5 Things to Watch: No. 24 Aztecs at San Jose State

San Diego State has dominated its Mountain West series with San Jose State in recent years.

SDSU won seven straight games before the Spartans surprised the Aztecs with a 28-17 win last year at Dignity Health Sports Park.

That was the first loss in a so-so season by SDSU standards. The Aztecs finished 4-4 overall, 4-2 in the MW and failed to play in a postseason bowl game for the first time in more than a decade.

No. 24-ranked SDSU (5-0, 1-0 MW) comes into Friday night’s meeting with decidely more at stake.

The Aztecs have a chance to crack the top 20 and match their best start in 45 years (the 2017 team started 6-0) if they keep winning.

San Jose State (3-3, 1-1) hasn’t repeated the success that it realized a year ago, but the Spartans are the defending conference champions until someone says otherwise.

SDSU is a nine-point favorite at San Jose State in a game that kicks off at 7:30 (CBS Sports Network).

Here are five things to watch in the game:

1. Exact some revenge

One could make a case that last season’s 28-17 loss to San Jose State launched the Spartans’ successful season, pointing them toward the Mountain West championship SDSU so covets.

“This is such a big win for us,” San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan said in a postgame TV interview. “Three years ago this game against San Diego State (a 52-7 loss) was over at halftime. It’s an incredible deal for our guys.”

It was an excruciating loss for the Aztecs, who let a three-point lead in the fourth quarter slip away with three turnovers over 13 plays.

San Jose State turned two of the takeaways into touchdowns, boosting them to 3-0 on the way to seven straight wins before a bowl loss to Ball State.

“We’ve kind of had this game circled on our calendars,” SDSU linebacker Caden McDonald said. “That put a bad taste in our mouths.

“They’re the reigning conference champs. That’s the goal we have for every year. ... They took that from us and ran all over our field and celebrated in our faces.”

Added McDonald: “That hurt our pride a little bit. We want to get back at them and definitely try to take their will and beat them.”

2. You again?

SDSU knocked San Jose State starting quarterback Nick Starkel out of the game on the fourth play from scrimmage in last year’s game.

It turned out to be the worst thing that could have happened to the Aztecs.

Backup quarterback Nick Nash replaced Starkel and sparked the Spartans with two touchdown passes and a TD run.

Nash completed 16 of 25 passes for 169 yards. He gave the Aztecs fits extending plays with his legs, whether buying time for receivers to break free or getting loose to run (11 carries for 53 yards).

Nash bolstered a rushing attack that already featured standout running back Tyler Nevens (74 carries, 406 yards, 3 TDs this season).

“I was not familiar with Nick Nash,” SDSU defensive coordinator Kurt Mattix said. “I don’t think up to that point in the season he had played many snaps at all.”

So the Aztecs believed San Jose State would try to get the ball to some of its standout receivers but otherwise lean on its running game.

“Now all the sudden Nash comes in and he’s gripping and ripping,” Mattix said. “Running left and right. ... I was embarrassed by our performance. I was embarrassed by the lack of adjustments that I made as a coordinator throughout the game.”

It’s a year later and here we are again.

Starkel was injured three weeks ago and Nash stepped in again.

Brennan has been secretive this week about which quarterback will be behind center.

Mattix said SDSU is expecting it to be Nash (26-for-41, 347 yards, 5 TDs/1 INT passing/18 carries, 78 yards rushing), although the Aztecs will be prepared for Starkel (69-for-137, 992 yards, 6 TDs/5 INTs).

The difference this year is that whichever one it is, nothing will come as a surprise to the Aztecs.

3. The takeaway game

SDSU’s implosion against the Spartans last season was so shocking because it was so inexplicable.

• Coming into the fourth quarter, the Aztecs had run 214 plays in 2020 without a turnover (their only one had come from a muffed punt on special teams).

• In the 15 games from the start of the 2019 season until the contest against the Spartans, SDSU had committed only nine turnovers (two on special teams). Only Oregon State (6) had fewer turnovers in that span.

• In 14 of those 15 games, SDSU had one or zero turnovers.

SDSU has not protected the ball as well this year, making six turnovers in five games.

The Aztecs have thrown two interceptions — one apiece by Jordon Brookshire and Lucas Johnson — this season.

They have lost four fumbles, including two fumbles in the past three games by running back Greg Bell.

The Aztecs are plus-3 in the takeaway category, however, because of a defense that has intercepted seven passes and recovered two fumbles.

That bodes well against a San Jose State team that ranks tied for 129th — that would be last — in the nation with a minus-10 turnover margin.

The Spartans defense has just three takeaways (one interception, two fumble recoveries) while the offense has 13 giveaways (six interceptions, seven lost fumbles).

4. Keep an eye on #87

San Jose State’s Derrick Deese Jr. is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end who recently earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies.

Deese decided to stick around and enroll in the school’s master’s program in interdisciplinary studies.

Imagine where the Spartans offense would be this season without him. After all, they’re averaging only 20.5 points a game (113th in scoring offense) with him.

Deese leads San Jose State with 18 receptions for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Deese has good bloodlines. His father is former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Derrick Deese Sr., who likely advised his son to stay wide of the trenches.

None of this is news to the Aztecs, who saw more than enough of Deese last year when he led the Spartans with five receptions for 75 yards.

The performance included a 4-yard touchdown catch just before halftime that got things started for San Jose State.

5. Bowl eligibility

A victory would make SDSU bowl eligible for the 12th straight season.

SDSU’s school-record 10-year bowl streak ended last season when Hawaii earned the MW’s fourth bowl spot over the Aztecs and Fresno State in a complicated three-way tiebreaker.

That, despite Hawaii finishing behind SDSU in the conference standings and losing a head-to-head matchup between the teams.

SDSU is among 13 five-win teams, a win away from bowl eligibility, coming into the weekend,.

There are 10 teams that became bowl eligible last week while improving to 6-0 — Coastal Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, SMU, UTSA and Wake Forest.