2020 San José State
7–1 (6–0 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brent Brennan, finished No. 24 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat New Mexico 38–21Oct 31
By 17 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24 | vs Air Force | W 17–6 | 26% |
| Oct 31 | at New Mexico | W 38–21 | 56% |
| Nov 6 | at San Diego State | W 28–17 | 24% |
| Nov 14 | vs UNLV | W 34–17 | 77% |
| Dec 5 | vs Hawai’i | W 35–24 | 59% |
| Dec 11 | vs Nevada | W 30–20 | 54% |
| Dec 19 | vs Boise StateMountain West Championship Game | W 34–20 | 34% |
| Dec 31Bowls & playoff | vs Ball StateArizona Bowl | L 13–34 | 55% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Ball State 34–13 in the Arizona Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.
In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 91 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 16: 25
- Final: 24
Mountain West Conference champions6–0 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game
- Record
- 7–1
- Conference
- 6–0 shared first in Mountain West Conference
- AP final
- No. 24 peak No. 24
- Points
- 229–159
- Coach
- Brent Brennan
- Elo
- 1569 +163 this season
- SP+ rating
- 0.1 No. 69 of 130; offense No. 49, defense No. 83
- SRS
- 8.6 No. 17 of 77 in FBS
- Returning
- 54% of last season’s EPA, No. 86 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 114 roster talent No. 94 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Kevin McGiven
- Defensive coordinator
- Derrick Odum
- Offense
- Spread option
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.15 | 43% | 1.38 | 45th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.07 | 41% | 1.20 | 43rd of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.14 off 0.07 def | 43% off 41% def | — | 40th off 43rd def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 41 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 2.1 | own 38 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 9.4, 26th of 127 (offense 2.3, defense -7.2).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Nick Starkel QB | 2,174 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Nick Starkel QB | 17 TD |
| Rushing yards | Tyler Nevens RB | 515 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tyler Nevens RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Bailey Gaither WR | 725 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Derrick Deese Jr. TE | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Kyle Harmon LB | 78 tkl |
| Sacks | Cade Hall DL | 10 sacks |
| Interceptions | Tre Jenkins S | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Mikale Greer CB | ★★★ | No. 1331 |
| Jalen Apalit-Williams S | ★★★ | No. 1483 |
| Jakai Torres ATH | ★★★ | No. 1522 |
| Soane Toia DT | ★★★ | No. 1940 |
| Shamar Garrett APB | ★★★ | No. 2057 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Receivers | 1 | 2.0 | 0.783 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.823 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 2.3 | 0.804 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.802 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 2.8 | 0.821 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.823 |
| Whole class | 16 | 2.7 | 0.812 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 109
The 2020 roster109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 50 have a stat line. See the roster
2020 Mountain West Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 San José State | 6–0 | 7–1 | 24 |
| Boise State | 5–0 | 5–2 | |
| Nevada | 6–2 | 7–2 | |
| San Diego State | 4–2 | 4–4 | |
| Hawai’i | 4–4 | 5–4 | |
 Fresno State | 3–3 | 3–3 | |
| Air Force | 2–2 | 3–3 | |
 Wyoming | 2–4 | 2–4 | |
| New Mexico | 2–5 | 2–5 | |
 Colorado State | 1–3 | 1–3 | |
 Utah State | 1–5 | 1–5 | |
| UNLV | 0–6 | 0–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.