2011 San Jose State Spartans Football Preview

Thankfully for the San Jose State Spartans, the beginning of the 2011 campaign doesn’t look to be as difficult as the previous year. That isn’t to say the schedule is easy by any means; it’s just that this particular slate is an improvement from 2010. The young Spartans, who played a bevy of freshman last season, played four teams who finished in the final top 11 of the Associated Press poll. Moreover, they did so in the first seven weeks of the season. The term “baptism by fire” simply doesn’t do that kind of scheduling justice. Going up against Alabama, Wisconsin and Nevada - with none of the games being played in San Jose – were always going to represent a quick ticket to three losses. It’s impressive that the sons of Silicon Valley were as competitive as they ultimately were. They lost to Wisconsin by a very modest margin of 27-14, putting up a great fight against the Badgers and hanging with the eventual Big Ten co-champions in the trenches. The Spartans also held Nevada to 35 points, losing by only 22. Don’t laugh, either – Boise State allowed 34 points to Nevada, so San Jose’s outing in Reno was really quite impressive, despite the dent in the team’s overall record.

By the end of the season, San Jose State was competing at a much higher level, but the inability to close the sale in a tight game is what really detracted from SJSU’s journey through autumn. The Spartans simply couldn’t secure a victory when it was there for the taking. Heartbreaking defeats at the hands of New Mexico State, Utah State, Louisiana Tech, and Idaho prevented the Spartans from a successful season by San Jose standards.

This upcoming season, head coach Mike MacIntyre will have to replace senior quarterback Jordan La Secla, who threw for almost 3,000 yards in 2010. MacIntyre is more focused on improving the team as a whole. There is more size, weight, and depth on campus in San Jose than last season and the program likes to think that it might very well be turning the corner. However, that’s so much bluster until the Spartans actually deliver the goods and make real-world strides. This program did win a bowl game under former coach Dick Tomey, but it has a lot of climbing to do in an attempt to reach a similar level of lofty quality.

The schedule certainly isn’t friendly with trips to Stanford, UCLA, and BYU in the first half of the season, but there are games which San Jose State can compete in. The Spartans return 19 starters from a year ago, and the fight they showed facing tremendous odds will hopefully pay dividends in the 2011 season.

It needs to.

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