Five things to know about USC's opening opponent San Jose State

As of Monday, USC is a 14-point favorite in its season-opening matchup with San Jose State on Saturday in the Coliseum.

While it will be the Trojans' 2021 debut, the Spartans opened their season this past weekend with a 45-14 win over FCS-level Southern Utah.

As USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said, there's two ways to evaluate who gains an advantage from that.

"Kind of a double-edged sword because you get an opportunity to see the people that they're going to play now. They lost two really good receivers so you get a chance to see those guys. But when you get game experience, it's hard to simulate that in practice," Orlando said.

Well, San Jose State's retooled receiving corps looked just fine as quarterback Nick Starkel had completions of 70, 65, 47, 43 and 38 yards to five different receivers and tight ends Saturday.

As for the newcomers, Nevada transfer Charlie Ross led the Spartans with 3 catches for 77 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, and junior Jermaine Braddock stepped into a starring role as well with 2 catches for 66 yards, including a 43-yard reception and a 23-yard TD.

Overall, it wasn't much of a game as San Jose State held a massive advantage in total yards -- 543 to 250 -- and went up 35-7 midway through the second quarter.

Going against an FCS opponent and a No. 15-ranked Trojans team is about as stark a difference from one week to the next as possible, so there's not much to read into that game overall.

But here's a closer look at the five things USC fans should know about San Jose State.

When: 2 p.m. PT, Saturday

Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

TV: Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson and Yogi Roth on the call

Local radio: KABC-790 AM with coverage starting at 10 a.m. PT

Coach Brent Brennan led San Jose State to its best record since 1939 in guiding the Spartans to a 7-1 finish last season, including the program's first Mountain West title before losing to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl.

That continued a dramatic turnaround for the program, which went 2-11 and 1-11 in his first two seasons there before improving to 5-7 and then the breakout last season.

If there was any thought that Brennan would parlay that success into a bigger job -- Arizona was rumored to be interested -- he instead signed a contract extension with the school.

If he build on what he did last year -- it was just the third winning season for the program in the last 20 years, spanning five different head coaches -- Brennan should again be a hot name for lower level Power 5 programs.

As for an interesting note relative to this matchup, Brennan was a wide receiver at UCLA in 1993-94, but he said his Bruins background doesn't add any dynamic to taking his team into the Coliseum against USC this week.

"Not through that lens at all for me. For me, it's all about San Jose State football and what we're doing here," he said Monday. "I had a great experience at UCLA, but that's a long time ago. Oh my God is it a long time ago. And really this is about our team and these players and what we're doing to build a consistent winning football program at San Jose State."

San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel has been around forever, it seems.

His first year of college football was in 2016, when he took a redshirt at Texas A&M. He started a handful of games for the Aggies the next season before seeing his role diminish.

Starkel transferred to Arkansas in 2019, starting five games but throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns.

And so he was on the move again, landing at San Jose State last year as a grad transfer. There, he became a catalyst for the Spartans' surge, passing for 2,174 yards, 17 touchdowns and 7 interceptions over eight games.

He opted to come back for one more season to try to boost his draft stock, and what better way to do that than having a big game against USC in the Coliseum?

Brennan downplayed the significance of this game to Starkel's future, however.

"I think Nick Starkel has already improved his stock and impressed NFL scouts," Brennan said. I think he just needs to play his game. It's not about him and Slovis -- it's about our team and Spartan football."

(On that note, Brennan was asked about USC QB Kedon Slovis on Monday and said, "I think Kedon Slovis is a top 10 pick in the NFL draft. He's fantastic. He can make every throw. He's incredibly accurate. He does not turn the ball over. Obviously it starts there with him, and he's played so much football, those reps when he was a younger quarterback you just see him progress and mature every year.")

For what it's worth, Starkel was 16 of 27 for 394 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception last weekend vs. Southern Utah.