Last year, Stanford halfback Toby Gerhart tore up the Spartan running defense before he tore up his knee in the same game, accumulating 140 yards and averaging more than a 11 yards per run before ending his season with a torn ACL in the third quarter.
This year could be different.
San Jose State’s run defense is ranked 10th nationally after three games, a stat that is a combination of reality and aberration. The team’s two starting defensive ends – senior USC transfer Jeff Schweiger and junior Carl Ihenacho – have filled in the gaping hole the Spartans’ defense had last year with run defense (which ranked 77th in 2007 and 108th in tackles for loss of yards), and pass rush (96th in sacks.)
Ihenacho is already close to tying all of his numbers from last year just three games into the season. Schweiger’s numbers are equally impressive this year. The two overmatched a bad Aztec offensive line.
Its defense will be put to the test by Gerhart and back up Anthony Kimble, who picked up an additional 80 yards on 19 carries for the Cardinal in last year’s game.
The big indicator that this defense is legitimate could be its performance against Nebraska. The Spartans held the Cornhuskers rushing attack to 99 yards total.
Nebraska put up 138 yards against Western Michigan the week before, and a week later would tally more than 300 rushing yards against New Mexico State the following week.
The doubt comes from the competition. UC Davis is an FCS team with a pass-centered attack. The team’s running back, Joe Trombetta, didn’t achieve 100 yards rushing for the season until the third week of the season.
San Diego State is also woeful. The team’s rushing attack is also weak, achieving just 98 yards in the season’s first two games on 38 rushing attempts. The Spartan defense was merely exploiting an already bad offense when it embarrassed the Aztecs on Sunday. There’s a reason San Diego State has been on ESPN’s Bottom 10 list every week this year.
This week will be the first challenge for the Spartans’ defense. Toby Gerhart is ranked in the top 50 nationally in average rushing yards. We will know whether or not the tenth overall ranking is earned.
— John Hornberg, Managing Editor
