What to know before the San Jose State Spartans kick off against Fresno State
SAN JOSE STATE VS. FRESNO STATE
Records: San Jose State (5-2, 3-1 Mountain West); Fresno State (4-3, 2-1 Mountain West)
Kickoff: 5 p.m., Valley Children’s Stadium, Fresno
TV: TruTV/Max
Radio: 860 AM
Series history: Fresno State leads the series 44-39-3. The rivalry started in 1921 and has been continued through three conference changes. San Jose State won its most recent matchup last year 42-18 but has not won in Fresno since 2016.
Storylines: This will be the 87th edition of the Battle of the Valley rivalry. … Due to conference realignment (Fresno State is joining the Pac-12 in 2016), this could be the final game the teams play at Valley Children’s Stadium awhile. … Saturday will be Fresno State’s homecoming game. … A win for San Jose State would make the team bowl eligible and it would have done so for three consecutive seasons. … SJSU quarterback Walker Eget will be the starter going forward head coach Ken Niumatalolo announced Tuesday. … Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper played linebacker for the team (1997-2000) and had his first career interception against SJSU in 2000.
Matchup to watch: San Jose State special teams vs. Fresno State special teams. Against Wyoming last week, SJSU had a field goal blocked and muffed a punt that led to a turnover of possession. Fresno State has stayed alive in games because of the opponent’s special teams errors. In last week’s game, it stopped Nevada’s punt unit from getting punts off twice and were inches away from another being blocked. Punt returner Jalen Moss averages 16.5 yards per punt return which is top five in the nation.
Stats that matter: San Jose State has forced 18 turnovers, including 13 interceptions: both are second in the nation. … Fresno State has four sacks in each of its last two games. … Last week 139 yards of Fresno State’s 190 receiving yards against Washington State were after the catch. … San Jose State has only allowed one sack in its last three games. … Linebacker Malachi Langley has led Fresno State in tackles the past two weeks with a combined 22 tackles. … SJSU’s Nick Nash is averaging 7.25 receptions per game against conference opponents and leads the nation with 72 receptions.