Oct. 12, 2015
Upcoming game: San José State vs. San Diego State
Saturday, October 17, 2015,
Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif., 7:30 p.m. (PT)
ESPNU
San José State record: 3-3, 2-1 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans defeated UNLV, 33-27, in overtime on October 10.
San Diego State record: 3-3, 2-0 Mountain West. The Aztecs won for the second week in a row stopping Hawai'i, 28-14, on October 10.
Television: ESPNU will televise the San José State-San Diego State game. Bob Picozzi calls the play-by-play. David Diaz-Infante serves as the game analyst. The telecast begins at 7:30 p.m. (PT).
Play-by-Play Radio Coverage: KLIV (1590 AM, San José) originates San José State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson offered commentary. Air time for the KLIV broadcast is 7:00 p.m. (PT).
Series history: The Spartans lead the series, 19-17-2. San Diego State has wins in the last two meetings between these teams including a 38-7 triumph in Qualcomm Stadium a year ago. The Spartans last win in the series was a 38-34 triumph in San Diego on September 22, 2012. The last time San Jose State beat the Aztecs in Spartan Stadium was a 35-10 decision on September 13, 2008.
Divisional lead at stake: San Jose State and San Diego State are playing for first place in the Mountain West's West Division. San Diego State is the only unbeaten team in the West Division at 2-0. San Jose State is next in the standings at 2-1.
2-1 Mountain West record again:  For the third consecutive season, San Jose State has a 2-1 Mountain West record. In 2013, the Spartans finished at 5-3. A year ago, San Jose State's final conference record was 2-6.
Three consecutive home games:  The San Diego State game on October 17 is the first of three consecutive San José State home games over a four-week span. The Spartan host New Mexico in a Mountain West contest on October 24 and BYU in a non-conference encounter on Friday, November 6. The last time San Jose State played three consecutive home games was in the 2007 season when the Spartans posted a non-conference win over UC Davis, beat Idaho and lost an overtime game to #16-Hawai'i.
Homecoming for San José State:  The San Diego State game is San Jose State's annual Homecoming Game. Since the first recorded Homecoming Game in 1933 versus San Francisco State, the Spartans have a 47-29-2 record in these contests. This year is the third time San Diego State serves as the Homecoming opponent. In 1996, San Diego State posted a 49-20 victory. In 1973, the two teams played to a 27-27 tie.
Ron Caragher & Rocky Long, once together, on opposite sides again: Ron Caragher and Rocky Long will be opposite sides of the field for the fourth time as coaches in this year's San José State-San Diego State game. In the each of the first three meetings, Long's teams came out on the winning end. In 1994, Caragher was in his first year as a graduate assistant at UCLA and Long was the defensive coordinator at Oregon State whose team emerged with a 23-14 victory. The Aztecs have wins of 34-30 in 2013 and, 38-7, in 2014. The two head coaches were on the Bob Toledo-led Bruin staffs of 1996 and 1997. UCLA was the Pac-10 co-champion in 1997 and went to play in the Cotton Bowl. Long was the defensive coordinator and Caragher was the wide receivers coach.
Last two road wins came in overtime: San Jose State ended a seven-game road losing streak dating back to the 2014 season with its 33-27 overtime win at UNLV on October 10. Prior to defeating UNLV, the Spartans previous road win was a 27-20 overtime victory at Wyoming on October 18, 2014.
San Jose State overtime trivia: San Jose State now has a 3-5 record in overtime games after outlasting UNLV, 33-27, on October 10. Two of the Spartans' three overtime wins are against UNLV. The most recent overtime game is the first time San Jose State won an overtime game by being on offense second. All three Spartan overtime wins were done in the first overtime.
Doubling down: In the UNLV overtime win, San Jose State recorded a season-high three quarterback sacks to double its 2015 total to six. Linebacker Christian Tago and safety Vincenté Miles, Jr., were credited with solo sacks. Defensive tackle Tony Popovich and linebacker Frank Ginda combined on a sack in overtime prior to UNLV having its 42-yard field goal try for points blocked by Spartan defensive end Isaiah Irving.
Doubling up:  Heading into the UNLV game (10/10), San Jose State was 2-of-5 in field goal attempts. With senior Austin Lopez serving as the placekicker, the Spartans now are 4-of-7 after Lopez converted tries from 30 and 34 yards against the Rebels.
Best kickoffs of the season at UNLV:  After two weeks with 11 opponent kickoff returns averaging 31.9 yards a return against San Jose State, the Spartans had their best effort of the season in this area at the UNLV win. Five of Austin Lopez's six kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, one more than the previous season best of four at high-altitude Air Force. UNLV was able to return only one kickoff for 24 yards.
Punting stays up:  San Jose State enters the San Diego State game second nationally in net punting with a 45.8 yard figure for the second consecutive week. Punter Michael Carrizosa continues is the individual national leader among Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players with a 52.1 per punt average. At UNLV, Carrizosa had punts of 44, 56, 53 and 54 yards.
Closing in on 1,000 rushing yards: Tyler Ervin's 874 rushing yards after six games leave him 126 shy of becoming the 11th San Jose State player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Of the 10 previous Spartans to gain 1,000 yards in a season, Deonce Whitaker (1,577 in 2000) and Johnny Johnson, Jr. (1,219 in 1988) did it in their ninth game. The Mountain West record for fewest games needed to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season is seven. Nevada's Stefphon Jefferson (1,883 in 2012) and San Diego State's Ronnie Hillman who did it twice (1,532 in 2010 and 1,711 in 2011) share the mark.
Most rushing touchdowns in a season in three seasons: After six games, San José State has 15 rushing touchdowns. This year's Spartans already surpassed the team's 11 rushing touchdowns in 2014 and 12 by San José State in 2013. In 2012, San José State rushed for 17 touchdowns in 13 games. The last time a Spartan team scored 20 or more touchdowns in a season by running the ball was in 2004 with 22 rushing touchdowns.
Season-high pass interceptions:  For the first time this season, the San Jose State defense came up with two pass interceptions in a game in the UNLV triumph (10/10). Maurice McKnight, with his first of the season, and Jimmy Pruitt, with a team-high third of the year, had the interceptions. The Spartans now have wins in its last nine games intercepting two or more passes in a game. The last time San Jose State did not win a game in which it had two or more interceptions was an October 8, 2011 loss at BYU. That night, the Spartans came up with two interceptions.