By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
Ok… maybe a little bit more than a little bit, but if the Spartans are going to be successful in 2017, they’ll need some luck.
Oh the irony. In football, teams control their own destiny. Teams control the controllable. Period. Then, every so often, luck comes around.
The fifth and final take on this off-season list is meant to shake things up, in a good way, that is.
Let’s be real here, other than bowl games, when was the last time San Jose State was headlined after a win?
The last bowl game for the Spartans was in 2015, where they participated in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
Yes, SJSU did come away victorious, but even its win/loss record after that December game was 6-7.
Throw in the spoilage to Fresno State’s cinderella 2013 season, a game now bookmarked in SJSU’s history thanks to David Fales’ miraculous 547 yard record-setting performance.
I beg to ask a better question. How about the last time an opposing team beat the Spartans and got front paged?
Anyways, the point is SJSU isn’t being targeted by anyone. They’ve been under the radar for quite a while now.
Whether you’re a player, coach, fan (bandwagoner or not) — luck has been around forever.
Let’s start off recent. How about asking the 2017 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.
Matter of fact, don’t ask them anything. Just mumble ‘28-3’ and I’m sure they’ll crack a smirk.
Turn the clock back a decade. Today, if you ask any 2007 New York Giant what it took to beat the then 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl that year, eventually the word ‘luck’ would come up.
My guess is from David Tyree and Eli Manning, just saying.
Taking it back farther to one I hate to bring up, but I think most Bay Area fans would side with me here.
Remember Terry Bradshaw’s deflected pass caught and ran for a game-winning touchdown against the Raiders in the 1972 AFC Divisional playoffs, otherwise known as the “Immaculate Reception?”
Was it a tip-drill worked to perfection, or just a play Pittsburgh practiced over and over again behind a curtain?
Regardless, it was luck.
Enough time travel. Back to Spartan Football.
Number one, a 28-3 Spartan comeback probably won’t happen in 2017.
Number two, I can’t seem to find a player by the name of ‘Tyree, David’ on the 2017 Spartan roster.
Number three, I doubt the Spartans have a play within their playbook labeled ‘Immaculate Reception.’
Hail Mary? Maybe.