Oct. 18, 2015
Game #8
Upcoming game:
San José State vs. New Mexico
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Spartan Stadium, San José, Calif., 4:00 p.m. (PT)
ROOT Sports
San José State record: 3-4, 2-2 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost to San Diego State, 30-7, on October 17.
New Mexico record: 4-3, 2-1 Mountain West. The Lobos have three wins in their last four games after defeating Hawai'i, 28-27, on October 17.
Series history: The Spartans lead the series, 11-4-1. These teams are meeting for the first time since San Jose State defeated New Mexico, 20-12, in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl on December 23, 2006. The Spartans carry a two-game winning streak in the series and are winners of six of the last seven games between these teams. The Lobos last win in the series was a 36-30 victory in Albuquerque on October 9, 1976.
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).
San José State has four network affiliates.
KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas)
KFIV (1360 AM, Modesto)
KWSX (1280 AM, Stockton)
ESPN Desportes (860 AM, San Francisco)
Broadcast: ROOT Sports will televise the San José State-New Mexico game. Drew Goodman calls the play-by-play. Sed Bonner serves as the game analyst. Marc Stout is the sideline reporter. The telecast begins at 4:00 p.m. (PT)/5:00 p.m. (MT).
ROOT Sports, a subsidiary of DirecTV, is available on DirecTV Channels 674 and 683 and DISH Network Channels 414 and 426.
.500 is the target again:  For the third time this season, San José State can return to the .500 plateau for the season with a victory. The Spartans did it twice so far with wins over Fresno State (49-23) on September 26 and at UNLV (33-27, OT) on October 10.
Opportunity to exceed 2014 win total:  A San José State win over New Mexico would give the Spartans their fourth win of the season, one more than in 2013 when the team finished with a 3-9 overall record.
Seeking an offensive rebound: San José State looks to bounce back on the scoreboard against New Mexico State after being limited to season lows of one touchdown, seven points and 148 yards of total offense in the October 17 loss to San Diego State. The last time a Spartan team was limited to less than 200 yards of total offense was a November 20, 2010 loss at Hawai'i. That night San José State was limited to 164 yards of total offense.
Interceptions factor into equation: In each of San José State's four losses, the Spartans were on the short end of two intercepted passes per game. In San José State's three wins, the Spartans were intercepted just once. San José State enters the New Mexico game with a minus-7 turnover ratio.
Red Zone offense still producing TDs: San José State raised its rate of touchdowns when in the "red zone" to 79.2 percent with its one touchdown in the San Diego State game. Only North Carolina State and Georgia Tech have a higher rate of scoring touchdowns once in the "red zone." The Spartans rank tied with Nevada for 18th nationally in red zone offense with their .917 conversion rate (22-of-24) scoring either a touchdown or a field goal.
Outstanding 2015 for Tyler Ervin: Tyler Ervin ranks among the most productive Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players this season. After seven games, he is eighth nationally in rushing yards (896) and 12th in rushing yards per game (128.0). He is tied for fifth in total touchdowns scored (13) and is tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (11). Ervin is tied for seventh in scoring at 11.1 points per game. He scored at least one touchdown in each of the team's first six games this season.
Best & most by Ervin in 2015: Tyler Ervin has the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) individual best single-game mark for most rushing yards in 2015 games played through October 17. Ervin gained 300 yards on 42 carries and accounted for 345 all-purpose yards in the September 26 Fresno State win. His number of carries were surpassed by Iowa's Jordan Canzeri who had 43 rushes for 256 yards and a touchdown against Illinois on October 10. Ervin's career-high in all-purpose yardage now is second to Stanford's Christian McCaffrey who accounted for 369 yards against UCLA on October 15.
• Most rushing yards in a game - 300 vs. Fresno State, 9/26
#2 Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State, 274 vs. Indiana, 10/3
#3 Dalvin Cook, Florida State, 266, vs. South Florida, 9/12
#4 Larry Rose, III, New Mexico State, 260, vs. New Mexico, 10/3
#5 Jordan Canzeri, Iowa, 256, vs. Illinois, 10/10 Most rushing touchdowns in a season in three seasons: After seven games, San José State has 16 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.
Team passing completion percentage:  San José State enters the New Mexico game with a team passing completion percentage of 66.8 percent - tops in the Mountain West. In the New Hampshire (9/3) and Fresno State (9/26) wins, the Spartans completed 85.7 percent and 86.9 percent of their passes, respectively, and did not throw an interception in either game.