The game will be televised at 2pm on the Pac-12 Network. If you have all of the Pac-12 channels you should tune into the Pac-12LA regional channel this will enable you to see the whole game from start to finish. Be sure to follow this blog post during the game to be able make comments as we all watch the game together. Please feel free to post updates here about the other games that we have included in our contest.
Respect the Opponent
San Jose State has the reputation of a doormat program, but things have changed. The Spartans are extremely well coached under Brent Brennan who led them to a 7-0 regular season last year and a Mountain West Championship. Yes, the Trojans are favored and expected to win, but they will have to work for it. The Spartans have the advantage of playing in week zero, so they already shook off the rust and will be thinking program-changing upset in the Coliseum with 19 starters returning.
*No. 15 USC opens its 2021 football season with a Labor Day weekend non-league home game against defending Mountain West Conference champion San Jose State on Pac-12 Network…and there will be fans in the Coliseum stands once again! *This will be just the fifth time that Troy has met the in-state Spartans (the last time was 2009).
*USC has lost only once in 36 encounters against MWC teams.
*The Trojans have captured their last 13 season openers in the Coliseum, dating to 1997.
*Sixteen starters (and the punter and kicker) return from a USC team that won its first 5 games in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and played in the Pac-12 Championship Game as the South Division representative. The Trojans also have a Top 10 recruiting class (with the nation’s No. 1 signee) and 10
collegiate transfers. USC’s offense (416.7 total yards per game in 2020, including 319.3 passing and 33.3 points) has its top passer and rusher from 2020 along with 8 players who caught a pass and 4 starting linemen. Two-year starting QB Kedon Slovis has completed 70% of his career passes for nearly 5,500 yards
and 50 TDs and is a Heisman nominee after an All-Pac-12 first team season in 2020 when he led the nation in completions. WR Drake London, another 2-year starter, has 72 career receptions with 8 TDs, including 33 catches last fall. TB Vavae Malepeai is a 1,000-yard career rusher. Troy’s offensive line is led by 3-year
starting guard Andrew Vorhees and 2-year starting center Brett Neilon. The Trojan defense, which last season averaged 2.7 takeaways a game, has 15 of its top 19 tacklers back from 2020. OLB Drake Jackson has 17 career tackles for loss (with 7.5 sacks). S Isaiah Pola-Mao has 121 tackles and 5 interceptions in his
career, while CB Chris Steele has 9 career deflections. Returning ILB starter Kana’i Mauga has 116 career tackles. DL Nick Figueroa topped Troy in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3.5) last year, while DL Tuli Tuipulotu was a Freshman All-American second teamer in 2020. Aussie P Ben Griffiths’ 46.4-yard punting average
last season was the highest by a Trojan since 2003, while PK Parker Lewis was 20th nationally in field goals. SNP Damon Johnson was a 2020 Mannelly Award finalist. Head coach Clay Helton has won nearly 67% of his games at USC, including a Rose Bowl, a Pac-12 Championship Game and 2 South Division titles.
*San Jose State has a game under its belt, coming off an easy home win over Southern Utah of the FCS. Head coach Brent Brennan, the 2020 Mountain West Coach of the Year, has 19 returning starters (10 on defense). QB Nick Starkel, formerly of Texas A&M and Arkansas, threw for 2,174 yards and 17 TDs with 7 picks last year (64.2% completions). SJSU’s top 2 runners from last fall are back in Tyler Nevens (515 yards, 3 scores last fall) and Kairee Robinson (313 yards, 19 catches). TE Derrick Deese Jr., the son of the former Trojan, is the Spartans’ top returning pass catcher (20 grabs, 5 TDs last year). Four-year starting left tackle
Jack Snyder, an All-MWC first teamer in 2020, anchors the Spartan line. The defense features a trio of 2020 All-MWC first teamers: DLs Cade Hall (the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 when he was second nationally in sacks) and Viliami Fehoko along with LB Kyle Harmon (team-best 78 tackles in 2020).
*USC will unveil several game day fan enhancements at the Coliseum, including making beer and wine available to the public for the first time since 2004. However, due to the on-going pandemic, fans at the Coliseum must wear masks per a county health directive and, for the opener, there will be no on-campus
tailgating allowed.
*There will be on-field salutes for USC’s defending NCAA champion women’s water polo team and the men’s basketball team that reached the Elite 8 last season. Watch, too, for a pre-game flyover.
RANKINGS
*USC is ranked No. 15 in the current AP sports media poll and 14th in the USA Today coaches poll. San
Jose State is not ranked.
SERIES
*USC leads its brief series against San Jose State, 4-0, with all the games held in the Coliseum.
*The teams last met in 2009, when USC freshman QB Matt Barkley completed 79% of his passes for 233 yards in a historic debut and Trojan tailbacks–behind TB Joe McKnight’s 145 yards–ran for 6 touchdowns as No. 4 USC began its season by demolishing San Jose State, 56-3. Barkley became the first USC true freshman to ever start a season opener at quarterback.
*The series’ first meeting occurred in 1995 as No. 7 USC opened its season with a 45-7 home win over the Spartans. The second meeting was in 2000, as the No. 9 Trojans overcame a 12-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter by scoring 22 unanswered points to beat the Spartans, 34-24, in USC’s 500th game in the Coliseum. The third meeting came in new USC head coach Pete Carroll’s debut in 2001, as TB Sultan McCullough ran for 3 touchdowns to lead the Trojans to a 21-10 season-opening victory (McCullough) rushed for 167 yards on 25 carries, the most rushing yards by a Trojan in a season opener since Marcus Allen
had 210 yards versus Tennessee in 1981).
VERSUS MOUNTAIN WEST
*USC is 32-1-1 (.956) against current Mountain West Conference teams (not including 2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 34-1-1, .958), last losing to a MWC squad in 1992 (to Fresno State), the same year it tied San Diego State. The Trojans have won their last 19 games against the MWC (not including
2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; orginal record: last 21 games). USC’s most recent game against a current MWC foe was Fresno State in 2019, a 31-23 season-opening Trojan home victory. *Troy is 8-0 versus Hawaii (not including 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 9-0), 6-0 versus Utah State, 5-0 versus Nevada, 4-0 against San Jose State, 2-0 versus UNLV, 2-0-1 against San Diego State, 1-0 against Colorado State and Wyoming and 3-1 against Fresno State (not including 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 4-1). *On the other hand, San Jose State is 45-153-2 (.230) against current Pac-12 teams, with the most
recent meeting being a 54-16 loss at Utah in 2017.
OPENERS
*USC’s record in all season openers is 95-24-8 (.780), with 36 shutout victories. In season openers at home, the Trojans are 67-16-7 (.783), including wins in their last 13 dating to 1997 (does not include 1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 96-24-8, .781 overall).
*USC’s record for home openers is 99-19-7 (.820) (does not include 1 home and 1 road win vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 100-19-7, .821 at home).
USC-SAN JOSE STATE CONNECTIONS
*USC has 7 players who previously attended a Bay Area school: DL De’jon Benton (Pittsburg HS), OL
Andres Dewerk (Los Gatos HS), TE Grant Jones (De La Salle HS), TE Erik Krommenhoek (Monte Vista HS),
TE Sean Mahoney (Archbishop Mitty HS), OL Jalen McKenzie (Clayton Valley HS) and WR Danny Ryan (St. Ignatius HS).
*USC TE Josh Falo’s brother, Nate, was a defensive tackle at San Jose State (2013-15).
*USC cornerbacks coach Donte Williams spent 3 seasons (2013-15) at San Jose State, coaching the cornerbacks the first season and serving as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator the final 2 seasons.
*USC wide receivers coach Keary Colbert’s cousin, Josh Oliver, was a tight end at San Jose State from 2015 to 2018.
*USC TE Lake McRee celebrates his 19th birthday on Saturday (Sept. 4).
*San Jose State WR Trevon Sidney played at USC from 2016 to 2018.
*San Jose State TE Derrick Deese Jr. is the son of former USC offensive lineman Derrick Deese (1990- 91).
*San Jose State outside linebackers coach Rob Christoff is the son of former USC assistant coach A.J. Christoff (2000).
*San Jose State men’s basketball assistant coach David Miller is the son of former USC men’s basketball assistant Dave Miller.
Citation: USC Athletics Official Blog – https://usctrojans.com/sports/ripsit/ – Jordan Moore