[3][4][5] On August 10, 2020, the Mountain West Conference suspended all fall sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[6] However, MWC officials announced on Sept. 24 the conference would host a shortened fall football schedule.

[5] The Oct. 31 game originally scheduled at University Stadium in Albuquerque was relocated to San Jose due to COVID-19 cases related to contact tracing in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.

On November 8, San Jose State received votes in the Coaches Poll for the first time since Week 2 of 2013.

[20][21] Then on November 15, San Jose State received votes in the AP Poll for the first time since being ranked no.

[22][23] This led to the Spartans cracking the College Football Playoff Top 25 for the first time, ranking no.