San Jose State at Auburn
Records: SJSU (1-0, 0-0 Mountain West); Auburn (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m., Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama
Television: ESPNU
Radio: KTRB (860 AM)
Series history: The Spartans are winless in two visits to Auburn. SJSU, under Ron Caragher, lost 59-13 in 2014 when the Tigers were ranked No. 5 in the nation, and 35-21 the following season.
Storylines: The Spartans are three-touchdown underdogs against the Tigers, but SJSU won the last time Brent Brennan took them to SEC country: 31-24 at Arkansas in 2019. … SJSU fans should be familiar with Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin, who was a quarterback at Boise State in the late 1990s, was an assistant from 2001-10, and was the Broncos head coach from 2014–20. Harsin went 3-1 against the Spartans, but his final game at his alma mater was a loss to San Jose State in the 2020 Mountain West Championship Game. He was hired by Auburn three days later. … Auburn wasn’t ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the second straight season, but the Spartans need to make a significant across-the-board improvement after having to rally in the final minute to get past Portland State 21-17 in the opener.
Matchup to watch: San Jose State’s defense vs. RB Tank Bigsby. The Spartans’ veteran defense certainly didn’t dominate Portland State in the opener, but forced three turnovers and made big plays when it mattered. The biggest challenge Saturday is a junior tailback who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season and ran for 147 yards on just 16 carries in Auburn’s opener. If the Spartans can slow down Bigsby, they’d probably take their chances with Auburn relying more heavily on its quarterbacks. TJ Finley is the starter and was effective early against Mercer, but later threw two bad interceptions and some of the Auburn fan base already is calling for a change. Backup Robby Ashford will see significant time if the Tigers alternate at QB. Ashford has a strong arm but is more of a runner, rushing for 68 yards on six carries.
Stats that matter: San Jose State’s win over Portland State in the opener was the 500th in program history. … Junior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw one touchdown pass and rushed for two more in his SJSU debut, but the Spartans offense was held to 288 yards and the Hawaii transfer was sacked seven times. … SJSU converted 4 of 12 third-down plays in the opener. … Auburn has won 16 straight home games against non-conference opponents dating to the 2016 season. … Auburn backup running back Jarquez Hunter scored on three of his eight carries in the opener. … Nevada transfer Elijah Cooks led the Spartans in receiving in the opener, catching six passes for 123 yards.
— LAURENCE MIEDEMA
Source: www.mercurynews.com