Tama Amisone will have to provide some basic level of counterbalance.
On defensive, San Jose has also been inconsistent allowing multiple big plays in recent games. If things remain shaky for the Spartan defense and New Mexico can execute a balanced attack to control tempo, it may be another high scoring affair, as it has been in the last few matchups.
“In our mind, we’re at a 0-0 mindset starting league play,” said Niumatalolo. “We recognize our record isn’t indicative of where we should be — it would be different if we were getting blown out every game.”
“It’s a fresh start for us,” as the saying goes.
