| 2020San Jose State Spartans football | |
|---|---|
 | |
MW champion | |
MW Championship Game, W 34–20 vs.Boise State | |
Arizona Bowl, L 13–34 vs.Ball State | |
| Conference | Mountain West Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 24 |
| AP | No. 24 |
| Record | 7–1 (7–0 MW) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Kevin McGiven (3rd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread option |
| Defensive coordinator | Derrick Odum (4th season) |
| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Home stadium | CEFCU Stadium |
Uniform | |
 | |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24San Jose State y$ | 6 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boise State y | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 3 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Air Force | 2 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wyoming | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado State | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah State | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNLV | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship:San Jose State 34, Boise State 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings fromAP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2020 San Jose State Spartans football team representedSan José State University during the2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Spartans were led by fourth-year head coachBrent Brennan and played their home games atCEFCU Stadium andSam Boyd Stadium as members of theMountain West Conference. They finished the regular season 6–0 in Mountain West play and defeatedBoise State in theMountain 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] In addition, this was their first bowl game since2015 and first winning season since2012.
San Jose State had non-conference games scheduled againstCentral Michigan,UC Davis,Penn State andUConn, but all of these games were canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3][4][5] On August 10, 2020, theMountain West Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6] However, MWC officials announced on Sept. 24 the conference would host a shortened fall football schedule.[5]
The Oct. 31 game originally scheduled atUniversity Stadium inAlbuquerque was relocated to San Jose due to COVID-19 cases related to contact tracing inBernalillo 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 toAloha Stadium in Honolulu after new COVID-19 restrictions were released inSanta Clara County, where CEFCU Stadium is located.
The Dec. 11 home game againstNevada, originally scheduled to be played at CEFCU Stadium, was moved toSam Boyd Stadium due to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County.
TheMountain 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 17–6 | 0 | ||
| October 31 | 4:00 p.m. | New Mexico |
| FS1 | W 38–21 | 0 | |
| November 6 | 6:00 p.m. | atSan Diego State | CBSSN | W 28–17 | 0 | ||
| November 14 | 7:30 p.m. | UNLV |
| FS2 | W 34–17 | 0 | |
| at | No Contest | ||||||
| at | No Contest | ||||||
| December 5 | 3:00 p.m. | atHawaii | SPEC HI | W 35–24 | 0 | ||
| December 11 | 7:00 p.m. | vs.Nevada | CBSSN | W 30–20 | 0 | ||
| December 19 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. Boise State | No. 24 |
| Fox | W 34–20 | 0 |
| December 31 | 11:00 a.m. | vs.Ball State* | No. 22 | CBS | L 13–34 | 0 | |
| |||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lobos | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Spartans | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Aztecs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
atDignity Health Sports Park,Carson, CA
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebels | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Spartans | 10 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
atAlbertsons Stadium,Boise, ID
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spartans | 21 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Rainbow Warriors | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Pack | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Spartans | 7 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 30 |
atSam Boyd Stadium,Whitney, NV
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| No. 24 Spartans | 7 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 34 |
atSam Boyd Stadium,Whitney, NV
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
| No. 22 Spartans | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
On November 8, San Jose State received votes in theCoaches Poll for the first time since Week 2 of 2013.[20][21] Then on November 15, San Jose State received votes in theAP Poll for the first time since being ranked no. 21 in the final 2012 season poll.[22][23] This led to the Spartans cracking the College Football Playoff Top 25 for the first time, ranking no. 24 on Dec. 15, 2020.
| 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 |
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| 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]