San Jose State football looks to build off strong 2019, end bowl drought

How will San Jose State football fare in 2020?

The Spartans had an offense in 2019 that looked the part of a bowl team but couldn’t quite get enough stops on defense to get the job done.

In 2020, they’ll look to keep the same offensive production while improving on defense. Will it be enough to end their bowl drought?

Here are game-by-game projections for the campaign:

• Game 1: at Central Michigan (L) — Central Michigan surprised many by reaching the MAC title game in 2019, but success will be expected this year. On the road, SJSU falls short.
• Game 2: vs. UC Davis (W) —UC Davis put together a 5-7 campaign in the FCS in 2019. SJSU is no longer in a place as a program to lose to these type of games.
• Game 3: at Penn State (L) — San Jose is improving, but they may simply never have enough to win on the road at Penn State.
• Game 4: at Boise State (L) —A win over Mountain West Conference king Boise State would send a message to the nation that the Spartans are for real. While it’s hard to see them getting the job done, this game will be closer than some expect.
• Game 5: vs. Air Force (L) — Air Force is coming off a strong 2019 season that saw them dominant the Spartans 41-24. Their matchup should be closer than last year with SJSU at home, but the Falcons still win.
• Game 6: vs. UNLV (W) — Last year UNLV upset San Jose State to end their bowl hopes. If the Spartans want to prove they are no longer the laughing stock of the Mountain West, they need to take down the Rebels at home in 2020.
• Game 7: at San Diego State (L) —The Spartans came within 10 points of an upset over San Diego State last season at home. This year a win over SDSU will have to come on the road, which may be too much to ask out of SJSU.
• Game 8: at New Mexico (W) — New Mexico is the worst team in the Mountain West right now. San Jose State has enough to expose them further.
• Game 9: vs. Nevada (W) — Nevada took down San Jose State in a close three-point contest in 2019. With home field this year, the Spartans should be able to flip the script.
• Game 10: vs. UConn (W) — UConn is rebuilding its program and currently behind SJSU in terms of talent; thus, the Spartans should pick up a win here.
• Game 11: vs. Hawaii (W) —Hawaii is a much different team off the Island. SJSU should have enough to pick up a strong home win.
• Game 12: at Fresno State (L) —Fresno State is in a bit of a reboot mode after their strong 2018 season. However, this game may be a trap with San Jose State already having been projected to lock up a bowl bid and heading on the road.

Prediction: 6-6 (4-4 Mountain West)

All the Spartans need to do to get back to a bowl game is to increase their win total by one. While not having Josh Love under center will make that difficult, the team has options in a former SEC signal-caller and young dual-threat, both of whom have a world of options at wide receiver that should help keep the San Jose State passing game explosive.

Their defense may struggle, but there’s enough returning talent to expect improvement from the group that finished among the nations worst.

When looking at the Spartans schedule, winning six games is doable. The only games that seem well out of reach are a trip to Happy Valley to play Penn State and road battles against Mountain West Conference powerhouses Boise State and San Diego State.

Outside of that, there are enough opportunities to win at least six games and the Spartans seem poised to do just that in 2020.