Spartans Open Football Season at No. 6 USC Presented by Habbas & Associates

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San José State football (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West) heads to No. 6 USC (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) presented by Habbas & Associates on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (PT) on the Pac-12 Network and KTRB 860 AM to open the 2023 campaign.

SEASON TICKETS | 2023 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE 

• The Spartans come off a 7-5 season where they went to a bowl game for the second time in the past three seasons for the first time since 1987.
• Last season, the Spartans went 6-0 at home for the first time since 1978 and it was their first six win home season since 2006 when they went 6-1 at home.
• The Spartans finished last season with only nine turnovers (seven interceptions, two fumbles) which was good for best in the Mountain West and third in the nation. The Spartans ended the season with a +11 turnover margin (sixth in the country, tops in MW) after going -10 in the 2021 season. The Spartans two fumbles last season were an SJSU record best.
• SJSU gained 20 turnovers last season which was good for second in the Mountain West.
• Senior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro led the Mountain West last season with a career-high 3,251 passing yards and a career-high 23 touchdowns. Cordeiro combined for a career-high 32 touchdowns and his career-high nine rushing touchdowns were the most for an SJSU quarterback in the modern era. His 23 passing touchdowns were the most David Fales threw for 33 touchdowns in 2013. Cordeiro tied a career-best with only six interceptions thrown.
• Cordeiro was named Mountain West Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is This is the third year in a row the Spartans have had a Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year and Dallas Cowboys defensive end and SJSU star Villiami "Junior" Fehoko was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year last season.
• Cordeiro has 68 career passing touchdowns and is 26 away from tying the Mountain West record for career touchdowns of BYU's Max Hall who threw for 94 touchdowns from 2007-09.
• SJSU last beat a "power five" school in 2019 when the Spartans beat Arkansas on the road, 31-24. The Spartans last win over a ranked team was November 29, 2013 in a 62-52 home win over No. 16 Fresno State. The Spartans highest ranked win was defeating No. 9 TCU at home 27-24 on 11/4/2000.
• The Spartans last beat a road ranked team on 11/1/1980 in a 30-22 win over No. 10/11 Baylor. SJSU has three road ranked wins ever.
• The Spartans were just 1-of-31 schools to make a football bowl game and a NCAA baseball regional in 2022-23.
• It was the first time in school history last season that football and men’s basketball qualified for NCAA postseason in the same academic year in 2022-23 and the first time since 1986-87 both men's basketball and football finished over .500.
• The Spartans finished last season with 39 sacks which was good for tops in the MW and seventh in the country. The 39 sacks were the most since 41 sacks in 2012 and the SJSU record is 58 sacks in 1986.
• The Spartans averaged 3.25 sacks per game last season which was best in the MW and seventh in the country.
• SJSU's red zone defense was ranked second in the Mountain West and sixth nationally last season by only letting teams score .718 of the time. The Spartans let in only 22 touchdowns when teams entered the red zone 39 times.
• The Spartans play on CBS at home against Oregon State Presented by Webcor on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 12:30 p.m. to open the Spartan Athletics Center. It will be the first time the Spartans have played a regular season game on CBS since their 35-31 win over Stanford on Sept. 18, 1982 and their first Sunday game since Nov. 8, 2009 against Nevada.
• Brent Brennan led the Spartans to his second bowl game as head coach and is the first head coach to lead the Spartans to two bowl games since Claude Gilbert in 1986 and 1987. Brennan is the first SJSU head coach to lead the Spartans to two above .500 seasons since Terry Shea in 1990 and 1991.
• Safety Tre Jenkins is a three-time All-Mountain West Mention Selection (2020, 21, 22) and a two-time Mountain West Scholar Athlete (2021, 23). The grad student had a career-high two interceptions, career-high five pass breakups, career-high two sacks and a career-high seven tackles for loss in 12 games played last season. He ended last season with 60 tackles, plus led the team with nine tackles and one quarterback hit vs. Hawai'i (11/26/22).
• SJSU had touchdown catches from four different tight-ends last season. Dominick Mazotti led the Spartans with three, Skylar Loving-Black had two, while Sam Olson and Jackson Canaan each had one.

NEXT GAME: The Spartans host No. 18 Oregon State on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. and it can be seen on CBS and heard on KTRB presented by WEBCOR. Click here to purchase tickets as the new Spartan Athletics Center makes its game day debut.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY:

• Monday: Practice 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday: Practice 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
• Brent Brennan Weekly Press Conference: 1 p.m. (SAC)
• Wednesday: Practice 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
• Thursday: Practice 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
• Friday: No media availability unless requested