SAN JOSE, Calif. - San José State football (3–3, 1–1 Mountain West) takes on UTEP (1–5, 0–2 Mountain West) in El Paso, Texas, Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on MW+ and the Spartans Sports Media Network.
This is the Spartans' first Mountain West Conference game against UTEP and the first time they've met as conference foes since they were WAC rivals from 1996-2004. SJSU is looking for its fourth win in its last five games against the Miners.
Listen to KNBR (104.5 FM/680 AM) every Thursday at 6:30 a.m. for the Ken Niumatalolo Show, presented by Provident Credit Union, with Murph & Markus.
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- The Spartans have won their last two games at the Sun Bowl and the last time they put up 69 points with seven touchdowns (11/08/03). The seven passing touchdowns by Scott Rislov are the most UTEP has ever allowed in the Sun Bowl, and the 543 passing yards are also the most UTEP has ever allowed in the Sun Bowl.
- The 69 points (11/08/03) are the most ever scored by a visiting team at the Sun Bowl and the third most scored against UTEP overall.
- In 2003, Courtney Anderson had three touchdown receptions, which is tied for the opponent record at the Sun Bowl. Rislov tied the record for completions against UTEP with 28 at the Sun Bowl, also in 2003.
- In their last three wins against UTEP, SJSU is averaging 55.7 points.
- In the Spartans' last five games, the defense is averaging 19.8 points per game against.
- Against Wyoming (10/09/26), the Spartans had six sacks, which were the most since they had nine against Colorado State (11/05/22).
- The Spartans now have as many wins as they had a year ago. Last season, the Spartans didn't get their third win until Nov. 1.
- Under head coach Ken Niumatalolo, the Spartans are 9-4 when they have more takeaways than the opponent, 2-2 when they are even, and 2-12 when they lose the turnover battle.
- Luke Weaver leads the MW and is 32nd in the country with 11 passing touchdowns, and is second in the MW and 17th in the country with 1,529 passing yards.
- Dylan Lee had a career-high 11 tackles vs. Fresno State (09/19/26) and has 53 total tackles, which is good for third in the MW and 16th in the country. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Lee was the 15th highest linebacker graded in week six with an 83.8, and has nine or more tackles in his last three games overall.
- Lee also had his second interception of the season against Wyoming (10/09/26) and is tied for the team best.
- Carson Clark caught his fourth touchdown of the season at Hawai‘i (10/03/26). Clark leads the MW and is 33rd in the country in receiving touchdowns.
- Clark is tied for third in the country when it comes to freshman receiving touchdowns. The SJSU freshman receiving touchdowns record is six (Bobby Blackmon in 1990, Brian Lundy in 1992).
- Clark has five or more receptions in all six games this season. The last freshman to do this in six straight games was Noel Grigsby in 2010; his streak ended in his seventh.
- Clark had a career-high 91 receiving yards against Wyoming (10/09/26) and his 405 receiving yards are tops in the MW.
- Clark had six catches for 74 yards and the No. 8 play on SportsCenter in his FBS debut at No. 14 USC (08/29/26). The last SJSU true freshman to have 100 or more receiving yards in a game was Tre Walker with 104 receiving yards on Sept. 30, 2017, against UNLV.
- Jeremiah Tuiileila was named to the PFF Group of Six defensive team after his three tackles, one tackle for loss, and three quarterback hurries at Eastern Michigan (09/04/26).
- Tuiileila is the fifth highest-rated edge defender in the FBS according to PFF with a 90.5 grade, and leads the team with 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
- Justin Stearns is the 43rd highest-rated edge defender in the FBS according to PFF with a 78.7 grade and has two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.
- Caleb Womack was the No. 4-graded cornerback with a 75.1 grade and was No.1 in defensive tackling with an 84.7 grade in week zero, according to PFF. Womack had his first career interception against Cal Poly (09/12/26) and his second at Hawai‘i (10/03/26).
- Womack has five or more tackles in every game this season and is fourth in the MW and 19th in the country with two interceptions.
- The Spartans have 12 players who have started their first game on any level of collegiate football this season. They are tied with North Texas for the sixth most in the country.
- Jabari Bates ran for a career-high 163 yards on 27 carries vs. Cal Poly (09/12/26). It was his third career game going over 100 yards, and he had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his career against EMU (09/04/26) and Cal Poly.
- Bates is the 30th highest-rated FBS running back in the country, according to PFF, with an 82.1 grade. He is first in the MW and 18th in the country with 556 rushing yards.
- Bates has had 27 carries in two of his last four games. He is the first running back to have 27 carries in a game since Tyler Nevens in 2021. The last time a Spartan running back had two games with at least 27 carries prior to this season was Tyler Ervin in 2015.
- Bates is fourth in the country and first in the MW with 120 carries this season.
- Through six games, the Spartans have 198 rushing attempts. Last season, the Spartans ran the ball a total of 317 times, which was the third fewest in the country.
- Under Niumatalolo, the Spartans have played 18 true freshmen.
- Eight of the 18 losses in the Niumatalolo era have been by seven points or less, and four by two points or less. The Spartans have led in 12 of those 18 games.
- The Spartans have recorded a takeaway in 25 of 31 games under Niumatalolo.
NEXT GAME: The Spartans head to Nevada on Oct. 24 at 2:00 p.m., and tickets can be purchased here. The game will be seen on MW+.
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