So I took the opportunity to look over San Jose St.'s 2 losses this year - Week 0/0.5 loss to (#19) USF, and Week 2 loss to Texas. Overall observations are that SJSU went up 16-0 on USF, until USF shook off the cross-country trip and came storming back with about 35 unanswered points through 3 quarters. Texas was just a game that was a bit too big of a situation for SJSU, they looked outclassed from the beginning. For whatever reason, I tend to think that Utah isn't the kind of name where teams come in and look star-struck, but rather we're just 'big' enough to where teams want to come in and knock us off our perch.
Offense:
SJSU runs a GFGH offense on steroids. If they are able to get into a rhythm, they will snap the ball almost as soon as its set. This really caught USF off guard for the beginning of the game and led to a bunch of miscues and missed assignments. When they are in their fast tempo set, they will run the same formation with the same personnel for several plays on end. I think Utah has enough versatile defenders that I'm not too worried about being caught in the wrong personnel package, since we have hybrids across the levels.
They started the season with QB #12 Love, who had a good arm and seemed to have command of the offense. Halfway through USF they switched to #7 Aaron Jr., who is more dual threat, and they introduced a dab of read-option plays. I say a dab, because it was not a focus at all, just a one-off every once in a while. Texas was all #7, who did not have a 'bad' game, but didn't really do anything to help his team overcome the Texas defense either. He seems prone to losing defenders while scanning coverage and can throw directly to them if he misreads a coverage. I don't know who will start this week, but Love did not play after being pulled in Week 1 against Cal Poly - even mop up duty at the end of the Texas game was the 3rd string QB.
TE #89 Oliver is a big, fast dynamic receiver. However, he seemed to go down with a lower leg injury against Texas and wasn't seen in the 4th Quarter. I haven't seen any talk about him being injured or even questionable, so I won't be surprised to see him line up on Saturday. #89 is a lot like Bushman from last week, tall and strong and can find the soft spot in underneath coverage to slip out and get a good 7-12 yd gain. SJSU runs a unique screen I've seen in both the games I watched, where they slip the RB out as a blocker and the TE makes a half-block and then slips out to catch a pass - maybe not so much of a screen as much as it is an underneath, inside flood concept, but the result is similar, it can catch defenses who have dropped into coverage under-manned to prevent a 1st down.
SJSU seems to rely on a couple different RBs, with #20 Roberson and a couple others running. Unfortunately, the other part of their run game, the OL has not lived up to expectations and was simply bullied by Texas last week. USF was a little less successful early on, but countered later in the game and held SJSU's rushing attack in check. With Utah's arguably superior front 7, I'm not overly concerned, only whether we can handle the tempo and get aligned correctly for our defensive sets.
In pass blocking, the OL has been able to provide time to the QBs, so I am interested to see if our pressure can make an impact. SJSU is not afraid to run a max protect scheme, and send out their WRs on longer routes to stress defenses vertically. With WR #84 Gaither being a speedster, they have been able to repeatedly go over the top on corners you would have thought to be just as fast. Gaither is a true threat, and a couple of the other receivers seem to have sure hands (while others have had some big drops that have ended drives). I like this test for our secondary, since it will be a step up from UND and I think SJSU will be able to buy time for their QB with their max protect plays.
Defense:
SJSU runs a 3-4 defense, but tends to give everything from a Bear 5-2 look to a 3-2 Dime coverage look. In their 3-4 set, their DL are large. However, SJSU may have suffered a debilitating injury last week against Texas. Their NG, #96 Latu (a local Utah prospect I believe) went down early in the game and didn't come back. I also think they have another injury on the line, Velichko one of their ends. The replacements were serviceable at taking up space in the middle, but were ineffective when combo-blocked or at generating any sort of pass rush. SJSU likes to and WILL blitz. In their early game against USF, it seemed like they were sending at least a pair of blitzers every down. They employ a variety of stunts, delayed blitzes, and slants that I am hoping our OL can handle.
The LBers are all veterans, and ones we are familar with from last year. LB #5 Ginda is currently leading the nation in tackles. His partner inside seemed to get hampered by a lower-leg injury against Texas, but I'm not sure it will keep him out. Their OLB are almost like SSs in that they are commonly split out wide to cover slot receivers or flat coverages. The LBs seemed hesitant in both games I saw, more willing to let the play come to them rather then step up and fill a hole. However, it did seem like they made an effort to scrap fast over the top to contain edge runs, which left plenty of cut back lanes for Texas' running back.
The DBs seem to be solid, and I think the numbers back them up. However, this may be a bit of a false indicator, since I was not too impressed with Texas' QB's passing or with USF's WRs. Against Texas, it seemed like after the run game had taken its toll, the passing lanes were WIDE open, but either the QB missed throws or the WRs had it bounce off their hands. I think our passing game and overall offensive scheme will have success here, given Huntley's already high passing pct. DB #21 Chachere (SA-shur-ay) is a solid corner. He's had a couple chance at interceptions but has dropped them. His opposite partner, #3 Kelly Jr. is the one teams seem to pick on. Safety #23 Bierra went down in the USF game, but was back for Texas and is a strong All-MWC contender. He is able to both cover and step up into the run game. He isn't as much of a force on the field as our own safeties, but also hasn't seemed to be tested too much in the games I watched (teams simply ran on SJSU).
Special Teams:
SJSU has a legit Ray Guy Award contender. Corrizosa is very much an elite punter - able to combine hang time with distance and pin opponents deep. His distance is not as elite as our own aussie punter's, but his aim is accurate, and he has been able to limit opponents return game to almost nil. Coverage is also great on punts.
I have not been able to see much of their place kicker or their kick-off specialist (1 FG against USF and 3 kick-offs) - nothing too notable.
WR# 84 Gaither is the kick off returner, and I've already said he is a threat. He has a quick burst and high top end speed that makes him dangerous. His speed reminds me of Reggie Dunn, and his look reminds me of EWU's Cooper Kupp from last year. Our coverage, if we fail to kick it out of the end zone, will have to be lights out to remove any possibility of him getting any daylight to break it open.
Overall:
SJSU's defense was unable to stop the run against Texas and they were left on the field for long, soul-eating, time-running drives. Combined with the hardships the offense was going through, the 2nd half of the Texas game quickly got away from them. But prior to that, near the end of the 2nd Quarter, they were only down 14-0 and had the ball in the redzone. They failed on a 4th-and-short and the wheels seemed to fall off as Texas scored late going into half time to make it 21-0. Against USF, they showed fire early, but as the visiting team got their legs under them they seemed to wilt under a combination of failed offensive drives and dominating drives by USF.
I'm not sure SJSU is all the way recovered from their thrashing in Austin, but I'm also not sure this is going to be the cake-walk that many have stated. SJSU has solid athletes, especially on defense, and some true threats on offense. I know the Utes won't overlook them, but I also want to see some great improvement, especially on our offensive line to show that they can take advantage of opponents weaknesses (in this instance, defense against the run). I think TTaylor's scheme will stress SJSU in ways they haven't been before, but I also think SJSU has seen mobile QBs already this year, so they won't be completely shocked by what Huntley can do.
In all, I think it will be a great game.
Offense:
SJSU runs a GFGH offense on steroids. If they are able to get into a rhythm, they will snap the ball almost as soon as its set. This really caught USF off guard for the beginning of the game and led to a bunch of miscues and missed assignments. When they are in their fast tempo set, they will run the same formation with the same personnel for several plays on end. I think Utah has enough versatile defenders that I'm not too worried about being caught in the wrong personnel package, since we have hybrids across the levels.
They started the season with QB #12 Love, who had a good arm and seemed to have command of the offense. Halfway through USF they switched to #7 Aaron Jr., who is more dual threat, and they introduced a dab of read-option plays. I say a dab, because it was not a focus at all, just a one-off every once in a while. Texas was all #7, who did not have a 'bad' game, but didn't really do anything to help his team overcome the Texas defense either. He seems prone to losing defenders while scanning coverage and can throw directly to them if he misreads a coverage. I don't know who will start this week, but Love did not play after being pulled in Week 1 against Cal Poly - even mop up duty at the end of the Texas game was the 3rd string QB.
TE #89 Oliver is a big, fast dynamic receiver. However, he seemed to go down with a lower leg injury against Texas and wasn't seen in the 4th Quarter. I haven't seen any talk about him being injured or even questionable, so I won't be surprised to see him line up on Saturday. #89 is a lot like Bushman from last week, tall and strong and can find the soft spot in underneath coverage to slip out and get a good 7-12 yd gain. SJSU runs a unique screen I've seen in both the games I watched, where they slip the RB out as a blocker and the TE makes a half-block and then slips out to catch a pass - maybe not so much of a screen as much as it is an underneath, inside flood concept, but the result is similar, it can catch defenses who have dropped into coverage under-manned to prevent a 1st down.
SJSU seems to rely on a couple different RBs, with #20 Roberson and a couple others running. Unfortunately, the other part of their run game, the OL has not lived up to expectations and was simply bullied by Texas last week. USF was a little less successful early on, but countered later in the game and held SJSU's rushing attack in check. With Utah's arguably superior front 7, I'm not overly concerned, only whether we can handle the tempo and get aligned correctly for our defensive sets.
In pass blocking, the OL has been able to provide time to the QBs, so I am interested to see if our pressure can make an impact. SJSU is not afraid to run a max protect scheme, and send out their WRs on longer routes to stress defenses vertically. With WR #84 Gaither being a speedster, they have been able to repeatedly go over the top on corners you would have thought to be just as fast. Gaither is a true threat, and a couple of the other receivers seem to have sure hands (while others have had some big drops that have ended drives). I like this test for our secondary, since it will be a step up from UND and I think SJSU will be able to buy time for their QB with their max protect plays.
Defense:
SJSU runs a 3-4 defense, but tends to give everything from a Bear 5-2 look to a 3-2 Dime coverage look. In their 3-4 set, their DL are large. However, SJSU may have suffered a debilitating injury last week against Texas. Their NG, #96 Latu (a local Utah prospect I believe) went down early in the game and didn't come back. I also think they have another injury on the line, Velichko one of their ends. The replacements were serviceable at taking up space in the middle, but were ineffective when combo-blocked or at generating any sort of pass rush. SJSU likes to and WILL blitz. In their early game against USF, it seemed like they were sending at least a pair of blitzers every down. They employ a variety of stunts, delayed blitzes, and slants that I am hoping our OL can handle.
The LBers are all veterans, and ones we are familar with from last year. LB #5 Ginda is currently leading the nation in tackles. His partner inside seemed to get hampered by a lower-leg injury against Texas, but I'm not sure it will keep him out. Their OLB are almost like SSs in that they are commonly split out wide to cover slot receivers or flat coverages. The LBs seemed hesitant in both games I saw, more willing to let the play come to them rather then step up and fill a hole. However, it did seem like they made an effort to scrap fast over the top to contain edge runs, which left plenty of cut back lanes for Texas' running back.
The DBs seem to be solid, and I think the numbers back them up. However, this may be a bit of a false indicator, since I was not too impressed with Texas' QB's passing or with USF's WRs. Against Texas, it seemed like after the run game had taken its toll, the passing lanes were WIDE open, but either the QB missed throws or the WRs had it bounce off their hands. I think our passing game and overall offensive scheme will have success here, given Huntley's already high passing pct. DB #21 Chachere (SA-shur-ay) is a solid corner. He's had a couple chance at interceptions but has dropped them. His opposite partner, #3 Kelly Jr. is the one teams seem to pick on. Safety #23 Bierra went down in the USF game, but was back for Texas and is a strong All-MWC contender. He is able to both cover and step up into the run game. He isn't as much of a force on the field as our own safeties, but also hasn't seemed to be tested too much in the games I watched (teams simply ran on SJSU).
Special Teams:
SJSU has a legit Ray Guy Award contender. Corrizosa is very much an elite punter - able to combine hang time with distance and pin opponents deep. His distance is not as elite as our own aussie punter's, but his aim is accurate, and he has been able to limit opponents return game to almost nil. Coverage is also great on punts.
I have not been able to see much of their place kicker or their kick-off specialist (1 FG against USF and 3 kick-offs) - nothing too notable.
WR# 84 Gaither is the kick off returner, and I've already said he is a threat. He has a quick burst and high top end speed that makes him dangerous. His speed reminds me of Reggie Dunn, and his look reminds me of EWU's Cooper Kupp from last year. Our coverage, if we fail to kick it out of the end zone, will have to be lights out to remove any possibility of him getting any daylight to break it open.
Overall:
SJSU's defense was unable to stop the run against Texas and they were left on the field for long, soul-eating, time-running drives. Combined with the hardships the offense was going through, the 2nd half of the Texas game quickly got away from them. But prior to that, near the end of the 2nd Quarter, they were only down 14-0 and had the ball in the redzone. They failed on a 4th-and-short and the wheels seemed to fall off as Texas scored late going into half time to make it 21-0. Against USF, they showed fire early, but as the visiting team got their legs under them they seemed to wilt under a combination of failed offensive drives and dominating drives by USF.
I'm not sure SJSU is all the way recovered from their thrashing in Austin, but I'm also not sure this is going to be the cake-walk that many have stated. SJSU has solid athletes, especially on defense, and some true threats on offense. I know the Utes won't overlook them, but I also want to see some great improvement, especially on our offensive line to show that they can take advantage of opponents weaknesses (in this instance, defense against the run). I think TTaylor's scheme will stress SJSU in ways they haven't been before, but I also think SJSU has seen mobile QBs already this year, so they won't be completely shocked by what Huntley can do.
In all, I think it will be a great game.
