Almost a year ago, the San Jose State football team traveled across the country to play Auburn in what at the time of scheduling was surely expected to be an easy win for the Tigers.
Instead, the Spartans drew to within 4 points early in the fourth quarter and kept things interesting to the end before Auburn closed out a tight 24-16 win.
That said, Auburn wasn't the No. 6-ranked team in the country like USC is heading into its season opener against San Jose State on Saturday in the Coliseum (5 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network).
The Spartans also finished last season 7-5 as a Mountain West Conference team.
So, yes, this should be a comfortable win for a Trojans team with College Football Playoff aspirations. They're 30.5-point favorites.
Nonetheless, the USC coaches will mention that Auburn game from last year -- like wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons did with reporters earlier this week -- and expect not only a victory but sharp focus from this Trojans team as it looks to use the early part of the schedule to smooth out any wrinkles before meat of the schedule.
"They play hard and they're very disciplined in what they do as a defense. I compliment their whole defensive staff, those guys, they fly and strain to the ball, the stuff that we've seen on film," Simmons said. "Obviously, they're going to have a couple new pieces in -- we're going to have to figure that out as the game progresses. But for what they show on film, they're going to be a team that's not going to be intimidated by walking into the Coliseum. That speaks volumes if you go back and look at their history, what happened in the Auburn game. I don't see them coming in here and being intimidated."
Let's take a closer look at USC's first opponent ...
San Jose State Spartans
Conference: Mountain West (picked 5th in the conference's preseason poll)
2022 record: 7-5, lost to Eastern Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Coach: Brent Brennan, 7th season (27-42)
Series history: USC is 5-0 all-time vs. San Jose State, with the most recent meeting being a 30-7 Trojans win in 2021.
Familiar face: Former USC safety Chase Williams is a starter in the secondary for San Jose State. He had 40 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 pass breakups last season for the Spartans.
SJSU vs. Power 5/ranked opponents: The Spartans last beat a Power 5 school in 2019, winning at Arkansas, 31-24. The program's last win over a ranked team was Nov. 29, 2013 in a 62-52 home win over No. 16 Fresno State. The Spartans' highest-ranked win was defeating No. 9 TCU at home 27-24 in 2000.
The Spartans have two winning seasons in six years under Brennan, including a 7-1 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season in which they claimed the Mountain West championship and their only loss came to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl.
Offensive overview: SJSU is led by Mountain West Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Chevan Cordeiro at quarterback. The Hawaii transfer joined the Spartans last season and passed for a career-high 3,251 yards with 23 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, while also rushing for 265 yards and 9 TDs. SJSU returns four starting offensive linemen and leading rusher Kairee Robinson (752 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, 4.8 yards per carry). The Spartans did lose a 1,000-yard receiver in Elijah Cooks but veteran Justin Lockhart (36 catches for 578 yards last season) should be primed to step into a bigger role. The Spartans led the Mountain West and ranked 25th nationally with 272.5 passing yards per game last season.
Defensive overview: SJSU ranked sixth nationally last season with 3.25 sacks per game, but 26 of their 39 sacks came from players no longer on the roster. The Spartans have to replace both the 2022 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (Vilami Fehoko) and the 2020 MWC Defensive Player of the Year (Cade Hall) on their defensive line along with their top linebacker and leading tackler (Kyle Harmon). That's a lot of turnover for a defense that was strong last year, ranking 33rd nationally in yards allowed per game (339.9).
Five Players to Know
1. QB Chevan Cordeiro, sixth-year senior: Cordeiro had four 300-yard passing games last season, throwing for 314 in a win at Wyoming (SJSU's only road win), 302 in a loss to Fresno State, 340 in a win over Nevada and 366 in the bowl game vs. Eastern Michigan. He has 9,418 career passing yards with 68 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. His mobility is the extra wrinkle to his game, which USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was asked about this week.
"Yeah, just real slippery, can make a bad play good. I mean, anymore ... to say you got a scrambling quarterback, if you’re surprised by it in this day and age, shame on you. It’s our expectation every single week," Grinch said. "It doesn’t make it any easier to defend, both on the ability to get yards down field and just extend plays and it thins you out in every which way. It’s easy to say the spy guy and all that stuff, but you’re not rushing as many as you’d like to rush or you’re not putting as many guys in coverage, so it gives you major fits. Always has and always will."
2. RB Kairee Robinson, fifth-year senior: As noted, the 5-foot-7, 195-pound Robinson -- who is from the same hometown (Antioch, California) as USC RB Austin Jones, though they played at different high schools -- rushed for 752 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He had two 100-yard games last season, going for 102 and a TD on 20 carries vs. Wyoming and 148 yards and a TD on 24 carries vs. Hawaii.
3. WR Justin Lockhart, fifth-year senior: A graduate of Gardena Serra HS (where he was a teammate of USC safety Max Williams), Lockhart started his career at Nevada and has 103 career catches for 1,322 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had his best season last fall for the Spartans with 36 catches for 578 yards and 1 TD and should take over as the team's primary target.
4. S Tre Jenkins, sixth-year senior: Jenkins had 60 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 5 pass breakups last season.
5. LB Bryun Parham, junior: Parham, from Long Beach Poly HS, had a career-high 93 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles last season. He had a career-high 14 tackles and a sack vs. Utah State.
Key stat: San Jose State tied for 119th nationally in allowing 3.5 sacks per game (42 total), so while the Spartans have experience up front that doesn't necessarily mean the offensive line is a strength. This should be a good opportunity for USC's rebuilt pass rush to build some confidence early.
Key matchup: There just isn't much experience on SJSU's defensive line at this point with new starters at all three spots, so even though USC's offensive line has plenty to prove, it should be able to assert itself in this matchup and set up a balanced offensive attack for the Trojans.
