SAN JOSE, Calif. – Tulsa looks to rebound from a difficult opening loss when it travels to face San Jose State on Saturday night. The Golden Hurricane were held to -73 yards rushing in a 28-7 loss to No. 20 Michigan State, while the Spartans are coming off a 35-18 victory over Northern Colorado in their opener.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Tulsa -6
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While the Tulsa offense struggled against Michigan State, the defense played well, holding the Spartans to 108 rushing yards and allowing just one touchdown to the MSU offense. The running back duo of Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II will be looking to make up for their performances in the opener, when they combined for -1 yard on 13 carries. San Jose State is looking for its first 2-0 start since 1987 with a win this week. Quarterback Josh Love led the way in the opener, throwing for 224 yards and two touchdowns and also scoring his first career rushing touchdown.
ABOUT TULSA (0-1)
Don't expect Tulsa to change much in its offense this week just because of its showing against Michigan State in the opener. If anything, the Golden Hurricane will look to ride Brooks and Taylor even more against this set of Spartans, as the duo combined for 1,813 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground a season ago. Junior Zach Smith completed 16-of-27 passes for 153 yards and a TD with one interception in the opener.
ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE (1-0)
Turnovers are a big focus for the San Jose State defense this season, and they came up with two in the opening win over Northern Colorado. Coach Brent Brennan wants his team to finish in the top 25 in the country in turnover margin, and they could take a step in that direction this week against a Tulsa team that had trouble with the ball a week ago. The Golden Hurricane had six fumbles (losing two of them) and an interception against Michigan State, so look for the Spartans to try to strip ball carriers as much as possible in this one.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Tulsa junior WR Keylon Stewart had a team-high six catches for 54 yards in the opener.
2. San Jose State is tied for 13th in the nation after recording four sacks in its season-opening win.
3. Tulsa sophomore WR Sam Crawford Jr. caught his first touchdown in the loss to Michigan State on just his third career reception.
PREDICTION: Tulsa 28, San Jose State 17