Auburn football schedule analysis: Grading the San Jose State Spartans

Here's a breakdown of Auburn's second opponent of the 2022 season.

This is the second article in a series grading Auburn’s opponents by position group.

Week two of Auburn's schedule features the San Jose State Spartans, a team the Tigers haven't faced since 2015.

SJSU is coming off of a rather disappointing 5-7 season after winning the Mountain West title in 2020. Both sides of the ball need some retooling, but there is some experience to be had.

Here's a breakdown of every San Jose State position group.

Quarterback: C-

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Journeyman Nick Starkel has finally graduated with the Spartans after playing college ball with both Texas A&M and Arkansas for three seasons. In steps Hawaii transfer Chevan Cordeiro, who threw for 31 touchdowns and ran for 10 more over the past two season's with the Rainbows.

Head coach Brent Brennan liked what he saw out of Cordeiro coming out of spring. He should take the reins over backup Nick Nash, who saw 473 snaps for SJSU in 2021. Nash is also the team's returning leading rusher (68 carries for 385 yards, one touchdown).

Running Back: D

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San Jose State struggled to establish their ground game last season, only averaging 120.4 yards rushing per game (111th nationally). Top back Tyler Nevens is gone. Senior back Kairee Robinson (64 carries, 280 yards, one touchdown) will step in as the primary option in the backfield. No other returning running back had more than 17 carries.

Wide Receiver: D+

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Two of San Jose State's top three receivers are back. Seniors Isaiah Hamilton (31 receptions, 414 yards, two touchdowns) and Jermaine Braddock (27 receptions, 390 yards, two touchdowns) should carry the load for the Spartans this season.

The passing game took a huge dip last season, going from 19th nationally in 2020 to 77th in 2021. Because of the returning experience in the receiving room, there's reason to expect the Spartans begin to improve.

Offensive Line: D

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Two starters return from an offensive line that was 31st nationally in sacks allowed in 2021.

According to reports, the Spartans were struggling across the o-line during the spring, trying to find the right personnel group to start across the five positions. It will still be a work in progress until fall.

Offensive outlook vs Auburn:

Four starters return from a team that averages 20.0 points per game last season. Even with Chevan Cordeiro transferring in, it's hard to see this offense giving Auburn any major problems. A lack of a true running game and an inconsistent push up front doesn't translate to enough points to keep the Spartans in the game.

Defensive Line: C-

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Three starters return from a unit that allowed 133.9 rushing yards per game (34th nationally) and 3.5 yards per carry (22nd nationally). Senior Cade Hall (40 tackles, four sacks) was the 2020 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and is back for his fifth season after suffering through injury in 2021.. Defensive end Viliami Fehoko (37 tackles, seven sacks) had six pass deflections last season.

Linebackers: C-

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Linebacker Kyle Harmon finished third in the national in tackles per game at 11.1 (133 total). He'll be joined by Alii Matau (51 tackles) and Jordan Cobbs (41 tackles).

Even though the defensive line might be the strongest group, the linebacking core may be the deepest.

Defensive Backs: D

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The Spartans finished ninth in the Mountain West in pass defense (236.1 yards per game), and return two starters. Safety Trey Jenkins (72 tackles) had the most production, but cornerback Nehemiah Shelton finished with the highest PFF grade (74.3) in the secondary.

Special Teams: D

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Walk-on Travis Benham will handle punting duties, while Taren Schive will takeover as placekicker.

San Jose State was top 25 nationally in both kickoff and punt coverage.

Defensive outlook for San Jose State vs Auburn:

Being able to load the box up with a ton of experience may give Auburn's rushing attack some problems. However, Auburn's short and intermediate passing game may find success against a relatively inexperienced secondary that was 92nd in completion percentage allowed in 2021.

Testing the Spartans' safeties looks like a reasonable strategy on paper.

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