San Jose, Calif.----- San Jose State University's busy summer lining up future non-conference football opponents continues with a pair of teams the Spartans will be playing for the second time each in university history.
San Jose State makes a return trip to Columbus, Ohio, for a September 9, 2023 game against Ohio State. The Spartans played the Buckeyes, then-ranked #5 nationally, in Ohio Stadium, on Columbus Day (October 12) 2002 losing, 50-7.
The San Jose State-Ohio State game will be the 11th in Spartan football history against a Big Ten Conference member. Besides losing at Ohio State, San Jose State has a 1-1 record with Illinois, a 1-3 mark against Minnesota, and is 0-2 against Wisconsin. Prior to making the trip to Columbus, San Jose State has a September 19, 2020 game at Penn State.
According to San Jose State University Athletics Director Marie Tuite, "This game with Ohio State fits our three-pronged non-conference football scheduling philosophy for a season:
- One game per season against an Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pacific-12 Conference or Southeastern Conference member
- Two games with at least one of them at home against members belonging to either the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference or the Sun Belt, and
- One home game against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school.
"This model gives our football program the opportunity to experience the game in some of the largest venues in the country and provides unique travel opportunities for our players, coaches and fans."
When San Jose State played at Ohio State, the announced attendance of 104,892 still is the largest crowd to see a Spartan football game in person.
The second half of San Jose State's announcement on future football opponents is more local in nature and matches the scheduling philosophy Tuite stated earlier.
San Jose State will open the 2024 season on August 31 at home against nearby Sacramento State, just over a two-hour bus ride to San Jose. The Spartans and Hornets met in the 2013 season opener for both teams. San Jose State emerged with a 24-0 win in CEFCU Stadium, the same site as the next meeting between these teams.
In the last 18 months, San Jose State has announced home-and-series with Toledo, UTEP, and Western Michigan and road games at Penn State in 2020 and at the University of Southern California in 2024.