WATCH
USF (6-6; 4-4 American) vs San Jose State (7-5; 3-4 MWC)
Tuesday, Dec. 24 • 8:00 P.M. (ET) • Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex (16,909) • Honolulu, HI
SURFACE: Artificial Turf
TV: ESPN: Tiffany Greene (P-by-P) & Jay Walker (Analyst) & Marilyn Payne (Reporter)
& ESPN Deportes: Rigo Plascencia (P-by-P) & Alex Pombo (Analyst)
ESPN+ ESPN Spanish Language
AUDIO: 102.5 FM/102.5 HD2 The Strike & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
- Jim Louk, B.J. Daniels &
Caylee Cottrell
ESPN Radio: Kevin Winter & Trevor Matich
SERIES: USF leads, 1-0
IN TAMPA: NA
IN SAN JOSE: USF won,
LAST TIME: USF won first-ever meeting
BOWL RECORD: 7-4
LAST BOWL: Won 2023 Boca Raton Bowl over Syracuse, 45-0
USF GAME NOTES
Next man up.
For the San Jose State Spartans, USF's opponent in next Tuesday's Hawai'i Bowl, that translates into the reality of entering the postseason without two of their best players.
Sixth-year wide receiver Nick Nash, a first-team All-American, will skip the Hawai'i Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft. Meanwhile, cornerback DJ Harvey, a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, was plucked out of the transfer portal by the USC Trojans.
Still, even in the vacation-like setting of Honolulu, the Bulls (6-6) know there's a big job ahead against the Spartans (7-5).
Even without Nash, San Jose State features one of the nation's most potent passing attacks. Even without Harvey, it has a big-play defense. So, the Spartans have the full attention of Bulls coaches and players.
The Spartans, led by former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, are fifth nationally in passing offense (325.2 yards per game). They are also tied (with BYU) for the national lead in passes intercepted with 20.
"This is a really good San Jose State team,'' head coach Alex Golesh said. "They have beaten some good teams and they've been very close to beating some other good teams on the their schedule. We've got our work cut out, for sure.''
The obvious challenge is coping with San Jose State's passing game.
USF's focus figured to be Nash, a former quarterback, who should still become only the fourth player to earn the Football Bowl Subdivision "Triple Crown.'' Nash, who leads the nation in receptions (104), receiving yards (1,382) and receiving touchdowns (16), was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (which went to Colorado's Travis Hunter, the Heisman Trophy winner).
Niumatalolo said Nash practiced last week. But after meeting with his family, Nash decided to shift toward his draft preparation instead of risking an injury at the Hawai'i Bowl.
"Nick obviously has been our best player,'' said Niumatalolo during a news conference on Tuesday. "He was thinking about things. And I tried to tell him, 'Hey, if you're still thinking about things, come to the trip (Hawai'i Bowl) and be around.' But he finally made a decision with his family after considering all the pros and cons. He decided the best thing was getting ready for the next level. I wish him nothing but the best.
"Obviously, we'd love for Nick to play. But for that kid and his future, it would be selfish for me to say, 'Hey man, he needs to play for us.' Nick needs to do what's best for him. I understand it. That's just the way it is.''
USF's primary concern will now be receiver Justin Lockhart (6-foot-3, 196 pounds), who has 52 catches for 973 yards (18.7-yard average) and five touchdowns. Without Nash, the Spartans will call on their receiving depth, which includes sophomore Treyshun Hurry (6-2, 194 with 24 catches for 419 yards), sophomore Matthew Coleman (6-0, 189 with 22 catches for 282 yards) and senior Sebastian Macaluso (6-0, 179 with 12 catches for 172 yards).
Overall, the Bulls must account for the work of quarterback Walker Eget (6-3, 225), who took over as the starter in Week Five. Eget ranks fifth nationally in yards per completion (14.35), while completing 155 of 270 passes (57.4-percent) for 2,224 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"It's the timing of it, the route concepts, the reading of coverage and then, obviously, they have great players,'' defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said. "San Jose State has great receivers. And the quarterback is really good.''
Eget had a 385-yard passing game in the 34-31 win at Stanford on Nov. 29. He had a season-high 446 yards in a 42-21 defeat against College Football Playoff No. 3-seed Boise State — the Spartans led 14-0 and were denied a three-touchdown lead on a failed fourth-down play at the goal line — while passing for 395 in a 24-13 victory against Pac-12 Conference's Oregon State.
Notably, the Spartans also had a 54-52 double-overtime defeat at Washington State, an 8-4 team out of the Pac-12 that is headed to the Holiday Bowl. San Jose State had a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
San Jose State's defense is led by two first-team All-Mountain West Conference selections, senior defensive tackle Soane Toia (55 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks) and junior linebacker Jordan Pollard (career-high 110 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss). The secondary features senior safety Robert "Rocket'' Rahimi (five interceptions to lead the Mountain West and place third in the nation).
"We're going to have to execute our offense,'' offensive coordinator Joel Gordon said. "We have to be more physical than they are. They're really physical up front and in the box, so we need to understand that we have to play that way in the running game. We have to protect our passer because they're aggressive and they're going to come after you.''
The Spartans are 7-6 in their bowl history with three consecutive postseason defeats. San Jose State's last bowl victory was a 27-16 decision against Georgia State in the 2015 Cure Bowl.
It's the second straight trip to the Hawai'i Bowl after beating defeated by Coastal Carolina 24-14 in last season's game at Honolulu.
When head coach Brent Brennan jumped to Arizona, it opened the door for Niumatalolo, a native of Hawai'i, who was best known for effectively running the triple-option offense at Navy. Now Niumatalolo's team has one of the nation's top passing attacks.
"I'm super fascinated by that,'' Golesh said. "I would imagine he has been doing this for a really long time and that (versatility) is what makes him such a good football coach.
"He inherited a football team that was rolling pretty good and I think the comfortable thing would be to say, 'Man, I'm going to do what I know.' Huge, huge credit to him from a coaching side to adjust and change. They're putting up crazy numbers offensively, so he figured it out really quick.''
Regardless of San Jose State's philosophy, Orlando said Niumatalolo's influence already has been felt.
"Kenny's a ball coach and he has been that way his whole life,'' Orlando said. "You can just see his personality and mentality in the toughness of his players. He has shown a great ability to adapt and use his personnel in the way it needed to be used.
"There are a handful of guys in the profession who just do it the right way and are consistent. He's a winner and every team that he coaches is going to be tough. That's the one thing I really respect about him.''
The respect is mutual.
"Having been in the American Conference (with Navy) and having coached in that conference for many years, I know what type of athletes they have at USF,'' Niumatalolo said. "Coach (Golesh) has done a really good job in the short time he has been there. They're adjusting with roster changes, too, but we're both trying to finish with a win to finish strong.
"We've got a ton of respect for USF. We want to enjoy this trip, but we both want to finish with wins, so this should be a very competitive game.''
–#GoBulls–
