SJSU looking for historic win vs. Navy

The SJSU football team is experiencing one if its best starts to a season in recent history. This weekend, the team will travel to Annapolis, Md. and with a win over Navy, will dabble into the schools all-time record books.The program has never won a game on the East Coast neither has it ever won four games in the month of September. A win Saturday will accomplish both feats for the program that has seen a great amount of improvement this season.Many of our kids have never been to the East Coast in their lives, said head coach Mike MacIntyre, so it will be a great experience all the way around but the most important experience will be going out there and giving all we have to win the football game.The Spartans are a motivated and inspired team coming off a 38-34 win on the road over favored San Diego State this past Saturday. In order for SJSU to grasp its second road win of the season, the defense will need to do a better job stopping the oppositions run gamesomething it did not do well at all against San Diego State.RELATED: SJSU kick returner wins WAC special teams award
Against the Aztecs, the Spartan run defense allowed 271 yards on 55 attempts. This weekend, it will face a triple-option Navy offense coming off a very productive and efficient game in the teams 41-3 over Virginia Military Institute. The Midshipmen run game, which ranks 10th in the nation with 265.7 yards per game, racked up 403 yards on the ground against VMI.MacIntyre knows his run defense will need to step up this Saturday.This week, well have to do our responsibilities and have to make the open field tackles, he said adding, We just need to tackle better, but the running backs have a say in that as well.The triple-option features senior running back Gee Gee Green, sophomore fullback Noah Copeland and junior quarterback Trey Miller, in ranking order of the teams top rushing leaders. Still, the offense cant be predicted to run through either of those three. Eight other offensive players have contributed to 292 yards rushing through the triple-option offense.You cant follow the football, thats what they want you to do with all the deception, MacIntyre said.They have a lot of different schemes. Certain blocking schemes happen and certain guards pull and certain backs are going certain places and when they come to block you have to either fit inside or outside and you have to realize that quick.MacIntyre said forcing the Navy run game to turn the ball over will be crucial to both stopping the Midshipmen offense and winning the game.They kind of methodically go down the fieldwe have to be able to cause turnovers, he said. Thats how youre able to stop an option team. They put the ball on the ground and youre able to hop on it.MacIntyre also said that Navys passing game, which is ranked 118th in the nation, cannot be counted out to contribute to moving the ball against the Spartan defense.They are a better passing team than they were in previous years, he said. I know theyll try and establish the run and do that, but I do know theyll try to exploit us in the passing game as well.We have to fit the run and react to the pass. The offensive line does a good job in selling the run and then all of a sudden its a pass. We have to be aware or else someone is going to pop right up.The team will spend an hour on Friday touring some of the local historical sights in Washington D.C., something MacIntyre said is important for his players to do. He added the tourism wont distract the team at all, in fact he think it could do the opposite.It will make us more focused on being proud of being an American, really, he said. Proud to be able to play the game of football, to go to school and live in a free country. Afterwards, well get into our same routine and go from there.