Carson Baker looks to lead San Diego State to a 3-0 start to the season. Photo courtesy of San Diego State Athletics
By Daniel Tom, Staff Reporter
San Jose State @ San Diego State
6pm PST
TV: CBS Sports Network
It’s Week 3 of the Mountain West football season and a pair of conference foes are set to do battle on ‘Friday Night Lights’ as San Jose State heads to Carson to take on San Diego State in a battle of undefeated teams.
Last Week:
The Spartans hit the road for the first time this season after playing at home for two consecutive weeks defeating the Air Force Academy 17-6 on October 24 and topping New Mexico 38-21 last week.
The Aztecs are back home and are 2-0 after taking care of business against UNLV and Utah State outscoring their opponents 72-13.
A look at the opponent:
San Jose State comes into this game with an aggressive offense that scored 21 first half points in last week’s victory, while they struggled in Week 1 by not scoring until the second half. The Spartans are led by graduate transfer quarterback Nick Starkel who received conference player-of-the-week honors after throwing for 467 yards and five touchdowns. With the strong passing attack, the Spartans haven’t had to rely on the run game that only rushed for 99 yards last week, but that may change this week.
A look at the Aztecs:
San Diego State limited UNLV and Utah State to a combined 13 points in their first two contests. Much of that credit goes to their defense who have caused fits all over the field. Safeties Dwayne Johnson Jr. and Tariq Thompson are veterans leading the way for the secondary and who lead the team in tackles with 13 and 12 respectively.
Offensively, SDSU has dominated the run game rushing for almost 700 yards in 2 games this season. The passing game, led by quarterback Carson Baker has also shown up over the last 2 weeks. Baker has tossed for over 300 yards and was efficient in last week’s victory throwing for 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Keys to the game + Prediction:
When it comes down to it on Friday night, a lot rides on this game; prime position in the conference standings among other things. With both teams entering unbeaten and with the presence of balanced offenses, it’s anyone’s game to win. The difference? San Diego State is more established in it’s run-game and offense which should lead to sustaining drives, tiring out the defense, and ultimately an Aztecs victory, their seventh straight in the series.
Prediction:
San Diego State- 38
San Jose State- 17
