NCAA Football Preview San Jose State at Stanford
Justin Cole Hopes to Help the Spartans Slow Down Toby Gerhart
Cole wanted nothing to do with that. The Spartans had won the New Mexico Bowl the previous season. He set a goal of returning for the season opener. He made it.
"I had it in my mind I was going to play," Cole said. "No one can make you do your rehab. You do it on your own. I was motivated because I wanted to get back with the team."
Reminders of a Bowl Season
Cole is among a handful of players left from that special year, and he'd like to get that feeling back.
"We don't have a lot of players with that experience," Cole said. "That was my freshman year and we've kind of back tracked. We want to get that feeling on us again."
San Jose State (0-2) is smarting after a tough home loss to nationally-ranked Utah last week. The Spartans covered the spread and entered the fourth quarter with a chance at the upset.
"When you lose the first game you're already in tough," Cole said. "Coming close isn't good enough. If we want to get over the hump, it has to be now. we've heard 'next time' repeatedly. Are we going to be almost there or are we going to get there?"
Bill Walsh Legacy Classic
San Jose State travels to Stanford for a Saturday night contest that has been renamed the "Bill Walsh Legacy Classic," in honor of the late, great college and professional coach. Walsh played football at San Jose State and coached at Stanford.
Cole will likely be used as a defensive end, his original position, again this week with senior Mohamed Marah suffering from a shoulder injury that could end his season.
"It's like riding a bicycle," he said. "I've played there so long I feel like it's always relatively easy to transition to defensive en. I feel like I have the ability to do both and have a big impact on the game."
One of his major responsibilities against Stanford will be to stop Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, who set a school record last year for rushing yards in a single season. He became
Stanford's first 1,000-yard rusher in 17 years.
"Stopping him isn't really the right phrase," Cole said. "He seems to know how to gash our line. He's one of the better runners we'll face all year. There are no surprises with him. He'll keep coming at you for four quarters. As long as he has two legs he'll keep moving."
Rushing Offense, Rushing Defense
San Jose State coach Dick Tomey hasn't liked anything about his team stopping the run and in running the ball.
The Spartans finished their game against the Utes without their top two rushers in Pat Perry and Brandon Rutley.
Perry gained 48 of his team-leading 57 yards in the season opener against Southern California, which ranked fifth in rushing defense last year. Utah was ranked 11th.
Stanford ranked 77th against the run last year but will present San Jose State's toughest test in stopping the run. The Cardinal was 19th in rushing offense last year, better than the Trojans and better than the Utes.
"Stanford is a huge challenge for us," Tomey said. "Gerhart is a great running back. We need to work hard on our run defense. We're abysmal against the run and we're abysmal running the ball. Gerhart has had a lot of success against us in his three years. Running the ball sets up the play action and gives you options. Nobody stopped Gerhart very well last year."
Stanford Has Luck on its Side
Stanford also has a redshirt freshman quarterback in Andrew Luck, who seemed to find a nice rhythm in the Cardinal's 24-17 loss at Wake Forest.
"He's a very talented quarterback," Tomey said. "He seems smart and he's a terrific runner."
Tomey announced that junior Jordan LaSecla will start at quarterback against Stanford. He's relieved starter Kyle Reed in the first two games.
LaSecla took over late in the first quarter against Utah and completed 21of 33 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown. It was his most extended action since his senior season at Newbury Park High School in 2005.
Justin Cole
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