Sept. 25, 2016
Upcoming game (GAME #5):
San José State at New Mexico
Saturday, October 1, 2016,
University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M., 2:00 p.m. (MT)/1:00 p.m. (PT)
ROOT Sports
San José State record: 1-3, 0-0 Mountain West. The Spartans concluded its non-conference schedule losing 44-10 at Iowa State on September 24.
New Mexico record: 1-2, 0-0 Mountain West. The Lobos are in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Preceding a bye week ending September 24, New Mexico lost at Rutgers, 37-28.
Series history: San José State leads the series, 12-4-1. The Spartans have wins in each of the last three games since 1998. A year ago, San Jose State was a 31-21 winner in the first game these teams played as Mountain West opponents. The only other time these teams played in a conference contest was on September 26, 1998 when San Jose State defeated New Mexico, 37-20 in a Western Athletic Conference encounter. New Mexico's 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 provides commentary. Air time for the KLIV broadcast is 12:30 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 (910 AM, San Francisco)
Television: ROOT Sports will televise the San José State-New Mexico game. Marc Stein calls the play-by-play. Joel Dreesen is the analyst. Brad Thompson serves as the sideline reporter. The ROOT Sports telecast begins at 1:00 p.m. (PT).
ROOT Sports, a subsidiary of DirecTV, is available on DirecTV Channels 674 and 683 and DISH Network Channels 414 and 426.
Last Mountain West road win: San Jose State's last Mountain West road win was a November 21, 2015 triumph at Hawai'i, 42-23. Since joining the Mountain West in 2013, the Spartans are 6-6 in conference road games.
Mountain West openers: Since joining the Mountain West, San Jose State is 0-3 in conference openers. The Spartans lost to Utah State in 2013, Nevada in 2014 and at Air Force in 2015.
San José State in top-20 for turnovers gained: For the third week in a row, San Jose State ranks in the top-20 for turnovers gained. The Spartans' nine turnovers gained is tied for 14th among Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. Despite not gaining any turnovers at Tulsa, San José State gained six turnovers in the Portland State win, two in the loss to Utah and one at Iowa State.
Stay awake with ZZ's: Zamore Zigler became the first San Jose State freshman since Jarrod Lawson to record two 100-plus yard rushing games in a season when he led all rushers with 104 yards on 24 carries at Iowa State on September 24. His first 100-plus yard rushing game was in the Portland State game on September 10 when he ran for 111 yards on 15 carries. San Jose State career rushing leader Deoncé Whitaker is the last Spartan freshman to record three 100-plus yard rushing games as a freshman.
First time starters: After four games, 12 players made their first major college start for San Jose State.
The San Jose State freshman QB phenomenon: Josh Love became the fifth San Jose State freshman of any kind to start a game at quarterback since 1972 NCAA legislation for the reinstatement of freshmen eligibility. Prior to Love, Adam Tafralis in 2004 was the most recent freshman to begin a game at quarterback. Love's appearance was the 12th time a San Jose State freshman started a game at quarterback since 1972. Doug Allen (1984, one); Greg Centilli (1988, two), Marcus Arroyo (1998, five) and Tafralis (2004, three) were the other occasions a freshman started at quarterback for the Spartans.
Improved kick return coverage: San José State is ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in defending kickoff returns at 14.2 yards per return. In his first season as the Spartans' kickoff specialist, Michael Carrizosa has 15 touchbacks credited in 21 kickoffs (71.4 percent). A year ago, the Spartans finished 118th in kickoff yards per return allowing 25.3 per return and had 27 touchbacks on 69 attempts (39.1 percent).