Ball State Cardinals vs. San Jose State Spartans
Thursday, December 31 -- 2 p.m. ET
Arizona Memorial Stadium – Tucson, Arizona
By Evan Meyer
The sixth Offerpad Arizona Bowl is not only a battle of champions, but also a matchup between two of the biggest surprises in college football.
Opposing Ball State is a San Jose State team that is . . .
THE SERIES: Thursday’s game is the first ever meeting between the two schools. Ball State has an 0-2 lifetime record against the current teams of the MWC. San Jose State owns a 3-4 mark against the MAC
BALL STATE CARDINALS (6-1):
⬤ The Cardinals completed an improbable season when they upset the Buffalo Bulls December 18 in the Rocket Mortgage MAC Championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. BSU came back from a 14-7 first quarter deficit to score on five consecutive possessions (four touchdowns and a field goal) to open a 38-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. UB scored a touchdown with 1:16 remaining, but the Cards prevailed to collect their sixth MAC Championship.
⬤ Sophomore RB Tye Evans had 94 yards on 18 carries in the title game. Senior QB Drew Plitt completed 20-of-32 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns on the way to Offensive Player of the Game honors. Sophomore WR Yo’Heinz Tyler had six receptions for 91 yards.
⬤ The defense came up with a sack, an interception, three pass breakups and recovered a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half. LB Brandon had 13 total tackles (four solo). LB Jimmy Daw was named defensive Player of the Game with seven tackles (five solo) and a forced fumble at the end of the first half. Christian Albright returned the loose ball for a score.
THE 2020 SEASON: The Cardinals were picked second by the media and fourth by the coaches in the pre-season MAC polls. BSU opened the season with a loss at Miami. It then rattled five straight wins (over Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois at home, while defeating Toledo, and Central Michigan on the road). A dramatic 30-27 win over Western Michigan at home on December 12 brought the MAC Western Division to Muncie for the first time since 2008.
⬤ Ten of Ball State’s last 15 games dating back to last season have been decided by a touchdown or less including last Saturday
⬤ Head Coach Mike Neu is completing his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater. The former star quarterback has a 23-35 overall coaching record.
⬤ Offensively, the Cardinals are averaging 34.3 points and 455.1 yards of total offense in their seven games. They scored three times on their initial possessions in 2020.
⬤ Drew Plitt has completed 152-of-237 passes for 1,947 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions
⬤ Senior RB Caleb Huntley led the Cards in rushing with 437 yards, despite missing the last three games with an injury. Huntley opted out of the MAC Championship Game and will not play in the Arizona Bowl
⬤ Huntley has 2,902 career rushing yards -- second to Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson amongst current MAC rushers
⬤ Justin Hall leads the receivers with 49 catches for 665 yards and four touchdowns
⬤ The BSU defense has allowed 27.6 points and 441.7 yards in the six games. The Cardinals have 16 total sacks (third in the MAC) and tied for third in turnover margin at +5. Against a powerful UB attack, Ball State’s defense allowed 28 points and 134 rushing yards.
⬤ Junior LB Brandon Martin is second in the MAC in total tackles with 85 stops 43 of them solo
⬤ Martin was named the MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year sharing the honor with Central Michigan’s Troy Hairston
⬤ The Cards had three defensive players on the All-MAC first team in Martin, Epke and Bryce Cosby while only Justin Hall made the first team offense
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (7-0)
⬤ The Spartans defeated Boise State, 34-20, in the Mountain West Conference championship game played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
⬤ SJSU built a 19-6 lead thanks to four field goals from sophomore PK Matt Mercurio. Boise State closed the margin to 19-13 late in the third quarter on s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown, but it could not get any closer as the Spartans scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win their first MWC title and first conference title since 1991 (in the Big West Conference). The 2020 campaign was just the second undefeated season
in school history. and enabled SJSU to gain a No. 19 rank in the national polls.
⬤ Sophomore RB Kairee Robinson had 39 yards to lead the rushing attack. Graduate QB Nick Starkel completed 32 of 52 passes for 453 yards and three touchdowns. Senior WR Tre Waller had seven receptions for 137 yards and a score.
⬤ The defense had three sacks and three pass breakups, with junior LB Alli Mattu leading the way with eight total tackles (six of them solo)
THE 2020 SEASON: Like the MAC, the Mountain West had initially deferred the season until the spring. Later, it rescinded and opened a conference-only schedule in late October.
⬤ The SJSU season began with wins over Air Force and New Mexico. The Spartans only ‘true’ road game was against San Diego State in Carson (a suburb of Los Angeles). After beating SDSU and UNLV, the Spartans “lost” road games at Fresno State and Boise State due to coronavirus issues. When the Spartans returned to action, they posted home wins over Hawaii and Nevada before beating Boise State in the title game
⬤ Head Coach Brent Brennan is completing his fourth season at SJSU and has a 15-29 record overall. He was named 2020 MWC Coach of the Year. After the MWC Championship game victory, he was rewarded with a contract extension. Brennan is 47 years old and a native of San Jose. He played his college football at UCLA and was a member of the Bruins 1993 Rose Bowl squad that faced Wisconsin. After his playing days, he was a coach in high school and a graduate assistant at Hawaii and Oregon.
⬤ Brennan’s first collegiate job came at Cal Poly for four years. He then spent six years at SJSU, working as a recruiting coordinator and also on the offensive side of the ball. Brennan spent six seasons at Oregon State before returning to his hometown as head coach.
⬤ In 2020 San Jose’ offense averaged 30.9 points and 442.9 yards per game. Against the Broncos they amassed 457 yards. It was the fifth straight game of 400 or more yards in total offense. The offensive line has allowed just seven sacks all season.
⬤ Senior RB Tyler Nevers led the rushing attack with 478 yards and five touchdowns.
⬤ Nick Starkel, a graduate transfer from Arkansas, completed 13-of-212 passes for 1,906 yards with 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
⬤ Graduate Student WR Bailey Gaither has 41 receptions for 725 yards and four touchdowns.
⬤ The Spartans defense has allowed an average of 17.9 pts and 338.1 yards in their seven games. They allowed BSU just 233 total yards (46 rushing) -- best of the season. Overall, SJSU has registered 27 sacks, three interceptions, five forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
⬤ Junior LB Kyle Harmon leads with 71 total tackles (41 solo).
⬤ PK Matt Mercurio was named the Lou Groza Award winner as the top place kicker with 52 points. He has converted 9-for-10 on field goals and a perfect 25-of-25 on point after conversions.
⬤ The Spartans are one of just four undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (Alabama, Ohio State, and Cincinnati being the others)
⬤ SJSU has an eight-game winning streak dating back to last season -- the fourth longest in school history.
⬤ The MWC title was the ninth overall conference title in SJSU history (five came in the old Pacific Coast Athletic Association and three in the Big West Conference)
BOWL GAME HISTORY
BALL STATE – This is the Cardinals tenth bowl game. They are winless in seven tries, their last being in 2013 at the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile where they lost to Arkansas State 23-20.
SAN JOSE STATE-This the Spartans 11th bowl game in their history. They own a 7-3 record overall and are riding a four-game bowl winning streak. Their last appearance was in 2015 when they defeated Georgia State at the Cure Bowl in Orlando, 27-16
ARIZONA BOWL HISTORY
⬤ Thursday’s game is the sixth Arizona Bowl all have been played at Arizona Memorial Stadium the home of the University of Arizona Wildcats
⬤ The inaugural game was in 2015 when Nevada defeated Colorado State 28-23
⬤ The game is the first of a five-year contract between the MAC and the MWC and will run until 2025
⬤ The game is televised nationally on CBS with the announcing team of Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson on the call. Jamie Erdahl reports from the sidelines.