SAN JOSE – The San Jose State Spartans will be a quarter of the way through the season after Saturday’s game at Stanford.
But if suddenly feels like a whole new season to junior kicker Denis Lynch.
Lynch, a transfer from USC, missed his first four field goal attempts as a Spartan, including a potential winner in SJSU’s opener against Central Michigan. But last Saturday, Lynch hit the reset button when he nailed a 48-yarder as time expired to lift the Spartans to a 31-28 home win over Idaho for their first victory of the season.
“It’s awesome to have made this kick, but we have a bunch more games ahead of us,” Lynch said. “I treated the first two games like they were last season. I just want to build upon that kick and hopefully we’ll win more games.”
San Jose State’s Ryan Boultwood (88) celebrates San Jose State’s Denis Lynch (48) kicking the game winning field goal against Idaho in the fourth quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
If history is any indicator, Lynch could be called on in the clutch again Saturday when the Spartans (1-2) travel 20.7 miles north to face Stanford (1-3, 1-1 ACC) in the Bill Walsh Legacy Game (4:30 p.m. on the ACC Network).
A year ago, Kyler Halverson kicked a pair of field goals to lift SJSU to a 34-31 win. Three of the past eight matchups between the regional rivals have been decided by a field goal or less.
Lynch, a two-year starter with the Trojans, is up for the challenge after his rough start.
“I let myself and the team down in those first two games, “ Lynch said. “So I just thought to myself, what do I want to do with the season?”
Lynch wrote down his goals for the rest of the season, including working on his kicks from the left hash mark and to make timely field goals.
Lynch was a two-year starter at USC before hitting the transfer portal. Lynch was a perfect 10 for 10 on attempts from 40-49 yards, but missed eight of his 17 attempts from 30-39 yards.
Last fall camp, Georgia Southern transfer Michael Lantz beat out Lynch for the starting job.
“It sucked, but that’s life not everything goes your way,” Lynch said. “Michael Lantz is a really good kicker and he had a good season so you can’t complain.”
Once in the transfer portal, Lynch decided picked San Jose State on the recommendation of SJSU punter Trent Carrizosa and after speaking with SJSU special teams senior football analyst Joe Palcic.
Lynch was tested right away, missing a potential game winning 33-yard field goal in SJSU’s 16-14 loss to Central Michigan.
San Jose State place kicker Denis Lynch (48) reacts after missing a field goal in the fourth quarter against the Central Michigan during an NCAA football game on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Lachlan Cunningham)
Head coach Ken Niumatalolo felt like more could have been done for Lynch before trotting him out for him to kick from the left hash.
“As a coach I didn’t put him in the best position in the Central Michigan game,” Niumatalolo said. “He’s a left-footed kicker, he likes the right hash and all of our stats show he has a much better percentage of making field goals from there.”
Against Idaho, once the team got into field goal range in the final seconds the Spartans made sure the ball was on the right hash.
Lynch made the kick, and his “new season” was off on the right foot.
“I was grateful because I know not everyone might have had people have their back,” Lynch said. “With the game winner it was nice to kind of give back and show that I understand and I’m working on it.”
Kicker Denis Lynch #46 of USC Trojans during USC spring football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
– The Spartans are still two weeks away from their Mountain West opener, but Saturday’s game at Stanford Stadium is no ordinary non-conference matchup.
This is the second meeting between the two schools since the Bill Walsh Legacy Game was revived, and the 69th meeting overall between the two schools.
The Cardinal leads the series 52-15-1, but the Spartans have the chance to beat the Cardinal in consecutive seasons for the first time since they won three straight from 1998-2000.
“We understand the significance of the rivalry,” Niumatalolo said. “But for us most importantly we recognize they are a good football team. Most people look at records but, we recognize how good they are and how well coached they are.”
The Cardinal are led by first season interim head coach Frank Reich, who previously held head coaching gigs in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts (2018-2022) and the Carolina Panthers (2023).
SJSU and Stanford are both looking to build momentum before returning to conference play. The Cardinal broke through after an 0-2 start and beat Boston College 30-20 two weeks ago, only to fall 48-20 last weekend at Virginia.
– Jabari Bates entered the season as the third string running back, but Niumatalolo said Bates will be higher on the depth chart after two strong weeks.
In SJSU’ 38-7 loss against Texas, Bates entered the game after both Floyd Chalk IV and Lamar Radcliffe fumbled. Bates didn’t waste the opportunity, scoring SJSU’s lone touchdown while rushing for 44 yards.
Last week he rushed for a career-high 131 yards on 11 carries, including a momentum-shifting 87-yard touchdown run.
Bates became the first Spartan 100-yard rusher since Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann arrived. His TD run was the longest by a Spartan since Sept. 10, 2016 when Malik Roberson had an 87-yard run against Portland State.
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“Between last spring and the Texas game it was like ‘where is the guy that when we first got here was springing those big runs,’” Stutzmann said. “That’s what we were waiting for. Hopefully he continues to ride that wave.”
– The Spartans faced the Cardinal starting quarterback Ben Gulbranson in 2024 when he played at Oregon State during a 24-13 win. Gulbranson passed for 292 yards, two interceptions and did not throw a touchdown against defensive coordinator Derrick Odum’s defense.
“I don’t think you can take much (from the Oregon State game) Gulbranson is in a new offense and being taught different things,” Odum said. “He’s playing really well right now, very efficient.”
– The Spartans quarterback Walker Eget hopes to build on a 222 yards one touchdown performance against Idaho. Eget’s one fumble on the first drive against the Vandals was the lone Spartans turnover of the game, their lowest of the season.