San Jose State vs. Sacramento State Week 1 Game Preview

welcome to another episode of the sports sentiment I am your host nickias and we are back once again talking college football the countdown the kickoff is officially on for San Jose State versus Sacramento State live from San Jose inside seq stadium as we've been attending fall Camp we've been talking about the team for months and I know the guy joining me now has been keeping tabs on the Sacramento State football team for quite some time so let's bring him on in he's no stranger to covering State football as he's been keeping an eye on this squad for the past two seasons Jack Freeman thanks for joining us you've been doing some great things with the state Hornet the the student ran publication thanks for coming on the sports sentiment yeah uh thanks for having me on Nick very happy to be here and to talk some sax State football I'm excited yeah let's let's rock and roll so I was just learning about your background and you know you've been you've been attending Sacramento State and you know doing all the good stuff uh with the state Hornet but I understand you got you from what you were telling me you got some uh San Jose ties as well you want to you want to talk about that yeah of course man um so I lived in San Jose for since when I was or I was two to when I was about um 11 uh I went to John J Montgomery Elementary School in Evergreen um right down the road from SEF Q Stadium um I've been to my fair share of San Jose State Games and um it was kind of like when we were going to elementary school we'd have those College days and um San Jose State stuff was everywhere um so I've always felt kind of a connection even though I I attended sack State yeah and then of course you know even just the past I would say half decade and you know even for Sacramento State I felt like they've always been uh you know they've always had themselves a high class uh football program with the with the kind of wins that they've gotten over the past several season I feel like San Jose State has been right around there they finally gotten some consistent winning within the program since 2020 when they won the mountain West and now they got themselves a new cast of characters running this thing this year they got a first year head coach and Ken neam monolo a brand new offensive coordinator and Craig stutzman and a quarterback which is still very much in the air and probably no one will know until uh Thursday evening but thanks for coming on I wanted to get your thoughts on on sack State this season because this has been a football program like I said that has just been getting more and more uh eyeballs ever since you know you guys had an upset win over uh Stanford last year in Paulo Alto and you know even going back you even won in Fort Collins Against uh San Jose State's rivals in Colorado State so talk about this sack State program like where they stand they're one of the top FCS programs and the way I see it with so many unknowns with San Jose State this year and a new staff and you know you guys you guys do return a head coach in in Andy Thompson this year and you know you do have a quarterback coming back as well this is the way I see it this is a game that's filled with a bunch of unknowns and I think it's very intriguing heading into this Thursday yeah definitely this is definitely going to be a game I feel like where San Jose State's going to get tested out of the gate this is not one of those um body bag games that we see when FCS programs go to um FBS schools um and like you said before uh Sacramento state has given fits to their last two FBS opponents beating Colorado State and Stanford you know this is a team that is really this is a program really that's only been known for winning since like 2019 um so they're still trying to you know sustain a winning culture um they've done that after Troy Taylor left for Stanford that's kind of uh that was kind of the story of that game when when they upset them in Palo Alto there was a lot of you know hurt feelings after he left um but they hired from within with Andy Thompson he was their DC under Troy Taylor um so they've kind of wanted to maintain that culture a lot like you said a lot of returners the thing that think could scare saak State fans the most is the defense I was talking with our football beat Rider Ryan earlier um and they really only have one projected starter returning from last year so 10 new starters and this is a defense who even struggled last year with a lot of uh seniors on the roster the that's the biggest unknown for sax state right now I think we know what the offense is going to look like uh Kaden Bennett uh who is a uh senior from Nevada he was at Boise State uh transferred in uh he's really good um and he'll lead this offense it'll be explosive um we kind of know what we've got there but this defense man we don't know what it's going to look like I think a lot of saak State fans are hoping it's better than last year um there's no guarantees about what anything looks like and you would hope it would improve because Andy Thompson is a is a defensive minded head coach right he spent 10 years at Northern Arizona and then he finally got his head coaching gig at at sack state so you mentioned you guys only got one returner on defense but the good news is for you guys is that you guys got your you guys had yourself a really good offense last year and that's the expectation this year with with Kaden Bennett he played in all 13 games started in 10 of them last season is I'm pretty sure that he's the he's the go-to guy heading into this game no doubt about it yeah yeah he'll be qb1 I wouldn't be shocked if uh red shirt freshman Carson Concklin got some playing time um it was kind of weird with Bennett last year because uh in that Stanford game he like um he had a shoulder injury and it kind of hampered him throughout that middle of the season so they were really trying anything at quarterback um and Conlin uh he played four games to keep his red shirt status um and we saw him kind of show out you know he even started got the start um in their homecoming game so I wouldn't be shocked if we see him if maybe Bennett's off to a slow start but when he's healthy um Kaden Bennett is electric at quarterback um he really reminds me of a prime Russell Wilson type guy who gets out of the pocket breaks tackles I know Bay Area fans I'm a Seahawk fan um so I know Bay Area fans might not like that comparison but he really is he's electric he can get out of the pocket and make his own plays um you know when his throw on the Run ability is is um fantastic and so it'll be good I think for saak State fans to see a healthy Kaden Bennett again um but I wouldn't be shocked if maybe if he can't get it going in the in the fourth quarter if they're looking for a spark maybe they turn to the freshman in conin yeah and kayen Bennett yeah I think the Russell Wilson comp is a pretty good one because of the Dual threat capabilities and you know he had 100 rush yards in that upset win over Stanford last year and man when the game was getting tight in the fourth quarter he was making some big time throws and let's talk about some of that Weaponry that saak states got this year because you guys got Jared Gibson returning second Team all Big Sky you guys got Devin Gandy who if I'm not mistaken suffered an injury Miss season and he was out for the back half of that uh back half of the FCS playoff run and then you guys got two FBS transfers and Joshua Nicholson who I saw last year at San Diego State and Makai cop talk about this wide receiver room for uh the Hornets this season because I think it's going to be a good unit overall yeah I thought last year that they were pretty loaded um at wide receiver uh and it's the same case again this this season they are really really um impressive when it comes to that Jared Gibson is fantastic he's like a deep threat go get it um throw it up guy Devon gandy's really Shifty um even their tight end room is really really deep too so that's definitely going to be a strength um I'm not sure really where the F FBS transfers are going to slot in um I know Gibson I know Gandy are really really good um even they got a a transfer from Washington State last year Anderson Grover um who really established himself in the playoffs as a kind of a big body Target um for Kaden Bennett so I mean this is I think this could give the San Jose State Defense a little bit of a couple of fits um as they kind of get it get themselves established because every single one of the those guys are really they have a really tight group um the wide receiver room is probably the the closest room in the locker room um so they're all trying to you know compete against each other and make that one big play and um they're also going to support each other when things aren't going great so um you know the this is a group of guys where I think every single one of them is a threat to make a play any time yeah and I was I was telling a bunch of our San Jose State folks like hey this is week one and this is the first game of the cania monolo coaching era but this is not what we had four years ago with the southern Utah or the game two years ago vers Portland State like this is a real FCS team that like you said that's more than capable of going and doing some things on the road and upsetting some FBS teams the track record speaks for itself and I'm a little worried for the San Jose State Defense and there's a whole lot of unknowns with this team this year because there are so many new faces that are going to be inserted a lot of guys that didn't play last year that are going to have to step up and all of a sudden be in this starting role and you know you talk about your defense but like our defense right now is you know on the defensive line we only have one returner our coach left Brent Brennan last year and he took a lot of our a lot of his guys from San Jose State to Arizona so there's going to be have some there's going to be some guys that have to step in and our offensive line we only have one returner on the offensive line that could be somewhat of an issue maybe not this game but going on towards the longevity of the season um there is a whole lot of unknowns with this team and I think that's what makes this this game in week one you know so much fun to watch because we get to talk about it like how we are right now and you know kind of just break down position by position where a team may have an advantage and you know I I would say the matchup of this game everyone knows that watches football how big the trenches are and you know how important it is to get a run game going because it opens up your your passing attack but your left guard Jackson Slater I mean this guy was first team all Big Sky last year I know the left guard position and the offensive line there's no stats to back up what they do but your left guard was amazing last year and so was our defensive lineman sonani Toya he was a second Team all Mountain West selection I think that could be the matchup of the game pretty much and I think a whole lot could be decided based on who wins that battle should be a fun one yeah no uh that's gonna be super fun to watch I think these two teams it's kind of a mismatch I think a little bit where saak State maybe has the advantage they have a lot of returners on the offensive line actually um you mentioned Jackson Slater I know he's on like the watch list for the Senior Bowl um I mean this guy is really really good um like you said there aren't to back it up but every time I've watched him he's just dominant um they also have a returning starter Nathan Mia at Center um they kind of Shuffle him around a little bit but he's also really good I think he was second team Big Sky last year um so this is a really um a pretty loaded uh front so I think it could be it could kind of show San Jose State fans maybe what they're working with a little bit because I think it's typical in FBS and FCS matchups that we know that the FCS team is going to be a little weaker they're going to be a smaller you know um we expect the defensive line to um really give them trouble but I don't know if this will be the case this year um it could be possible like I said you know we haven't really seen a ton of it's hard to judge offensive lineman from camp they're not really blocking each other you know but this is uh a sack state line with a lot of experience um so we could see um their running game they have a returning running back Elijah T Tolliver who's really good big hard to tackle that that's a matchup I think that San State fans could maybe have some nightmares about going into it yeah and of course San Jose State started out one and five last year and their run defense was their aes's heel it did improve towards the back end of the 2023 season when they got red hot and ultimately were the co- regular season champions of the Mountain West but there is a whole lot of question marks with this team and a whole lot of new faces that will be leading the way uh let's talk about Sacramento State kind of from a from a wide perspective here and because last year you guys were eight and four fifth in the big Sky you ended up losing in the second round of the FCS playoffs to a very good South Dakota Coyote team obviously you know the defense wasn't as good as years's past eight and four I think with this program you got to think there is a little bit more higher expectations under Andy Thompson going into year two and maybe top three in the Big Sky and the Big Sky is really good this year because we just saw Montana State this past weekend and they looked really good so what is going on here as far as SA state where do you have them as far as uh the Big Sky landscape is concerned as far as the standings yeah I think they came in on the Big Sky polls fifth in the coaches and media poll um I think I would put them fourth just ahead of UC Davis the two Montana teams are just spectacular those are two historic FCS programs um you know not only do they have the cult the winning culture already established a tough environment and uh all that but they just have some really really talented players um so that's those are definitely the two who set at top the Big Sky um then I would put maybe Idaho ahead of them they have a really really uh good coach young coach Jason eek but they have they had some roster turnover so I think we could see I don't know a ton about uh Idaho after the off season um so we'll see what they look like but um sax state is just slots right in there is maybe the third or fourth best program in the Big Sky and I think on the right day they can compete um the theme of last year was kind of like we saw them Stanford and the expectations were skyh high right we were like oh this is if you can go in to paloto and beat Stanford even with theem motions running High all that you know um then you should be able to beat a lot of FCS programs and when Montana State and when they went to Montana that didn't happen even they when they went to um The Causeway classic uh which is our rivalry with UC Davis it didn't happen they didn't look like that same team um so I think Andy Thompson learned a lot from his first year as head coach and what it takes to lead a program uh he definitely faced a lot of adversity man um I'll tell you what they were really banged up on the defensive side um and then those big losses that they took uh we not we're not pretty you know um so I think we could see a stronger sack State team uh but I don't think the talent level is as high as it was last year I think the talent level on last year's team um was better expectations were most definitely high after you guys beat Stanford in the what many people call Detroit the Revenge game for all those sack State uh play players when Troy Taylor uh departed to Paulo elto you know one of the many great games that I remember seeing on national TV um with the sack State football was the crazy shootout versus Incarnate Word you were covering the team were you covering the team at the time during that game and I could imagine that you were live at Hornet stadium for that one I just got to get your thoughts on that crazy shootout for a game that no one could play defense the off were flying on all cylinders I remember the terrific wide receiver that you guys had at the time Pierre Williams just had an insane game uh just I want to get your thoughts on that insane uh playoff game with the Hornets and uh Incarnate Word yeah that was one of I was so I was in the Press Box for that game um that was one of the craziest uh live sports experience i' I've ever had um you know not just from the scoring but just from what was going on in the game um not many people remember but sack State recovered two onside kicks in the fourth quarter to even have a chance to win that game right we're just talking about the most improbable stuff it was it it was really really uh crazy Lindsey Scott Jr was the Incarnate Word quarterback at the time and I'm sure that Andy Thompson still has nightmares about him I think he had like 700 yards like 500 through the air 200 on the ground like five touchdowns it was like maybe I don't understand how he's done on an NFL roster right now I'll tell you that based on that game um because he did whatever he wanted with that with that defense um it was you know kind of a the obviously a solemn vibe in Sacramento after that that was the first time the program had ever gone uh undefeated in the regular season it was the first time they'd ever won a uh you know they were looking for their first playoff win still um so you know they ex or no they had just gotten their first playoff win my bad sorry they beat Richmond in uh just the wetest game I've ever seen like it was pooling on the field um so they just gotten their first playoff win they were undefeated um and it so we kind of expected you know in Sacramento we were like okay we know incar word is good um but we you know we thought it wouldn't get as crazy as it did um but just from the moment it kicked off I think Marcus fure um great guy running back he like he was their backup at the time punched in and drank a beer like in the first quarter like from the stands and from there it just went off the rails um definitely a crazy experience trying to keep up with that game you know um one thing I tried to do when I was uh covering football was I tried to basically like live tweet almost every single play or like every other play and dude I just couldn't like I was like I was falling behind and I was like you guys gotta stick with me here because uh it changed minute to minute you know um I think like one of those onside kicks they recovered was by surprise too um so I was just typing out like all right you know incarnate words going to get the ball back let's see what happens and I was like oh never mind uh you know got to reset the whole story um it it took me a long time to write um but yeah know that was one of the craziest uh games I've I've seen live ever man I can only imagine your your your Twitter feed that night uh must must have been pretty hectic and yeah I can only imagine your recap for that game uh especially and for for all those that are not aware of the crazy game that happened on December 9th 2022 in Sacramento the final score was 66-63 Incarnate Word won that game uh if you haven't go watch the highlights of that game because yeah go find it that was that was one of the the one of the many amazing games that I've seen uh in in college football over the past several years um before we close things out here for for uh the sjsu uh sack State uh game preview episode uh I want to just get your thoughts on just how this game is going to go on Thursday you know you're probably going to be rooting for saag state I'm going to be rooting for San Jose State there's probably no secret there I know you got yourself some San Jose ties uh yourself but you know is this game G to get high scoring is it gonna be close because I personally think it's going to be close I think it's going to be high scoring uh based on the unknowns of the defense and you know all the guys that are going to be stepping up and know Craig stutman and his offense and in San Jose it's called the spread and Shred offense so this thing is I expect this thing to be a no huddle offense from the start of the first quarter and you know I would it wouldn't Shock Me Out of at all if this thing was 42 to 35 something along those lines yeah I agree with you 100% there I think this is going to be a really high-scoring matchup um just looking at the sack State side of things you know having so many unknowns on defense that can really hurt that can really really hurt you know because you don't get to hit as much any in practice anymore so this is really going to be their first time out there as 11 on 11 you know going full speed and hitting each other I definitely think things could get sloppy on the defensive end on both sides of the football um and these offenses can take advantage I know that San Jose State's got um that great wide receiver Nick Nash right um I think he could really really hurt this secondary this secondary is one that doesn't have a ton of has no starting returners uh both their Corners left and so they're going to be figuring things out they're going to be communicating I know um you know I don't know what the attendance is going to be like it's SEF Q um but I know that even if it gets a little bit loud you know there might be some trouble there um so I definitely think it's going to be high-scoring for sure um I don't know who to give the edge to at this point that's kind of the thing um I know more about sack state so I feel like they could definitely give him a run for their money um but that offense is going to have to be on you know it's going to have to be a night where um Kaden Bennett is playing like he did at Stanford and really showing out um because I think if they do have to go to Conklin like I kind of said before that means that they're not going to be in this game so uh we'll see what happens but I would definitely expect a lot of points uh a lot of broken tackles um and a shootout for sure most definitely and you know the road doesn't get any easier uh for saak State because the following week you guys go to Fresno and face the Fresno State Bulldogs I will most definitely be rooting for saak state in that one um because because of our our deep hated rivalry that San Jose State and State got uh so I I'll definitely be rooting uh for for sack State there just uh just to uh support you guys and uh for the Rivalry element there but man I I can't wait I can't wait for this game uh I will be broadcasting this game on on the student radio uh this Thursday on 90.5 ksjs uh so if anybody from from the from the South Bay or up in up in Sacramento want to tune in to that by all means uh check it out me my good friend Jonathan conis will be broadcasting that game live from SEF Q stadium in the in the Spartan Press Box but Jack once again thanks for joining us where where can people find you online all your all your stuff that you'll be doing uh with the state Hornet uh this year yeah um so I'm now the editor-in chief of the state Hornet so I'm G to plug uh them you can follow us on X and or Twitter uh I you call it X I call it Twitter um I just say both yeah at at TH State Hornet um you can find out on Instagram as state Hornet um you can find me um talking about the Seahawks most likely um at uh on Twitter as jackf Freeman 413 um thank you so much Nick for having me on it was uh always good to talk about uh talk ball especially um the small schools yeah most definitely and uh we look forward uh with all of our San Jose State folks uh connecting uh with your people from Sacramento State if you guys do indeed uh come down to the South Bay so most definitely looking forward to the matchup between the San Jose State Spartans and the Sacramento State Hornets once again Jack Freeman uh joining me for this episode of the sports sentiment I am your host Nick uas and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast