San Jose State returns home Saturday looking to build on its first win of the season when it faces Cal Poly.

The Spartans (1-1) play Cal Poly at CEFCU Stadium on Saturday night riding momentum from their 27-21 win at Eastern Michigan. The victory was fueled by breakout performances from junior receiver Cooper Hoch and running back Jabari Bates.

Hoch led San Jose State’s receivers with five catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs. The two touchdowns were the first of his career. After recording five catches in 12 games last season, Hoch has stepped into a larger role this season following the departure of several key receivers.

Bates, meanwhile, played a major role in getting the Spartans’ rushing attack going after the squad was held to 102 rushing yards in the season-opening 42-26 loss at USC. Bates missed most of last season after suffering a season-ending injury against Stanford in Week 4. He rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries against Eastern Michigan, allowing the Spartans to lean on the run game more than they did in the season opener against USC.

“It felt great knowing that I put the work in just to really get this role and understanding what it takes to be able to take on 20 carries, just taking care of my body, having a good mindset, just staying relaxed throughout the game,” Bates said.

Bates’ emergence gives San Jose State another weapon in an offense that has shown plenty of depth through the first two games.

The Spartans have rotated receivers throughout the season, with freshman Jase Nix also recording his first career touchdown against Eastern Michigan. In all, 10 different Spartans have caught a pass this season.

“We got a lot of depth out there. It’s good because it creates a little bit of friendly competition in the room,” Stutzmann said. “But what it does is when somebody’s maybe not feeling it, we got the next guy in there and we can roll.”

Bates and the Spartans will look to keep things rolling as they try to move to 2-1 against a Cal Poly team that enters Saturday’s game undefeated. The FBS Mustangs are 2-0, including a 1-0 record in Big Sky play, after beating Central Washington 24-17 last week.

San Jose State, which was an underdog in each of its first two games, is a 20.5-point favorite against Cal Poly. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. and will stream on MW+.

“It’s not like we’re Ohio State or anybody; it’s not like we’re LSU. We’re not a football juggernaut,” San Jose State coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “It’s not like we can overlook anybody.”

Hoch also will look to build on the momentum he created in the season opener, when he made a diving catch against USC and finished with two catches for 24 yards, surpassing his season high from last year. His performance against Eastern Michigan could make him a leading candidate to emerge from a deep nine-player receiver room.

“It’s been a long journey for me, but I always knew that if I kept working I’d be able to get on the field and go make a play,” Hoch said.

Senior quarterback Luke Weaver will also make his first start in front of the home crowd Saturday. Weaver is coming off a strong performance against Eastern Michigan, completing 23 of 39 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

Despite two turnovers, Weaver said the focus this week is on cleaning up the mistakes and getting the offense off to a faster start.

“Really just clean up all of the mistakes we’ve been making, starting fast, also preparing for the looks that we’re gonna get and playing our style of football,” Weaver said.

The Spartans have been slow out of the gate in both games this season, falling behind 28-0 against USC before rallying in the second half and trailing Eastern Michigan 7-0 before scoring in the second quarter.

Cal Poly presents a different challenge on offense, led by fifth-year quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. Grigsby, a Stockton native who got his collegiate start at the College of San Mateo, has thrown seven touchdowns without an interception this season and completed 15 of 27 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win over Central Washington.

“They’re a good team, they got a quarterback that can throw it and that can get out the pocket and use his legs,” defensive coordinator Bojay Filimoeatu said. “They run the ball well, they execute their run scheme to a high level.”