SAN JOSE — At the halfway point of San Jose State’s football season, coach Ken Niumatalolo said his grade for the team is a B-minus to a B.
“We’re maybe three plays away from being undefeated and probably a play away from being 3-3,” said Niumatalolo, whose Spartans are 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain West. “Our last three games have been one possession games, so everything matters.”
One noteworthy development has been the use of quarterbacks Emmett Brown and Walker Eget. Both played significantly in a 34-21 loss to Colorado State last week, with five substitution swaps between them.
The rotation wasn’t by design.
“We don’t wanna do that again,” Niumatalolo said. “That’s not something ideal.”
That said, the coach has not named a starter for the Spartans’ home game Saturday against Wyoming.
“Right now they’re both getting reps with the ones,” Niumatalolo said. “(Eget) might be slightly ahead right now, but we don’t want to make anything definitive.”
Last week, Eget completed 22-for-30 passes for 256 yards. Brown was 8-of-14 for 91 yards and one touchdown.
“Obviously, Emmett did a lot of good things,” Niumatalolo said. “Walker brought a lot of good things, too.”
Eget said the shuffling was new territory for him.
“I’ve never been in an offense where you gotta be ready at all times,” he said. “They always say that, but this time you gotta be ready at all times. It’s definitely different, you gotta get used to it.”
Offensive tackle Malik Williams said the quarterback substitutions doesn’t affect his responsibilites.
“You can put my mom back there and we’re gonna block for her,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty at quarterback, the Spartans are just two wins from bowl eligibility.
Wide receiver Nick Nash has been held to under double digit receptions in back-to-back games after teams started double covering him.
“We’re seeing how people are trying to take him away, so we’ll continue to devise different things whether it’s scheme or formation,” Niumatalolo said. “You can’t take away everything so if guys are putting a lot of emphasis on him, it opens up other people and it gives us stuff in the run game.”
Williams hopes the offensive line can help with the rushing attack.
“I’d like to rush for over 150 or 200 yards this game, but I felt like we definitely do need to get back into that overhead passing, 40-50 yard bombs for touchdowns, get back to what we did in the first couple games this season,” Williams said.
The lineman is familiar with Wyoming. He started his collegiate career at the school, transferring to SJSU after the 2021 season.
“They’re definitely a good d-line; we can’t count them out just because of their record,” Williams said.
Wyoming is 1-5, 1-1.
One player of note for the Cowboys is defensive end Sabastian Harsh.
“Probably one of the best defensive guys that we’ve seen all year,” Niumatalolo said. “He creates a lot of havoc.”
Harsh had six tackles, four for loss, and a sack in a 27-24 loss at San Diego State last week.
“We definitely had a couple one-on-ones when we were there so it will be exciting just to see how much we’ve grown over the years, just getting back and going against each other,” Williams said. “He might have a couple good plays, but I feel like I might be able to contain him somewhat.”
With defensive end Quincy Likio out for the season, transfer John Ward made some big plays against Colorado State. He finished with seven tackles, three for loss, and one forced fumble that defensive back D.J. Harvey returned 85 yards for a touchdown.
But Niumatalolo sees room for improvement.
“We gotta do a better job on the edge defensively,” he said. “It sucks to lose (Likio), one of our best defensive lineman, but sometimes someone else’s demise is an opportunity for somebody else.”
The emergence of Ward could help.
“It gives us another edge guy with some size and some experience,” Niumatalolo said. “He’s versatile. He can play the run and he can rush the passer. By the time he got admitted in school it was late in the summer and he’s adjusted well to being here.”
San Jose State was whistled for 12 penalties for 103 yards against Colorado State.
“I don’t know if I’ve coached a team where we had over 100 yards in penalties,” Niumatalolo said. “Some of it happened when we got tired.”
The infractions were not because of a lack of discipline, according to Niumatalolo. He believes the altitude tired the players and caused them to lose technique.
“Those are the things we are stressing this week,” Niumatalolo said. “Pushing a little bit more conditioning.
“We’re San Jose State, we’re not Alabama. We recognize who we are. We saw last week if we don’t play perfect and do what we’re supposed to, we can get beat.”
Niumatalolo said there are a lot of similarities between his team and Wyoming.
“When I look at them I see us,” Niumatalolo said. “I see a talented team that’s gotta scrap for everything.”
