San Jose State Spartans
Mountain West
San Jose State needed a win against Fresno State in the season finale to get to six wins and qualify for a bowl. Behind a huge performance by quarterback David Fales, the Spartans pulled out a 65-52 win, securing the team's second bowl game appearance in a row. The Spartans outscored Bowling Green 29-20 in last year's Military Bowl, finishing one of the best years the school has had with 11 wins.
2013 Record: 6-6, 5-3
Coach: Ron Caragher
Coach Bowl Record: 0-0
Big Wins: 10/12 at Colorado State (34-27), 11/29 Fresno State (62-52)
Bad Losses: 11/16 at Nevada (16-38), 11/22 Navy (52-58)
Strengths:
San Jose State has a passing game most teams would die for. Behind its senior quarterback, the team ranks in the top 10, if not top five of all the major passing categories. Fales is sixth nationally in passing touchdowns, third in passing yards, fourth in passing yards per game,12th in points responsible for, fifth in total offense and 20th in passing efficiency. Having a record-setting quarterback usually requires a stud wide receiver and the Spartans have just that in Chandler Jones. Jones' 15 touchdowns are good for second nationally. His over 1,350 yards are fifth in the country as well. An interesting strength is that San Jose State is tied for first in the country with seven blocked kicks. As a team, the Spartans are converting on third down nearly 44 percent of the time and have amassed 295 first downs, the 20th most in the country.
Weaknesses:
The San Jose State passing offense is dynamic but its running game is more on the mediocre side. Spartan rushers are averaging just 137 yards per game, which ranks 95th nationally. It's also nearly 80 yards less than the amount of rushing yards the San Jose State defense is allowing. The offense has had to step up because the defense has been somewhat of a struggle this season. The Spartan defense ranks 103rd of 123 teams in each of the following categories: total defense (459 yards per game), scoring defense (35.1 ppg) and rushing defense (211.7). It has only three forced fumbles on the year as well, so it's fair to say that the Spartans don't create many turnovers, although they do have 12 interceptions.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Jarrod Lawson, 788 yards
Passing: David Fales, QB, 4,189 yards
Receiving: Chandler Jones, WR, 1,356
Tackles: keuth Smith, LB, 159
Sacks: Christian Tago, LB, 4.0; Eugene Taylor, LB, 4.0
Interceptions: Bene Benwikere, CB, 5
2013 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 137.3 (95th in nation, 11th in conference)
Passing Offense: 355.9 (6, 2)
Total Offense: 493.3 (14, 2)
Scoring Offense: 32.4 (48, 6)
Rushing Defense: 211.7 (103, 6)
Pass Defense: 247.6 (89, 5)
Total Defense: 459.3 (103, 7)
Scoring Defense: 35.1 (103, 8)
Turnover Margin: -0.4 (93, 10)
Sacks: 1.50 (96, 10)
Sacks Allowed: 1.75 (45, 4)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2012 Military Bowl Bowling Green (29-20)
2006 New Mexico Bowl New Mexico (20-12)
1990 California Raisin Bowl Central Michigan (48-24)
1987 California Raisin Bowl Eastern Michigan (27-30)
1986 California Raisin Bowl Miami (OH) (37-7)
1981 California Raisin Bowl Toledo (25-27)
*all team stats through 11/30
