USC facing a San Jose State team that can’t be overlooked

Adam Grosbard (OC Register)  —  LOS ANGELES — As the college football season kicked off in some stadiums across the country this past weekend, USC got one last Saturday to rest before its 2021 campaign starts in earnest. Some went home to spend time with family, others may have turned on one of the Week 0 games.

San Jose State Spartans QB Nick Starkel (17) launches a completion against Southern Utah in the first half of their opener at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose last Saturday, winning easily 45-14 (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group).

One of those contests involved USC’s Week 1 opponent, San Jose State. The Spartans picked up right where they left off last season with a 45-14 drubbing of Southern Utah.

“Kind of a double-edged sword,” USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said last week of San Jose State getting a head start to the season. “Because you get an opportunity to see the people that they’re going to play now. … But when you get game experience, it’s hard to simulate that in practice.”

The Spartans might not be a Power Five opponent, but they still present a very real threat to the Trojans. A year ago, San Jose State went undefeated in the regular season and beat Boise State, 34-20, in the Mountain West Conference championship game, finishing No. 24 in the AP poll (5-1 USC finished No. 21).

And there’s been little turnover on the San Jose State roster. The Spartans had a couple of top receivers to replace, but starting quarterback Nick Starkel is back, as are all five starting offensive linemen, every impact running back and every contributor on the defense.

That cohesion was on full display in the Spartans’ victory over Southern Utah, out-gaining their opponent 543-250. There were some mistakes, such as two turnovers and 11 penalties accounting for 91 yards and four Southern Utah first downs. But the Spartans didn’t let those impact the final result.

“I thought the effort looked really good to me,” head coach Brent Brennan said after the game. “We definitely had some first-game rustiness, first-game over-excitement. But I’m encouraged.”

USC hoped to get some clarity on who would replace San Jose State’s top receivers from a year ago, Tre Walker and Bailey Gaither. But Starkel spread the ball around, no receiver making more than three catches in the opener and a total of nine Spartans making receptions, and four catching touchdown passes.

Freshman receiver Charles Ross led the team with three catches for 77 yards, 65 of which came on a touchdown catch.

All of this is to say, USC will be facing a team at the Coliseum with experience and few holes on the roster that could be a tougher matchup than some of the Pac-12 teams on the Trojans’ schedule.

USC started preparing for the Spartans last Wednesday after training camp came to an end. The prep began with first- and second-down install, followed by third-down and red-zone planning before a final practice at the Coliseum on Saturday in which the team practiced with live-game situations like coaches in the press box communicating with headsets.

But now it’s the first game week of the year.

“These kids have put in a lot of work to get to this point,” USC head coach Clay Helton said last week. “It’s been extremely nice, from the offseason to the summer to training camp to get back to a little normality. I can tell you, we’re a lot further ahead at this point now than we were at this point last year.”

ocregister.com

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