Three key factors the Spartans must achieve to beat Boise State

In order to be eligible for a bowl game, the San Jose State Spartans must win against Boise State at home in its last game of the 2015 season.

1. Stop Thomas Sperbeck:

This is probably going to be the key matchup of the game as well. Sperbeck is currently leading the Mountain West in receiving yards at 1,289 on 76 receptions to go along with eight touchdowns. The junior isn't a big target, but is a quick and shifty receiver standing at only 6' and 175 pounds. On the other side of that matchup, the Spartan pass defense is ranked first in the conference, only allowing 149.6 yards a game and picking off the opposing offense 8 times. If the defense can accomplish this, then they stand a great chance of winning, as Boise State's rushing offense ranks towards the bottom of the conference.

2. Get the passing game in a rhythm:

Normally, I would say get Tyler Ervin the ball as much as you can. However, Boise State's rushing defense ranks second in the conference. There is no sense in trying to beat your head against a wall when it takes four steps to walk around it. While it obviously is important to include Ervin in the game plan as much as possible, it is going to be on Kenny Potter and the Spartan passing attack to go out and win this game.

3. Take care of the ball:

One of the more basic fundamentals of football. However, San Jose ranks in the bottom half in turnover margin. Where does Boise State rank? Third. If the Spartans commit a couple turnovers, it is very unlikely that the defense will be able to get the ball back for them.

As mentioned above, this is the Spartans only chance at getting into a bowl game. This is going to be an exciting game, as I'd expect that Ron Caragher is going to pull out all the stops and do anything to win this game and get in to some post-season play.