Last year, Stanford halfback Toby Gerhart tore up the Spartan running defense before he tore up his knee in the same game, accumulating 140 yards and averaging more than a 11 yards per run before ending his season with a torn ACL in the third quarter.
This year could be different.
San Jose State’s run defense is ranked 10th nationally after three games, a stat that is a combination of reality and aberration. The team’s two starting defensive ends – senior USC transfer Jeff Schweiger and junior Carl Ihenacho – have filled in the gaping hole the Spartans’ defense had last year with run defense (which ranked 77th in 2007 and 108th in tackles for loss of yards), and pass rush (96th in sacks.)
Ihenacho is already close to tying all of his numbers from last year just three games into the season. Schweiger’s numbers are equally impressive this year.
Both will be put to the test by Gerhart and Cardinal back up halfback Anthony Kimble, who picked up an additional 80 yards on 19 carries in last year’s game. Both players are under the radar for the Cardinal, since neither one completed the season healthy.
The big indicator that this defense is legitimate could be based on its performance against Nebraska. The Spartans held the Cornhuskers rushing attack to 99 yards total, a small number for a team that is moving back to a traditional running based offense.
Keep in mind, Nebraska put up 138 yards against Western Michigan the week before, and a week later would tally more than 300 rushing yards against New Mexico State the following week.
The doubt of the Spartans' defense comes from the competition. UC Davis is an FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) team with a pass-centered attack. The team’s running back, Joe Trombetta, didn’t achieve 100 yards rushing for the season until the third week of the season.
San Diego State is a woeful team. The team’s rushing attack is weak, achieving just 98 yards in the season’s first two games on 38 rushing attempts.
There is something to be said, though, that the Spartans handed San Diego State its worse loss so far this season, which is worth noting because the Aztecs played Notre Dame close the week before.
The Aztec's freshman quarterback, Ryan Lindley, was hounded all day, and his offensive line and back field did him no favors. The Spartan defense was merely exploiting an already bad offense when it embarrassed the Aztecs on Sunday. There’s a reason San Diego State has been on ESPN’s Bottom 10 list every week this year.
This week will be the first challenge for the Spartans’ defense. Toby Gerhart is ranked in the top 50 nationally in average rushing yards. We will know whether or not the tenth overall ranking is earned.
(This post originally made for the Spartan Daily's Sports Blog for today.)
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