It was Northern Illinois in 2012, Houston in 2011 and Tulsa before that. Year after year a team appears in the final BCS rankings who we didn’t expect to be there, a Cinderella story for each and every player on those teams. 2013 offers us the San Jose State Spartans.
It’s understandable that this may seem a somewhat obvious choice, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. San Jose built the platform for a successful 2013 season when they finished last year’s campaign with an 11-2 record, capped with a Military Bowl victory over Bowling Green.
A move to the Mountain West Conference means tougher opposition, but with it more credit for hard-earned victories. Replacing run-of-the-mill triumphs over Texas State, Idaho and New Mexico are match-ups against Fresno State, San Diego State and the improving Nevada, with each certain to test the Spartans’ mettle.
The San Jose roster isn’t laden with elite talent, but it’s solid throughout, as the majority of starters return in 2013. David Fales will be under centre for his senior season, the future first-round pick had an exceptional first year at San Jose in 2012, turning the heads of scouts nationwide with an impressive 72.5 completion percentage and over 4,000 throwing yards. The six-foot-four signal caller is re-joined by receivers Noel Grigsby, Chandler Jones and Jabari Carr, who, between them, had 198 receptions and 24 touchdowns in 2012. Grigsby will be hopeful of improving his late-round draft grade.
Linebacker Vince Buhagiar will lead the Spartans’ defence as he builds on his 80 tackles a season ago. Buhagiar has a supporting cast made up of ball-hawk cornerback Bene Benwikere, who recored seven interceptions in 2012, and defensive tackle Travis Raciti, who tallied 8.5 sacks.
I, for one, love nothing more than seeing an underdog rise from the depths and swat down a high-flier. However, many football fans and experts alike fail to embrace the notion. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit was particularly irked at Northern Illinois’ inclusion in last year’s Orange Bowl, at the time he said: “Are you kidding me with Northern Illinois playing in the BCS? There are two things here that stand out. Northern Illinois — no one knew they were playing until the Toledo game a few weeks ago. … You’re going to leave Oklahoma out to put Northern Illinois into a BCS bowl game? Are you kidding me?”
One of the many pleasures sport gives us is the chance to root for the underdog; the 1980 US Mens Hockey team, the 2004 Boston Red Sox and Goran Ivanisevic to name but a few. In 2011, how many of you switched on a Denver Broncos game when you seen a Tweet saying ‘Tebow Time’? If we can cheer for Florida Gulf Coast University’s basketball team in the spring, we can believe in the San Jose Spartans in the autumn.
If San Jose can limit their losses to Stanford on September 7th, they are certain to have earned a BCS bowl game, just like Northern Illinois a year ago.