San Jose State likely wrapped up its first bowl berth since 2000
with Saturday’s win over Idaho. The celebration lasted until
Sunday.
San Jose – San Jose State likely wrapped up its first bowl berth since 2000 with Saturday’s win over Idaho. The celebration lasted until Sunday.
The Spartans still have some unfinished business. Once upon a time, Fresno State was considered SJSU’s major rival. Tomey says no more.
“You can’t have a rivalry when one team wins all the time,” Tomey said Monday. “We have to make it one again. In order to do it, we have to be more competitive.”
Tomey was right that the Spartans haven’t been very competitive against the Bulldogs, particularly over the last three seasons when Fresno has outscored SJSU 148-52. The Spartans haven’t beaten the Bulldogs since 1990, a fact not lost on the players, either.
“Fresno usually looks to embarrass San Jose,” senior defensive tackle Freddy McCutcheon said. “No matter what Fresno does before playing us, we know they will be ready. We seniors got together and said we want to make this a rivalry again.”
It’s an unusual occurrence when the Spartans are favored, which is the case this season. However, the Bulldogs have turned around an awful season by winning their last three games to go to 4-7 on the season. In last Saturday’s 34-27 win at Louisiana Tech, Bulldog back Dwayne Wright ran wild. His 295 yards rushing were the most in the school’s 84-year history.
Meanwhile, the Spartans got three touchdowns from Patrick Perry to overcome a lackluster first half and defeat Idaho 28-13.
The game with San Jose State will be Fresno’s bowl game. For the first time in seven seasons, the Bulldogs will not go to a postseason game.
“This week is a season in itself,” Tomey said. “We talked about after the Idaho game that with seven wins we were almost assured of a bowl game. We know we will go some place so that’s reassuring.
“But this week we’re not even thinking about it (bowl game). We need to focus on Fresno, and I don’t think the guys are having any problem with that. Many were on the sidelines when they demolished us. Many of our guys were 3 years old the last time San Jose beat Fresno. We’re looking forward to showing we can be more competitive.”
The Bulldogs have never been at .500 or below in the Western Athletic Conference under coach Pat Hill, who is in his 11th season. They are presently 4-3 in WAC, tied with San Jose State. The winner will tie Nevada for third in the conference.
“The whole team is talking about Fresno,” McCutcheon said. “They always try to blow us out. Last year, they scored a lot of points on us (45-17). This year, it’s payback time.”
