American college football season
The 2020 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San José State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Spartans were led by fourth-year head coach Brent Brennan and played their home games at CEFCU Stadium and Sam Boyd Stadium as members of the Mountain West Conference . They finished the regular season 6–0 in Mountain West play and defeated Boise State in the Mountain West championship game . This was the Spartans' first Mountain West championship win and 17th overall conference title. The championship victory also marked San Jose State's first win over Boise State in program history.[ 2]
San Jose State had non-conference games scheduled against Central Michigan , UC Davis , Penn State and UConn , but all of these games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 3] [ 4] Mountain West Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 6]
The Oct. 31 game originally scheduled at University Stadium in Albuquerque was relocated to San Jose due to COVID-19 cases related to contact tracing in Bernalillo County, New Mexico .[ 7]
On November 19, the game at Fresno State scheduled for Nov. 21 was canceled because of a positive COVID-19 test and contact tracing within the Fresno State program.[ 8]
Nearly four and a half hours before kickoff, the Nov. 28 game at Boise State was canceled because of "an upward trend of COVID-19 cases and contact tracing within the Boise State football program."[ 9]
The home game against Hawaii scheduled for Dec. 5 was moved to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu after new COVID-19 restrictions were released in Santa Clara County , where CEFCU Stadium is located.
The Dec. 11 home game against Nevada , originally scheduled to be played at CEFCU Stadium, was moved to Sam Boyd Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County.
The Mountain West conference championship game was to be hosted by San Jose at CEFCU Stadium, but was moved to Sam Boyd Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County.
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance October 24 7:30 p.m. Air Force FS1 W 17–60 October 31 4:00 p.m. New Mexico CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA FS1 W 38–210 6:00 p.m. at San Diego State CBSSN W 28–170 November 14 7:30 p.m. UNLV CEFCU Stadium San Jose, CA FS2 W 34–170 November 21 4:00 p.m. at Fresno State CBSSN No Contest November 28 1:00 p.m. at Boise State Fox No Contest December 5 3:00 p.m. at Hawaii SPEC HI W 35–240 7:00 p.m. vs. Nevada CBSSN W 30–200 December 19 1:30 p.m. vs. Boise State No. 24 Fox W 34–200 11:00 a.m. vs. Ball State * No. 22 CBS L 13–340
Air Force Falcons at San Jose State Spartans
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Falcons
0
0
0 6 6
Spartans 0
0
14 3 17
at CEFCU Stadium , San Jose, CA
Game information
First Quarter No scoring
Second Quarter No scoring
Third Quarter (06:48) SJSU TD – Derrick Deese Jr. 7-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 9 plays, 92 yards, 4:30; San Jose State 7–0
(00:43) SJSU TD – Derrick Deese Jr. 11-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 3 plays, 14 yards, 1:24; San Jose State 14–0 Fourth Quarter (13:16) AFA TD – Kyle Patterson 34-yard pass from Haaziq Daniels, Haaziq Daniels rush failedDrive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 2:27; San Jose State 14–6
(05:18) SJSU FG – Matt Mercurio 30-yard field goalDrive: 15 plays, 78 yards, 7:50; San Jose State 17–6
Passing AFA – Haaziq Daniels: 9/17, 92 yards, 1 TD
SJSU – Nick Starkel : 22/29, 226 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Rushing AFA – Brandon Lewis: 9 carries, 60 yards
SJSU – Kairee Robinson: 12 carries, 31 yards Receiving AFA – Kyle Patterson: 3 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD
SJSU – Bailey Gaither : 8 receptions, 110 yards Win Probability Line Over/Under
New Mexico Lobos at San Jose State Spartans
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Lobos
0
14
7 0 21
Spartans 7
14
10 7 38
at CEFCU Stadium , San Jose, CA
Game information
First Quarter (00:31) SJSU TD – Tre Walker 37-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 14 plays, 84 yards, 5:01; San Jose State 7–0 Second Quarter (10:36) SJSU TD – Isaiah Hamilton 43-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 3:16; San Jose State 14–0
(09:33) NM TD – Cedric Patterson III 39-yard pass from Tevaka Tuioti, George Steinkamp kickDrive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 0:59; San Jose State 14–7
(06:10) SJSU TD – Tre Walker 26-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:23; San Jose State 21–7
(02:06) NM TD – Andre Erickson 4-yard pass from Tevaka Tuioti, George Steinkamp kickDrive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:03; San Jose State 21–14 Third Quarter (10:55) NM TD – Tevaka Tuioti 1-yard run, George Steinkamp kickDrive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 3:02; Tied 21–21
(08:00) SJSU FG – Matt Mercurio 30-yard field goalDrive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 2:46; San Jose State 24–21
(00:00) SJSU TD – Bailey Gaither 69-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 1 play, 69 yards, 0:04; San Jose State 31–21 Fourth Quarter (09:36) SJSU TD – Sam Olson 1-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kickDrive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 3:50; San Jose State 38–21
Passing NM – Tevaka Tuioti – 20/35, 294 yards, 2 TD, INT
SJSU – Nick Starkel – 34/47, 467 yards, 5 TD Rushing NM – Tevaka Tuioti – 14 carries, 69 yards, TD
SJSU – Isaiah Holiness – 9 carries, 31 yards Receiving NM – Andre Erickson – 3 receptions, 72 yards, TD
SJSU – Bailey Gaither – 10 receptions, 208 yards, TD Win Probability Line Over/Under
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Passing Rushing Receiving Win Probability Line Over/Under
UNLV Rebels at San Jose State Spartans
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Rebels
3
7
7 0 17
Spartans 10
14
7 3 34
at CEFCU Stadium , San Jose, CA
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Passing Rushing Receiving Win Probability Line Over/Under
[ edit ]
Battle for the Valley Trophy: San Jose State Spartans at Fresno State Bulldogs
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Spartans
0
0
0 0 0
Bulldogs
0
0
0 0 0
at Bulldog Stadium , Fresno, CA
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Passing Rushing Receiving Win Probability Line Over/Under
[ edit ]
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Passing Rushing Receiving Win Probability Line Over/Under
San Jose State Spartans at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Spartans 21
0
7 7 35
Rainbow Warriors
0
10
7 7 24
at Aloha Stadium , Honolulu, HI
Game information
First Quarter (11:43) SJSU TD – Isaiah Holiness 2-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:17; San Jose State 7–0
(9:36) SJSU TD – Tyler Nevens 72-yard rush, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:28; San Jose State 14–0
(6:24) SJSU TD – Tyler Nevens 10-yard rush, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 6 plays, 53 yards, 1:57; San Jose State 21–0 Second Quarter (9:21) UH FG – Matthew Shipley 25-yard field goal Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 3:48; San Jose State 21–3
(3:12) UH TD – Dae Dae Hunter 10-yard pass from Chevan Cordeiro, Matthew Shipley kick Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards, 2:14; San Jose State 21–10 Third Quarter (9:48) UH TD – Rico Bussey 11-yard pass from Chevan Cordeiro, Matthew Shipley kick Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:07; San Jose State 21–17
(2:17) SJSU TD – Kairee Robinson 2-yard rush, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 18 plays, 70 yards, 7:31; San Jose State 28–17 Fourth Quarter (12:03) SJSU TD – Tre Walker 50-yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:44; San Jose State 35–17
(2:24) UH TD – Chevan Cordeiro 4-yard rush, Matthew Shipley kick Drive: 10 plays, 60 yards, 4:40; San Jose State 35–24
Passing SJSU – Nick Starkel – 11/23, 167 yards, 2 TD, INT
HAW – Chevan Cordeiro – 28/42, 238 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing SJSU – Tyler Nevens – 16 carries, 152 yards, 2 TD
HAW – Chevan Cordeiro – 11 carries, 36 yards, TD Receiving SJSU – Tre Walker – 2 receptions, 64 yards, TD
HAW – Rico Bussey – 8 receptions, 69 yards, TD Win Probability Line Over/Under
Nevada Wolf Pack vs. San Jose State Spartans
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Wolf Pack
10
10
0 0 20
Spartans 7
0
20 3 30
at Sam Boyd Stadium , Whitney, NV
Game information
First Quarter
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Passing Rushing Receiving Win Probability Line Over/Under
[ edit ]
No. 24 San Jose State Spartans vs. Boise State Broncos (2020 Mountain West Conference Football Championship game)
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Broncos
3
3
7 7 20
No. 24 Spartans 7
12
0 15 34
at Sam Boyd Stadium , Whitney, NV
Game information
First quarter (8:36) SJSU – Tre Walker 55 yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:48; San Jose State 7–0 )
(3:31) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 51 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 44 yards, 5:05; San Jose State 7–3 ) Second quarter (14:46) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 24 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 3:45; San Jose State 10–3 )
(6:40) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 36 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 1:56; San Jose State 13–3 )
(2:31) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 26 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 3:27; San Jose State 16–3 )
(0:50) SJSU – Matt Mercurio 32 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 36 yards, 1:05; San Jose State 19–3 )
(0:01) BSU – Jonah Dalmas 50 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards, 0:50; San Jose State 19–6 ) Third quarter (2:48) BSU – Avery Williams 69 yard punt return, Jonah Dalmas kick (San Jose State 19–13 Fourth quarter (14:17) SJSU – Isaiah Hamilton 30 yard pass from Nick Starkel, 2-point pass good (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:31; San Jose State 27–13 )
(10:51) BSU – Hank Bachmeier 2 yard rush, Jonah Dalmas kick (Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:26; San Jose State 27–20 )
(3:48) SJSU – Derrick Deese Jr. 1 yard pass from Nick Starkel, Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 4:30; San Jose State 34–20 )
Passing BSU – Hank Bachmeier – 20/40, 221 yards
SJSU – Nick Starkel – 32/52, 453 yards, 3 TD Rushing BSU – Andrew Van Buren – 11 carries, 26 yards
SJSU – Kairee Robinson – 12 carries, 39 yards Receiving BSU – Khalil Shakir – 6 receptions, 85 yards
SJSU – Tre Walker – 7 receptions, 137 yards, TD Win Probability Line Over/Under
[ edit ]
No. 22 San Jose State Spartans vs. Ball State Cardinals (2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl)
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Cardinals 27
0
7 0 34
No. 22 Spartans
0
0
13 0 13
at Arizona Stadium , Tucson, AZ
Game information
First quarter (12:41) BALL – Antonio Phillips 53 yard interception return, kick failed (Ball State 6–0
(10:00) BALL – Will Jones 3 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 6 plays, 50 yards, 1:50; Ball State 13–0 )
(5:15) BALL – Tye Evans 3 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 2:41; Ball State 20–0 )
(1:04) BALL – Drew Plitt 1 yard rush, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 6 plays, 35 yards, 1:52; Ball State 27–0 ) Second quarter
No scoring plays Third quarter (9:42) BALL – Yo'Heinz Tyler 48 yard pass from Drew Plitt, Jacob Lewis kick (Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 1:12; Ball State 34–0 )
(9:28) SJSU – Charlie Bostic 99 yard kickoff return, 2-point pass failed (Ball State 34–6
(0:01) SJSU – Jermai Braddock 8 yard pass from Nick Starkel , Matt Mercurio kick (Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 3:08; Ball State 34–13 ) Fourth quarter
No scoring plays
Passing BSU – Drew Plitt – 12/19, 217 yards, TD
SJSU – Nick Starkel – 25/42, 268 yards, TD, 3 INT Rushing BSU – Will Jones – 22 carries, 89 yards, TD
SJSU – Tyler Nevens – 7 carries, 37 yards Receiving BSU – Yo'Heinz Tyler – 4 receptions, 103 yards, TD
SJSU – Tre Walker – 7 receptions, 81 yards Win Probability Line Over/Under
On November 8, San Jose State received votes in the Coaches Poll for the first time since Week 2 of 2013.[ 20] [ 21] AP Poll for the first time since being ranked no. 21 in the final 2012 season poll.[ 22] [ 23]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP — — — — — — — — — — — RV RV RV RV 25 19 24 Coaches — — — — — — — — — — RV RV RV RV RV 25 20 24 CFP Not released — — — 24 22 Not released
†
As of November 28, 2020
Defense
[ 24]
FS
Tre Jenkins
Jay Lenard
⋅
LB
LB
LB
LB
Hadari Darden
Kyle Harmon
Tysyn Parker
Alii Matau
Dion Leonard
Isaʻako Togia
Rahyme Johnson
Christian Webb
⋅
⋅
Jordan Cobbs
Rico Tolefree
SS
Tre Webb
B. J. Johnson
⋅
CB
Kenyon Reed
Tre White
Mikale Greer
Offense
WR
Tre Walker
Vincent Corso
Jamar Simpson
WR
Isaiah Hamilton
Isaiah Holiness
Andre Crump Jr.
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
Jackson Snyder
Jesse Chamberlain
Kyle Hoppe
Tyler Stevens
Jaime Navarro
John Weiss
Trevor Robbins
Trevor Robbins
Anthony Pardue
Scott Breslin
⋅
⋅
⋅
Tyler Ostrom
⋅
RB
Kairee Robinson OR
Isaiah Holiness
Shamar Garrett
Special teams
PK
P
KR
PR
LS
H
Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Brent Brennan Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year Cade Hall, DL[ 25] All-American Selections [ edit ] Cade Hall, DL (TSN ,[ 26] [ 27] All-Mountain West Conference Team Selections [ edit ]
All-Conference Honors
Player
Position
Honor
Bailey Gaither
WR
1st Team
Jack Snyder
OL
1st Team
Cade Hall
DL
1st Team
Viliami Fehoko
DL
1st Team
Kyle Harmon
LB
1st Team
Nick Starkel
QB
2nd Team
Tre Walker
WR
2nd Team
Tre Jenkins
DB
2nd Team
Derrick Deese Jr.
TE
Honorable Mention
Matt Mercurio
PK
Honorable Mention
Tre Webb
DB
Honorable Mention
Ref: [ 28]
^ "WE'RE BACK" . twitter.com/MountainWest . Retrieved September 24, 2020 .^ "San Jose State University's Spartans beat Boise State in Mountain West Football championship - ABC7 San Francisco" . abc7news.com . Archived from the original on December 20, 2020.^ Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow" . USA Today . Retrieved July 10, 2020 . ^ Thompson, Lee (August 6, 2020). "Central Michigan left with MAC-only schedule after San Jose postpones opener" . MLive.com . Retrieved October 26, 2020 . ^ "Mountain West Postpones 2020 Fall Sports" . TheMW.com . August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .^ Crowley, Kerry (October 26, 2020). "Coronavirus: San Jose State game moved from New Mexico to Bay Area due to health order" . The Mercury News . Retrieved October 26, 2020 . ^ Sabedra, Darren; Nowels, Michael (November 20, 2020). "San Jose State's game vs. Fresno State canceled over Bulldogs' contact tracing" . The Mercury News . San Jose. Retrieved November 20, 2020 . ^ "San Jose State-Boise State Game Canceled" . SJSUSpartans.com . San Jose State University. November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020 .^ "Air Force Falcons at San Jose State Spartans" . ESPN . October 24, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "New Mexico Lobos at San Jose State Spartans" . ESPN . October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "San Jose State Spartans at San Diego State Aztecs" . ESPN . November 6, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "UNLV Rebels at San Jose State Spartans" . ESPN . November 6, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "San Jose State-Fresno State college football game canceled because of COVID-19 protocols" . ESPN . November 19, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2021 .^ "San Jose Spartans vs. Boise Broncos Game Cancelled Due to COVID-19" . NBC Bay Area . November 28, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "San Jose St. plays first game in 3 weeks, beats Hawaii 35-24" . ESPN . December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "San Jose St. beats Nevada, advances to MWC Championship game" . ESPN . December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "No. 25 San Jose State beats Boise State in MWC title game" . ESPN . December 30, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021 .^ "2020 Offerpad Arizona Bowl Ball State Cardinals vs. No. 22 San Jose State Spartans" . ESPN . December 31, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021 .^ "Amway Coaches Poll" . USA Today . September 3, 2013. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .^ Fan, Lawrence (November 9, 2020). "Spartans Put Unbeaten Record On The Line Vs. UNLV" . SJSUSpartans.com . Retrieved November 22, 2020 . ^ "The Associated Press Top 25 Poll" . SI.com. January 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 14, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2020 .^ "AP Top 25 Poll (Week 11)" . Associated Press. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .^ San Jose State vs. Hawaii Pregame Notes ^ Kroner, Steve (December 18, 2020). "San Jose State's Cade Hall, son of ex-49er Rhett Hall, thriving in unbeaten season" . San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved December 23, 2020 . ^ Bender, Bill (December 29, 2020). "Sporting News 2020 college football All-Americans" . Sporting News . Retrieved January 8, 2021 . ^ Myerberg, Paul (December 23, 2020). "Alabama's Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith lead USA TODAY Sports' 2020 All-America teams" . USA Today . Retrieved January 12, 2021 . ^ "Mountain West Announces 2020 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors" . The Mountain West . December 15, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Media People Seasons
