{"id":8028,"date":"2026-08-30T19:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T19:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8028"},"modified":"2026-08-30T19:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T19:37:38","slug":"san-jose-state-takeaways-spartans-encouraged-by-late-push-in-loss-to-no-14-usc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8028","title":{"rendered":"San Jose State takeaways: Spartans encouraged by late push in loss to No. 14 USC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES \u2013 \u00a0San Jose State\u2019s season-opening loss to No. 14 USC on Saturday came with a rough first half, but the Spartans rallied to score all 26 of their points in the second half.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8026\">Bay FC loses to Washington again as finishing touch eludes attackers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite the 42-26 defeat, coach Ken Niumatalolo left Los Angeles encouraged by what he saw from his team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was proud of our kids. I thought we fought at the end,\u201d Niumatalolo said. \u201cIt could have been very easy to quit, but it just shows the moxie of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Spartans entered the game as 38.5-point underdogs and held the Trojans to a single touchdown in the first quarter thanks to a fourth-and-goal stop on a scramble by USC quarterback Jayden Maiava. The second quarter yielded three USC scores, though, making a 28-0 halftime deficit that was too much for the Spartans to overcome.<\/p>\n<p>A second-half comeback to tighten the score, even with the result all but assured, was positive for a team that finished last season 3-9.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the takeaways from Saturday\u2019s loss:<\/p>\n<p><strong>WEAVER\u2019S DEBUT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry, Spartans fans, there was no quarterback switch this time, unlike several games last season.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Quarterback Luke Weaver, who transferred from Hawaii over the offseason, made his San Jose State debut and played a turnover-free game. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 42 yards on eight carries and adding a rushing touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>Weaver\u2019s mobility added another element to offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann\u2019s offense. He avoided USC\u2019s pass rush throughout the game and was not sacked.<\/p>\n<p>His ability to extend plays was evident early. On the possession following San Jose State\u2019s fourth-down stop, Weaver took over at the Spartans\u2019 1-yard line with pressure coming his way. He avoided a safety while taking a hit and threw the ball away.<\/p>\n<p>Niumatalolo said Weaver\u2019s ability to make plays with his legs stood out to him during fall camp.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhat he does, keeps extending plays, uses his legs,\u201d Niumatalolo said. \u201cThe things he did today is what I saw all of camp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weaver\u2019s first touchdown came early in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard pass to San Diego State transfer Jerry McClure, who finished with six catches for 68 yards. Weaver later found Sacramento State transfer Jordan Anderson for a 3-yard touchdown for the Spartans\u2019 third touchdown late in the game.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SPREADING IT AROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Niumatalolo said before the season that the Spartans planned to rotate nine receivers, and six caught a pass Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8024\">Stanford survives punch from Hawaii, faces quick week and top opponent Miami next<\/a><\/p>\n<p>True freshman Carson Clark led the team with 74 receiving yards on six catches, including a 42-yard reception from Weaver that helped set up San Jose State\u2019s first points of the game, a 22-yard field goal by kicker Trajan Sinatra, an Idaho State transfer.<\/p>\n<p>McClure also emerged as a reliable target, while Anderson found the end zone in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Niumatalolo said Clark\u2019s performance was not a surprise to the coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCarson is a really good player,\u201d Niumatalolo said, calling him \u201cone of our top guys.\u201d The Spartans\u2019 receiving depth could become an important part of an offense that showed flashes against one of its toughest opponents of the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RUNNING GAME COULD BE A BIGGER FACTOR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>San Jose State rushed for 102 yards on 24 carries, with redshirt senior Jabari Bates showing promise in his return from a season-ending injury suffered in the fourth game of last season against Stanford.<\/p>\n<p>Bates rushed for 35 yards on 10 carries and opened the second quarter with back-to-back 13-yard runs.<\/p>\n<p>His backup, Vilimai Teu, also provided a spark with 25 yards on two carries.<\/p>\n<p>With Weaver providing another rushing threat, the Spartans could have an opportunity to make the ground game a bigger part of their offense moving forward when their playcalling isn\u2019t dictated by a multiple-score deficit. Last season\u2019s team averaged just 119.7 yards per game, 111th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PASS DEFENSE LIMITS BIG PLAYS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>USC finished with 341 passing yards, but San Jose State did not allow the Trojans to consistently hit explosive plays through the air. The Trojans required eight plays or more on all but one of their six touchdown drives, suggesting that they beat the Spartans with patience rather than explosiveness.<\/p>\n<p>The Spartans also forced their first turnover of the season late in the fourth quarter when linebacker Naseri Danielson intercepted USC quarterback Jonas Williams in the red zone.<\/p>\n<p>That is an encouraging sign for a San Jose State defense that struggled to create turnovers last season, forcing only seven interceptions the entire year, and finished 115th nationally in passing yards allowed per game.<\/p>\n<p>USC still controlled the game offensively, particularly on the ground, but the Spartans were able to limit some of the explosive passing plays that could have made the deficit even larger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI leave the Coliseum encouraged,\u201d Niumatalolo said, noting that the Trojans were likely \u201cthe best team that we\u2019ll play all year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>UP NEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>San Jose State will travel to Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to take on Eastern Michigan at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time Friday before returning home the following week to face Cal Poly.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8022\">Google Maps changes Lake Ontario label to Lake America in U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Luke Weaver showed a few flashes in his SJSU debut and did not turn the ball over, passing to an array of new receiving faces<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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